Major Zamora was a

dime museum Dime museums were institutions that were popular at the end of the 19th century in the United States. Designed as centers for entertainment and moral education for the working class ( lowbrow), the museums were distinctly different from upper mid ...

performer in the late 1890s. Born in St. Johns, Zamora was a physical

dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

who specialized in feats of

contortionism Contortion (sometimes contortionism) is a performance art in which performers called contortionists showcase their skills of extreme physical flexibility. Contortion acts often accompany acrobatics, circus acts, street performers and other liv ...

and enterology (squeezing into impossibly small spaces, or getting inside a sealed container without disturbing it) and, as an offshoot of this, was a feature escape artist before the advent of

Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

. He was billed, alternately, as "The Triple-jointed Dwarf" and "The Triple-jointed Wonder." His ad hype claimed he was 'triple-jointed' in all the connections of his body. Zamora performed in circus acrobat tights, and sported the large

handlebar moustache A handlebar moustache is a moustache with particularly lengthy and upwardly curved extremities. These moustache styles are named for their resemblance to the handlebars of a bicycle. It is also known as a spaghetti moustache, because of its ste ...

so common in men's grooming of the 1890s. Zamora stood in height and weighed . Zamora's features were squeezing himself in and out of an oversized, but still quite small, bottle, and escaping after being tied, chained, handcuffed and locked inside a small, upright box. Zamora is referred to in ''Panorama of Magic'' by Milbourne Christopher, and in ''Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women'' by Ricky Jay. Zamora married Tina Goughman, who was billed as the "smallest living woman" and was 4 inches taller than the Major.MARRIAGE OF MIDGETS.
''Evening Post.'' 7 Jan. 1893.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zamora, Major Contortionists Escapologists 19th-century Canadian people Year of birth missing Year of death missing