Charles B. Tripp (1855-1930) was an

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

and sideshow performer. A native of Woodstock, Ontario, Tripp was born without arms, but learned to use his legs and feet to perform everyday tasks. He was a skilled

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

and calligrapher and started supporting his mother and sister when he was a teenager. In 1872, Tripp visited

P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...

in New York City and was quickly hired to work for Barnum's Great Traveling World's Fair. He worked for Barnum, and later James Anthony Bailey, for twenty-three years, then toured with the Ringling brothers for twelve years. On stage, Tripp cultivated a

gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

ly persona and exhibited his skills in carpentry and penmanship. He cut paper,Robert Bogdan. "Tripp, Charles B." '' American National Biography Online''. April 2004. Retrieved on July 24, 2008. took photographs, shaved, and painted portraits.Erin O'Connor. ''Raw Material: Producing Pathology in Victorian Culture''. Duke University Press, 2000. 198. For extra income, he signed promotional pictures of himself with his feet. Tripp often appeared in photographs with

Eli Bowen Eli Bowen (October 14, 1844 – May 4, 1924) was an American sideshow performer known as "The Legless Wonder", or "The Legless Acrobat". He was also billed as "The Handsomest Man in Showbiz" and the "Wonder of the Wide, Wide World". His peak weig ...

, a "legless wonder" from Ohio. In the photographs, the two rode a tandem bicycle, with Tripp pedaling and Bowen steering. By the 1910s, Tripp was no longer drawing large crowds for the major circuses, so he joined the traveling carnival circuit. He was accompanied by his wife, Mae, who sold tickets for midway attractions. Tripp died of pneumonia, or asthma, in

Salisbury, North Carolina Salisbury is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. Located northeast of Charlotte and within its metropolita ...

, where he had been wintering for several years. He was buried in Olney, Illinois.

References

External links

*
The Human Marvels - Armless Wonder

Findagrave entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tripp, Charles B. deaths from pneumonia in North Carolina mouth and foot painting artists people from Woodstock, Ontario people without hands sideshow performers Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown American artists with disabilities Canadian artists with disabilities