| Chang, the Chinese giant was known to show off his giant ring presented to him by Franz Joseph I, emperor of Austria.
His contemporary, a Norgwegian giant named Brustad, also delighted in exhibiting his ring which was four and a half ounces in weight. When Patrick O'Brien, the American giant married the German Giantess in 1883 the newspapers noted that "the wedding ring weighed seventeen pennyweights and was five inches in circumference". In 1916 the Italian giant Hugo made his third appearance in the U.S. When he passed away that year it was noted in his obituary that he was known to amuse the circus patrons by covering a silver dollar with the ball of his thumb and passing a half dollar through his finger ring. Apparently around this time huge oversized rings were being manufactured by some unknown company as a novelty item. They were purchased with a blank face and then one could get them inscribed with a name or personal message and then given as a gift or token of remembrance. It appears the first giant to offer a ring for sale as a souvenir was Capt. George Auger, the Welsh giant (d. 1922) Possibly he or his manager took note of Hugo's display of finger size, knew of the novelty rings and put the two together and created another opportunity to make some extra cash. |
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| William George Auger was born in 1883 in Cardiff, Wales. He married his wife Elizabeth while still living in Europe and then came to the U.S. in 1904 to join his sister Lucy and began touring with Barnum and Bailey that year. For ten years George and little people Ernest Romell and Caroline Haas staged a comedic production of "Jack the Giant Killer" to great reviews. He died in New York City in 1922 supposedly of digestive problems after a particularly large meal at the home of a friend on Thanksgiving Day.
George Auger sold two rings. The first (see below) - "George Auger, Giant" - is rather crude looking so I reckon it must have been the first that he sold. Because I only recently realized it existed I haven't tracked its selling price. The second ring has sold for as low as 18.50 and as high as 42.00 with the average being 31.00 |
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| "Within recent times a giant of unusual size was to be seen in London in the person of Jim Tarber (sic), who was said to measure 8 feet 4 inches in height. According to his own account he was born on a ranch in Texas, his parents being of ordinary stature, and he did not reach his great height until he was twenty-eight years of age. He is said to be a man of mild and friendly disposition, who shuns publicity and whose great desire is to be back again on the farm." - C.J.S. Thompson, "The Mystery and Lore of Monsters |
| James Grover Tarver was born in 1885 in Franklin, Texas, moved to Memphis and retired to Arkansas so he was always a Southerner. He entered the show business in 1914 and was billed variously as "The Texas Giant", "Texas Jim" or "What-A-Man-Tarver". Jim travelled with various circuses for 26 years and spent his time off on his Arkansas farm. Plagued by diabetes, he died on his beloved farm in 1958 at age 72.
Tarver's rings come up for auction all the time and you should be able to get one for under 10.00 although I've seen them go for as little as 4.95 and as high as 24.99 |
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| Johann Aasen was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1890 and was of Norwegian heritage. He was with the Al G. Barnes circus in 1923 but I'm not sure if he trouped with any others. His ring states he was known as "The Motion Picture Giant" because he appeared in a total of 7 movies, but only one was a talkie. A clip of him from the movie "Why Worry" ( a part originally intended for giant George Auger) can be seen in Ari Roussimoff's documentary "Freaks Uncensored". Unfortunately, John had mental health problems and was admitted to the Mendocino (CA) State hospital in 1937. He passed away there Aug 1st, 1938.
Johnny's ring is super-ultra rare and I've seen it come up for auction only once. I remember the lucky winning bidder got it for a little over $40 - truly a steal! |
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| Born in Denver as Jacob Ehrlich in 1906 he took the screen name of Jack Earle when in the silent film industry. He was involved with circuses from 1926 to 1940 when he retired. Jack died at age 46 in 1952. "He was well proportioned, extremely likable, possessed a pleasing personality and remarkable intelligence." (from "Circus: Cinders to Sawdust") |
| Jack was more than just a "circus giant." Here he is with a sculpture he created of fellowm showman "Clicko, the dancing South African bushman" |
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| Earle's rings come up for auction pretty regularly. I've seen them sell from 5.95 to 22.00 but with a litte luck you should be able to get one for 9.99. I've only recently been tracking, separately, the "Jack Earle, 8'6", Giant" ring. One sold for 7.99, another for 10.51 Earle also pitched a generic "Lucky" ring at one time. |
| (Left) "Jack Earle Giant 8 ft 6 1/2" (right) Jack Earle Giant 8 ft 6 |
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| "On my way from Sarasota to Tampa I pulled up at Gibsonton and inquired for Al Tomaini at the restaurant he owns. I was directed to the town firehouse - Al is Gibsonton's fire chief. He had just left the firehouse. Finally I found him coming back from his fishing boat headquarters down by the bay, where he rents boats, outboard motors and fishing tackle." - William Lindsay Gresham, "Monster Midway" (1948) |
| Al was born in 1912,one of 7 kids, to Santos and Maria Tomaini. Early in his career he was billed as "The World's Tallest Boy" and later became known as "The American Giant" . At age 24 he married a fellow performer the half-girl Jeannie Weeks and they were soon advertised as the "World's Strangest Married Couple". They adopted two infant girls, Judy and Patty, and retired to Florida where Al passed away in 1962 at age 50.
Al's rings continue to be highly collectable and they rarely come up for auction, I've found 10 in the last 5 years. Of these the lowest winning bid was 18.49 and the highest 36.51 with the average being 25.00. |
| Al's daughter talks about his pitch rings HERE |
| TWELVE GIANTS AND THEIR RINGS |
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| (Above) At least one collector believed this was another ring that Al sold (representing his two daughters) but that is highly doubtful. The material appears to be ceramic which would be too expensive and difficult to produce en masse. It sold for 30.98 |
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| For years (the Fischers) were billed as the largest couple on earth, and on meeting them you are not likely to disagree with this, yet they are not giants in the usual sense of people whose height is due to a glandular condition. They are simply big people, who come from families of big people. The Fischers are rather sensitive about stating their exact height, for in show business, against their principles, it was always exaggerated. - William Lindsay Gresham, "Monster Midway" (1948) |
| Gottlieb and Alfreda Fischer entered show business in their native countries. He, in Austria and she, in Germany. They met in vaudeville where they both did song and dance numbers. They fell in love and married in Hamburg in 1933. Three years later they came to the U.S. and were with various circuses including Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey and were once billed as "Mr & Mrs Long." They stayed in the business till 1949 when they retired and shortly thereafter opened the Pioneer apartments in Sarasota, Florida where many of their show business friends had their winter homes. Mrs. Fischer passed away in 1984 and her husband 4 years later at the age of 81.
Because some websites refer to Anna Swann and Martin Bates as the "tallest married couple" some have mistakenly believed this ring was made as a souvenir for them. Actually, that giant couple were known as the "Largest Married Couple in the World" The Fischer's ring comes up for auction kinda regularly but it's desirability is a crap shoot. I've seen it sell from 9.50 to 26.00 and every price in between! |
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| This ring was a mystery for awhile. I couldn't figure out what "GF" stood for. Credit goes to Neil Davis who tells me the initials stand for none other than Mr. Gottlieb Fischer himself! Now, why didn't I figure that out?!? Thanks Neil! and thanks to Reed Martin for the image!
I've seen this ring come up for auction only twice. I failed to track the winning bid on the first (left) but the second one sold for 182.49 |
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| (right) This "albino" version of the ring came up for auction in Mar 2008 and sold for the incredible price of $577, to my knowledge, the most ever for a Giant Ring. |
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| A variant of the couple's ring. Note the position of the word "on". |