P.T. Barnum "discovered" this albino family when he attended Amsterdam's annual fair in 1857 in search of exhibits for his American Museum.
Since they were "found" in Holland it was commonly beleived they were Dutchmen. Actually, Rudolph Lucasie was French, his wife Antoinette was Italian and their son Joseph was born in Hamburg.
Since Holland was not considered very exotic, Barnum soon billed the family as coming from the African island of Madagascar, even going so far as to claim they were actually white Negroes!
The family remained under contract with Barnum's museum for three or four years whence they struck out on their own appearing with various circuses such as W.W. Coles and Lemon Bros. and even toured Australia (the mythical home of the albino.)
The family actively toured for 40+ years till around 1898 when Rudolph and his wife unexpectedly passed away. |
