Up for sale is this antique cdv circus/sideshow photo of Waino & Plutano, the Wild Men of Borneo. The cdv has some moderate soiling and wear as depicted in the scans. It measures approximately 3 7/8 inches by 2 3/8 inches and most likely dates to sometime around the 1860’s-1870’s. Please look at the scans to further note the condition. The Wild Men of Borneo, Waino and Plutanor, were a pair of exceptionally strong dwarf brothers who were most famously associated with P. Barnum and his freak show exhibitions. Waino and Plutanor were actually Hiram W. And Barney Davis, two mentally disabled brothers from Pleasant Township, Knox County, Ohio farm, born in 1825 in England and 1827 in Ohio respectively. The 1850 census for them suggests they were born slightly later in 1829 and 1831. Their parents were David Harrison Davis and Catherine Blydenburgh. After their father’s death in 1842, their mother remarried to William Porter. They were each 40 inches tall (100cm) and weighed about 45 pounds (20kg), yet could perform feats of great strength such as lifting heavy weights and wrestling with audience members on stage. Discovered and subsequently promoted by a traveling showman known as Doctor Warner in 1852, Hiram and Barney were given new names, Waino and Plutanor, and a sensational back story they were said to be from the island of Borneo, where they had been captured after a great struggle with armed sailors. They initially had modest success, but at least one newspaper believed them to be dwarves from the United States. The two soon went on to be exhibited at state fairs across the United States. At the time of the 1860 census they were living in Somerville, Massachusetts in the household of Henry Harvey, a showman. At some point in the next few years management of the pair was transferred to a relative of Doctor Warner, Hanford A. In January 1877 they were performing at the New American Museum located in Manhattan. In June 1880 at the time of the federal census, they were touring with William C. Coup’s circus and were enumerated under their assumed identities. By 1882 Waino and Plutanor became involved with P. Barnum and his traveling exhibitions. Their exhibitions primarily consisted of performing acts of great strength, such as lifting adult audience members and wrestling with both audience members and each other. They were said to be able to lift up to 300 pounds (140 kg) each. In November 1887 they were performing at Eugene Robinson’s Dime Museum and Theatre. In 1903 the brothers were withdrawn from exhibitions by the Warner family. Hiram died in Waltham, Massachusetts on March 16, 1905. Barney stopped working after his brother’s death. Their former manager Hanford Warner died in 1910. Barney died on May 31, 1912 at Waltham, Massachusetts at the Warner family home. The two are buried together in Mount Vernon, Ohio, under a gravestone marked Little Men. Newspapers from the time report them being buried in Waltham, Massachusetts. It is unknown when their bodies were moved to Ohio. The item “Antique WAINO & PLUTANO Wild Men of Borneo SIDESHOW CDV PHOTO Circus Performers” is in sale since Thursday, April 29, 2021. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Photographic Images\Vintage & Antique (Pre-1940)\CDVs”. The seller is “nevermore_antiques_and_books” and is located in Wallingford, Connecticut. This item can be shipped to United States.

• Region of Origin: US
• Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
• Size Type/Largest Dimension: Small (Up to 7″)
• Listed By: Dealer or Reseller
• Date of Creation: 1860-1869
• Photography Studio: Morris: Pittsburgh, PA
• Color: Sepia
• Photo Type: CDV
• Subject: Celebrities & Musicians
• Time Period Manufactured: Vintage & Antique (Pre-1940)
• Original/Reprint: Original Print