George Moore and Fred Howe, 1890s

George Moore and Fred Howe, 1890s

Howie, Detroit, Michigan
George Moore and Fred Howe, 1890s
Collodion silver print
Robert E. Jackson Collection

Known as the living skeleton and the fat man, George Moore and Fred Howe performed across the country as a comical circus sideshow. They created their routine in response to doctors’ recommendations that they each increase their exercise—one to gain weight and the other to lose it—but they perfected it as a means to both travel and make money.

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