The Story
Celebrations of Curious Characters cracks open the personal vaults of Ricky Jayraconteur, historian, and one of the worlds great sleightofhand artistsexposing a wonderful world of amusing and arcane knowledge. Adapted from his popular radio series Jays Journal of the Air, Celebrations of Curious Characters features onepage anecdotes of mindbending performers (limbless jugglers, banjopicking birds, AngloTexan saxophoneplaying siamese twins) paired with engravings, mezzotints, and broadsheets from the authors remarkable collection. Youll find engaging vignettes on a daunting variety of topics: musical prodigies, cannonball catchers, conmen, card cheats, and performing politicians. Plus, a man who made a model of Lincoln Cathedral out of 1,000,800 bottle corks; a woman continuously pregnant for sixandahalf years; a theatrical strong man who became the worlds leading Egyptologist; and a healthy number of digressions on time, money, and the argot of thieves.
Description
Celebrations of Curious Characters cracks open the personal vaults of Ricky Jayraconteur, historian, and one of the worlds great sleightofhand artistsexposing a wonderful world of amusing and arcane knowledge. Adapted from his popular radio series Jays Journal of the Air, Celebrations of Curious Characters features onepage anecdotes of mindbending performers (limbless jugglers, banjopicking birds, AngloTexan saxophoneplaying siamese twins) paired with engravings, mezzotints, and broadsheets from the authors remarkable collection. Youll find engaging vignettes on a daunting variety of topics: musical prodigies, cannonball catchers, conmen, card cheats, and performing politicians. Plus, a man who made a model of Lincoln Cathedral out of 1,000,800 bottle corks; a woman continuously pregnant for sixandahalf years; a theatrical strong man who became the worlds leading Egyptologist; and a healthy number of digressions on time, money, and the argot of thieves.
