Celebrations of Curious Characters

By Ricky Jay

Celebrations of Curious Characters cracks open the personal vaults of Ricky Jay?raconteur, historian, and one of the world's great sleight-of-hand artists?exposing a wonderful world of amusing and arcane knowledge. Adapted from his popular radio series ?Jay's Journal of the Air," Celebrations of Curious Characters features one-page anecdotes of mind-bending performers (limbless jugglers, banjo-picking birds, Anglo-Texan saxophone-playing siamese twins) paired with engravings, mezzotints, and broadsheets from the author's remarkable collection. You'll find engaging vignettes on a daunting variety of topics: musical prodigies, cannon-ball 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 six-and-a-half years; a theatrical strong man who became the world's leading Egyptologist; and a healthy number of digressions on time, money, and the argot of thieves.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1936365030
• ISBN13: 9781936365036
• Release Date: May 2011
• Publisher: McSweeney's
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 9.2" x 9.8"