1881

Medal with Case

The Nestel siblings were born in Fort Wayne to average-sized parents. Charles, at 3 feet, 5 inches, and his sister Eliza, who was also a little person, traveled the world for over fifty years performing with various troupes, including The Little People, P.T. Barnum, the Royal American Midgets and the Lilliputian Opera Company.

Performing with the stage names Commodore Foote and the Fairy Queen, the Nestels sang, danced, and performed skits in costume for the public and heads of state across Europe and throughout the United States and Canada. President Lincoln invited the pair to a private reception at the White House in 1864.

This bronze colored medal suspended from two bronze bars and red ribbon, is protected in a leather case. It was presented to Charles Nestel by Queen Victoria. It is inscribed: "By command appearance of her most gracious Majesty the Queen and 40 members of the Royal Family, Feb. 26, 1881, London, Eng-land." Eliza's small folding chair with a carpeted seat has a back rail painted black with gold trim and lettering "Fairy Queen."