Signed CDV Portrait of FedorJeftichew (Fyodor Yevtishchev), widely known as Jo-Jo the Russian Dog Faced Boy, a “prodigy” from PT Barnum’s sideshow and circus.Recto shows a clear, charismatic, waist-up portrait of Fedor, who is wearing his typical costume (modeled after aRussian cavalry uniform) with his hair neatly brushed, looking directly intothe camera. The blue, printed caption underneath the photograph is “Jo’ Jo’ theRussian Dog Faced Boy”Verso shows the ‘globetrot...tingphotographer’ logo of Charles Eisenmann’s studio at 229 Bowery, NYC; Eisenmannmade a career of photographing “oddities, ” using poses, settings, lighting, etc. similar to those which he used for the rest of his clientele.The verso is autographed in pencil, one word along each of three of the edges: “Jo Jo” is very clearly written. Theother two words appear to be “Theodor, ” in cursive Roman alphabetic characters, and “Fedor” in cursive Cyrillic alphabetic characters. Based on other exampleswe have seen, this seems to have been Fedor’s typical way to sign a CDV orCabinet photo of himself.4 1/8” x 2 1/2”.Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1868, Fedor inherited a form of hypertrichosis, a condition that causesexcess hair growth, from his father, Adrian. Adrian and Fedor began a career inEuropean sideshow exhibitions in 1873, billed as “The Wolf Man, ” “The HirsuteKostroma People from the Primeval Forests of Central Russia, ” etc. A scout forPT Barnum met Fedor in England in 1884, and signed him to a contract. Barnumgave him the name “Jo-Jo the Dog Faced Boy” and made up a story that a hunterhad tracked Fedor and his father to a cave in Kostroma Forest; that Adrian was“savage and beastly” and therefore killed by the hunter, but that Fedor wasgentle and had been “civilized, ” - though he still sometimes barked and growledlike a dog. Fedor did play the “dog boy” routine when Barnum asked, but was generallya kind, playful, dignified performer, who easily became an audience favorite.He was billed as “The mostprodigious paragon of all prodigies secured by P. T. Barnum in over 50 years.”Fedor died after contractingpneumonia in Salonica, Greece, while performing on a world tour in 1904.Condition: Lightly soiled, a bit of paper/pencil loss near the end ofthe signed “Theodor” on verso. Generally in very good condition.Shipping Notes: We ship same day via USPS upon receipt of payment before 3 PM. Payments received Monday-Friday (after 3 PM) will be shipped the next morning. Payments received after 3 PM on Fridays and on Saturdays & Sundays will be shipped no later than the following Monday morning.A note about packing: Check our feedback. We take pride in our excellent packing. We double-box all fragile items to insure their safe journey through the postal system. This sometimes means it costs a little more to ship your item, but you can rest assured that it will arrive in one piece.International Buyers Please Note: Import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping charges. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding/buying. These charges are normally collected by the delivering freight (shipping) company or when you pick the item up; do not confuse them for additional shipping charges. We do not mark merchandise values below value or mark items as "gifts" - US and International government regulations prohibit such behavior.