2-714-169 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Count Joseph Boruwlaski, the celebrated Polish Dwarf', 1822. Count Jozef Boruwlaski (1739-1837) was described to the Royal Academy of Sciences of Paris in 1760 by Count Tressan as being 'twenty-two years of age and about twenty-eight inches high. He is well proportioned; his eyes are fine and full of fire; his features agreeable and indicate gaity and sprightliness of mind.' He married an Isalina Barbutan, with whom he had a child in 1781. Some accounts claim that he was 'favored in Royal courts all over Europe.' Other sources claim he was forced to endure 'the most cruel torments' at the hands of various admiring ladies, who taking him on their laps would fondle him as if he were a pre-pubescent child.' From "Wonderful Characters: Comprising Memoirs and Anecdotes of the Most Remarkable Persons of Every Age and Nation", Vol. III, by Henry Wilson. [J. Robins and Co. Albion Press, London, 1821]