Paul Herold (Artist)

Giant Paul Herold and his wife in 1912

Ernst Otto Paul Herold (born September 27, 1874 in Leipzig , † August 1939 in Chicago ) was a German-American artist and circus performer. He became famous under the nickname " Giant ".

family

Paul Herold came from a humble background and was born on September 27, 1874 as the first child of the family in Leipzig. His father worked for the Saxon State Railroad , his mother was 21 years old when he was born and the daughter of a blacksmith and armorer from the Wurzen area . The parents lived in what was then Lützowstrasse, today's Niederkirchnerstrasse in the Südvorstadt .

Adolescent years

When exactly the rapid growth of Paul Herold began is uncertain. But he must have been very tall even in his youth , and he continued to grow until he finally reached the stately height of 2.36 meters. Other sources even speak of 2.43 meters. Some old recordings of him show that he certainly earned his living as a "giant", as an artist, between 1896 and 1927. As a result, Paul Herold came to places all over Germany such as Stettin , Krefeld and Elberfeld at a young age . Here he was photographed with the almost equally large giant Leony. He dedicated the recording to his family in 1896 . Later he moved to all of Europe and North Africa .

Career

Paul Herold and his colleague Zip the Pinhead 1921

For many years Paul Herold lived and worked in different places in the USA . Stations were Los Angeles in 1921 , New York in 1924 and Buffalo in 1927 . He should have become known to an audience of millions through his appearances in the Barnum circus . Barnum's Original Zipp, also known as Zip the Pinhead, was one of his colleagues. The son of African American slaves was much older than Paul Herold. His peculiarity was his strangely deformed head , which was small in contrast to the body and made him look younger. On photos of Paul Herold it can be seen that he has optically increased his body length by wearing suitable headgear . In many cases he also appeared in military clothing.

Life

Paul Herold was married to a Viennese singer who was of normal height. Apparently Paul Herold maintained contact with his relatives through all of his eventful years . In a letter to his family that he wrote at Christmas 1927, he impressively describes his experiences in the USA. Even for him it was not easy to work in a country “where they certainly don’t give you anything”, but if you feel reasonably healthy, you may still be able to do it.

Paul Herold's wife was not allowed to move to the USA with him for the time being, as she was part of the Austrian quota and had to wait a long time for the immigration permit. In 1927 he had been waiting for her for four years and was about to return to Germany . But things turned out differently. He stayed in the United States and died in Chicago in 1939 in a hospital .

literature

• Charles D. Humbert: Gigantism of the infantilism type and its disclosure of the pathogenesis of pigeon breast and funnel chest . Medical Journal and Record Publishing Company, New York, 1938.

Web links

• Entry about Paul Herold at The tallest man