Caption:
Entitled: "Midgets May Party - Central Park. Group seated on grass." Midget is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative. While not a medical term, it has been applied to persons of unusually short stature, often with the medical condition dwarfism, particularly proportionate dwarfism. Midgets have always been popular entertainers. P. T. Barnum indirectly helped popularize the term "midget" when he began featuring General Tom Thumb, Lavinia Warren and Commodore Nutt in his circus. "Midget" became linked to referencing short people put on public display for curiosity and sport. Barnum's midgets, however, were elevated to a position of high society, given fantasy military titles, introduced to dignitaries and royalty, and showered with gifts. Photographed by Bain News Service, May 6, 1910.