Antique Wild Men of Borneo Cabinet Card | Waino and Plutano

Here we have a very rare cabinet card of the 19th century sideshow duo Waino and Plutano, also known as the Wild Men of Borneo. They have been small in demeanor but this pair of pugilists would tear you up and leave you in the dust. Wrestling, feats of strength, you name it. I wouldn't want to mess with them. I"d be hanging upside down before I knew what happened. Even though I found photographs from the same shoot, I have yet to find another one of this exact image. It's a rare beast indeed.

Here is some background on the fascinating duo:

Waino and Plutanor, and a sensational backstory – they were said to be from the island of Borneo, where they had been captured after a great struggle with armed sailors. They initially had modest success, but at least one newspaper believed them to be dwarves from the United States.[2] The two soon went on to be exhibited at state fairs across the United States.

By 1882 Waino and Plutanor became involved with P. T. Barnum and his traveling exhibitions. With Barnum's fabled promotional skill, the careers of the Wild Men of Borneo took off and over the course of the next 25 years, the pair earned approximately $200,000, which was an enormous sum in that era, equivalent to $6,000,000 today. Their exhibitions primarily consisted of performing acts of great strength, such as lifting adult audience members and wrestling with both audience members and each other. They were said to be able to lift up to 300 pounds (140 kg) each

You can read their full background here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Men_of_Borneo

The rare cabinet card comes out of an old estate in southern Minnesota. The old photograph is estimated to be from the 1880s.

The sideshow cabinet card measures 3 3/4' tall and 2 3/4 wide. The card has wear from age but is in very good shape. Please see all pics as they are part of the description.

I ship FedEx to street addresses in the continental USA only (no PO Boxes). The card will be shipped in a hard plastic case. Free shipping on the rare sideshow relic.

These dudes woulda tore you up no matter how grizzled you think you are. Book it.