Searching the Wellcome Collection, I came across this poster advertising the appearance of The Living Skeleton - Anatomie Vivante! - at the Chinese Saloon in Pall Mall, c.1825. It intrigued me. Was this animatronics or puppetry? No, it turned out to be much worse...

This ‘living skeleton’ was actually an emaciated man. He is described as 28 years old, and in good health, and ‘has from his birth resembled a skeleton, although he has attained an enlargement of bone equal to any of his age’. He could be viewed for 2s 6d.

It’s likely that this was Claude Ambroise Seurat, who came from Troyes in France. His dates are uncertain, but he was born in 1797 or 1798, and lived until at least 1833. Due to his low body weight, he ended up as a ‘freak show’ attraction. (Picture and news cutting: Wellcome)

It seems that Claude’s problem was swallowing - dysphasia - leading to him eating awoefully inadequate intake of food, generally nothing more than a bread roll and a bit of wine each day. This drawing of him is by Robert Cruikshank from during his time in England (Wellcome)

While in London he was examined by Astley Cooper, who described a number of skeletal conditions (likely congenital), and a major displacement of his heart, which could be seen visibly beating in his chest. There’s more information about this in the BMJ:

https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/303/6817/1594.full.pdf

The Lancet deplored the public’s desire to see Seurat, describing it as “ an indecent exposure of human suffering and degradation”. Seurat himself denied he was being exploited.

Back in France in 1826, he ended up in a travelling circus, and there he met the artist Goya, then in his 80s, who drew him. The drawing is now lost, and we don’t know what happened to Seurat after 1826. It seems such a sad story