Hypertrichosis: Notes on the Cases of Fedor Jeftichew and Petrus Gonsalvus

Jo-Jo the Dog Faced Boy and Petrus Gonsalvus

 

 

I.

 

Reading about the life of St. Christopher - the dog-headed bearer of Christ - made me wonder what had happened to Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy; for despite having secured his place within the cultural imagination, it's ages since I last heard reference to him ... 

 

Fedor Jeftichew, better known by his professional name of Jo-Jo, was born in St. Petersburg in 1868, and was already a famous Russian sideshow performer before he was taken to the United States in 1884 by P. T. Barnum. 

 

Jo-Jo, like his father before him, suffered from hypertrichosis - a medical condition that results in an abnormal amount of hairgrowth either all over the body, or in localised areas. Although often a congenital condition, it can also be acquired later in life (so keep the clippers handy, 'cos you never know). 

 

Whilst, obviously, it can have negative consequences for the person afflicted, hypertrichosis does at least open up a career in showbiz; provided one is willing to accept being labelled a freak, like Jo-Jo, who was happy to tour extensively with the circus and play up to public expectations by barking and growling like a dog. (In reality, Jeftichew was a well-read individual who spoke several languages.)  

 

Sadly, Jo-Jo died from pneumonia, aged 36, in January 1904, whilst on tour in Greece. 

 

 

II.

 

Of course, not everyone born with a rare medical condition wishes to be considered a freak and accept life as a sideshow attraction. And the case of Petrus Gonsalvus (1537-1618) - aka the wild man of the woods - provides us with an example of someone who, despite their hypertrichosis, forged a highly successful (and relatively normal) life, even if never considered fully human by many of his contemporaries. 

 

For not only did Gonsalvus serve as a popular royal courtier in France (where he was raised from childhood by King Henry II and educated in the ways of a gentleman) and Italy (where he eventually settled), but he was also a happily married family man (despite four of his seven children being born on the excessively hairy side and thus subject to extensive medical inquiry and artistic interest). 

 

It is thought by some commentators that the story of Gonsalvus and his young French wife, Lady Catherine, may have partially inspired the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. Whilst I'm not convinced of this, what I can believe is that the Church refused to give Gonsalvus a decent Christian burial on the grounds that he was part-animal (just something else for Jesus and the angels to weep about).