Katharina Buczek
From Manager To Husband
At some point during Julia’s sideshow career, she also met a man named Lewis B. Lent. Lewis took an interest in her and decided to manage Julia– leading him to make exorbitant profits.
But, as Julia’s reputation grew, other businessmen, such as P.T. Barnum, started to seek her out. So, Lewis decided to marry Julia in order to secure her lucrative sideshow career for himself.
They officially tied the knot in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1855, but aside from Julia’s profitability, Lewis really did not care for her. She was afforded practically no rights within the relationship and was not even allowed outside during the daytime.
This was because, apparently, Lewis believed that Julia being seen in public would “diminish her earning power.”
Then, he also forced Julia to wear a veil whenever she went out during the night.
Still, Lewis went on to perpetuate lies about his happy marriage. In fact, he even distributed pamphlets claiming that Julia was “always cheerful and perfectly contented with her situation in life.”
Dehumanized
But that could not have been further from the truth since Julia’s entire existence was degraded and ostracized. On exhibition posters, she was advertised as a baboon, bear, or ape.
And sometimes, she was even just called “nondescript”– a term used to describe “strange animals and monsters from beyond the seas.”
On top of that, exhibitors capitalized on Julia’s Indigenous background and atypical facial features. Advertisements would exaggerate her facial features in a way that paralleled racist caricatures and imply that Julia was “the literal product of beasts.”
