Strobridge Litho Co.
Large, Dramatic Poster for Ludger Sylbaris "The Man Who Lived Through Doomsday", c. 1902
Color lithograph
29 1/4 x 38 3/4 inches
A dramatic Barnum and Bailey circus poster for Ludger Sylbaris: “The Only Living Object that Survived the ‘Silent City of Death’ where 40,000 Human Beings were Suffocated, Burned or Buried...
A dramatic Barnum and Bailey circus poster for Ludger Sylbaris: “The Only Living Object that Survived the ‘Silent City of Death’ where 40,000 Human Beings were Suffocated, Burned or Buried by One Belching Blast of Mont Pelee's Terrible Volcanic Eruption.”
The 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée on the island of Martinique was one of the deadliest volcanic eruptions in history. In May of 1902, a massive pyroclastic flow engulfed the town of Saint-Pierre, known as "the Paris of the Caribbean," totally destroying it. More than 28,000 inhabitants were killed, and only a handful survived, most of whom subsequently succumbed to their burns.
Ludger Sylbaris (Louis-Auguste Cyparis)The most famous survivor—often claimed to be the only survivor—lived because he had been imprisoned the previous night for brawling. As described in a 1903 account published in the Kingston Freeman:
“In an altercation with a rival In a rustic love affair, he struck his opponent, was arrested for assault, and, unable to pay his fine, was sent to the jail at St. Pierre. It was during his incarceration there that Mount Pelee broke loose. Without realizing what was going on in the outside world, Sylbaris found himself forsaken by the jailer and left to die of starvation. Then, as the lava and scoriae began to fall upon the old stone jail, the heat became unbearable, and for hours at a time the lonely prisoner fairly danced upon the stone floors to save himself from being roasted alive. There, when the worst of the eruption was over, good Pere Marie, the parish priest, found him. There was no necessity for legal proceedings to secure his release. Those who had committed him to jail were dead.”
His crime forgotten, Sylbaris was pardoned and, by now something of a global celebrity, he was engaged by Barnum and Bailey and promoted as "the man who lived through Doomsday" or "the Most Marvelous Man in the World."After several months of touring, Sylbaris was thrown out of the circus for repeatedly fighting with other staff while drunk and other such antics.
In 1903, the Brooklyn Daily Times ran an article about Sylbaris titled, “CIRCUS FREAK ESCAPED BUT LOVE WAS TOO STRONG…Only Survivor of St. Pierre Returned to Woo an Equistrienne.” The article claimed Sylbaris left his tent on Halsey Street, but quickly returned because he could not bear to be away from Helen Girard, a performer with the show.
He was eventually expelled from the United Stated and he later moved to Panama, working on the construction of the Panama Canal and lived there until his death of natural causes in 1929.
The 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée on the island of Martinique was one of the deadliest volcanic eruptions in history. In May of 1902, a massive pyroclastic flow engulfed the town of Saint-Pierre, known as "the Paris of the Caribbean," totally destroying it. More than 28,000 inhabitants were killed, and only a handful survived, most of whom subsequently succumbed to their burns.
Ludger Sylbaris (Louis-Auguste Cyparis)The most famous survivor—often claimed to be the only survivor—lived because he had been imprisoned the previous night for brawling. As described in a 1903 account published in the Kingston Freeman:
“In an altercation with a rival In a rustic love affair, he struck his opponent, was arrested for assault, and, unable to pay his fine, was sent to the jail at St. Pierre. It was during his incarceration there that Mount Pelee broke loose. Without realizing what was going on in the outside world, Sylbaris found himself forsaken by the jailer and left to die of starvation. Then, as the lava and scoriae began to fall upon the old stone jail, the heat became unbearable, and for hours at a time the lonely prisoner fairly danced upon the stone floors to save himself from being roasted alive. There, when the worst of the eruption was over, good Pere Marie, the parish priest, found him. There was no necessity for legal proceedings to secure his release. Those who had committed him to jail were dead.”
His crime forgotten, Sylbaris was pardoned and, by now something of a global celebrity, he was engaged by Barnum and Bailey and promoted as "the man who lived through Doomsday" or "the Most Marvelous Man in the World."After several months of touring, Sylbaris was thrown out of the circus for repeatedly fighting with other staff while drunk and other such antics.
In 1903, the Brooklyn Daily Times ran an article about Sylbaris titled, “CIRCUS FREAK ESCAPED BUT LOVE WAS TOO STRONG…Only Survivor of St. Pierre Returned to Woo an Equistrienne.” The article claimed Sylbaris left his tent on Halsey Street, but quickly returned because he could not bear to be away from Helen Girard, a performer with the show.
He was eventually expelled from the United Stated and he later moved to Panama, working on the construction of the Panama Canal and lived there until his death of natural causes in 1929.