Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy, a key character in the new historical fantasy novel Addie’s Eyes, was a highly popular sideshow personality in the late 1800s. He toured Europe, the United States, and beyond, and at one point, he was making $1,000 a week—about $35,000 in 2025 dollars—per week! When he was very young, he was an annual attraction at several European touring fairs that became dependent  for their very solvency on the income he alone generated. 

So there was something special and appealing about this young man who was born with extra hair growing all over his body. We know that he loved children, spoke at least three languages, had a playful sense of humor, and loved books. Jo-Jo, his stage name, was given to him in 1884 by P. T. Barnum when he signed to tour the US with Barnum’s show. But, amazingly, we can’t even get a straight answer as to what Jo-Jo’s real name was!  Every reference article and clipping gives a different spelling or a different name altogether.  The best guess we have is that he was born near St. Petersburg, Russia, as Fedor Petroff. 

One source maintained that his mother was blind and his father was not around, so he became a ward of the Russian state. A man named Nicholas Foerster, an agent of the Czarist Russian government, took on the task of caring for the boy. This relationship lasted throughout Fedor’s life, and Foerster was instrumental in building Fedor’s notoriety.  But because of the carnival atmosphere surrounding them, the published tales of the boy’s origin became wildly fanciful in order to lure and please the crowds.  And Foerster certainly was little help in correcting such tales as he apparently stood to make a tidy profit from their touring enterprise.  Fedor didn’t seem to mind.  Foerster’s wife was also involved in his care so he was probably well treated and Fedor called Nicholas “Uncle Nick.” 

But this environment of ballyhoo has not been kind to the preservation of the true background and story of the life of Fedor / Jo-Jo. There is, however, a central document that nearly every writing about Jo-Jo seems to draw from, which purports to tell his story.  This “Rosetta Stone” document is the souvenir brochure that was given or sold to the public at Jo-Jo’s early US appearances with Barnum.  Jo-Jo would even autograph copies for his guests.  It’s a useful document, but it contains its own contradictions.  The first section is an “Introduction” by Nicholas Foerster (going by Foster on the cover).  It seems to be a verbatim transcription of a carnival barker’s spiel (a wonderful time capsule of the era).  However, as a barker’s pitch, it is suspect in its veracity.  But it is fascinating nonetheless. 

The remainder of the brochure contains newspaper reports from four different New York papers, whose reporters all attended the press event where Barnum introduced Fedor upon his arrival in America.  These are all similar, but with the variations you would expect from different writers, and some tantalizing bits of truth can be teased out in each of them.  All together, the various sections of the brochure give a clearer story of what might be true than any one of the sections separately.  

Unfortunately, any other published article based on this brochure only quotes small bits, which may or may not agree with the other sections and may not even be true.  In this instance, the whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts. And now you have the rare opportunity to read the entire historic piece for yourself! We are pleased to make available to you a free download of this fascinating antique brochure to give you some background on this complex character in anticipation of his upcoming appearance in Addie’s Eyes.  In addition you'll receive exclusive news, tidbits and deals about the book's release.