Positivity About Disability Is Not What it Used To Be

 

This is a picture of Black John Of Tetcott. Black John was dwarf and  a hunchback, being under four foot tall. I am sure he would be seen as 'disabled' in the 21st century. But in his time he many party tricks in his role as jester which included swallowing and retrieving strings of live mice and mumbling sparrows - removing their feathers with his teeth while the sparrow was in his mouth. Also known as James Northcote, he was a painter, was born in Plymouth, the son of a watchmaker and optician. Disability awareness has shifted somewhat since 1770s and 1780s-and not as often as we'd like for the better. From here.