Mrs Tussauds
Mrs Tussauds is the name of the founded Musée of wax in 1835 with London by Marie Tussaud.
Museums Mrs Tussauds exist from now on with London, Amsterdam, HongKong, Las Vegas, Shanghai and New York.
The group envisages to open other sites of which Hollywood and Washington, D.C.
History
Birth
Marie Tussaud (1761 - 1850) born in France with Strasbourg followed his/her mother, become widowed during her pregnancy, with Bern where she worked like cleaning lady for Philippe Curtius a doctor reconverted as a artist-sculptor. The doctor took the young girl under his wing and formed it with the wax sculpture. Curtius was called at the court of France and carried out in 1765 a portrait of Marie-Jeanne of Barry, mistress of Louis XV. The doctor made come Marie and his/her mother in 1767 and employed it in her many achievements out of wax of which its first exposure in 1770, which because of its success moved in 1776 with the Palais Royal. In 1782, it opens one second named exposure the " Cave of Large Voleurs" on the Boulevard of the Temple, it is the precursor of the room of the horrors.
Marie Tussaud carried out her own figures as from 1777 with that of Voltaire, followed in 1778 by Jean-Jacques Rousseau then Benjamin Franklin.
Marie will be taken in the tumult of the French revolution. She will be condemned to the guillotine for her relationships to the nobility but is pardoned for her talents. She is then employed to carry out the death masks of decapitated, of which some of his/her friends. Curtius bequeaths to its death in 1794 its collection of figures out of wax with Marie. Marie Marie in 1795 with François Tussaud and gives him two wire. With the introduction of the Peace of Amiens in 1802, it leaves with his/her oldest son (4 years age) in England to present its collection. But in 1805 the war of the Third coalition, blocks Marie in England. It then continues its itinerant presentations through the Great Britain and the Ireland.
The second wire of Marie joined it in 1822, benefitting from a relaxation of the tensions. In 1835, Marie decides sédentariser her collection and opens on Baker Street with London the Baker Street Bazaar .
One of principal attractions of this museum was the Chambre of the horrors, which introduced in two parts the victims of the French revolution and the murderers. The name of this section was given in 1845 by a contributor of the magazine Punch . Other personalities were to add to the exposure like Horatio Nelson and Walter Scott. In 1842, Marie carried out a self-portrait which is still presented to the entry of the museum. Marie died in 1850 at the 88 years age.
A true tourist attraction
The museum moved in 1884 towards its current site on Marylebone Road.In 1925, a fire destroyed many figurines but the moulds had been saved and of many portraits of historical characters were run up. In 1926, the company Tussauds Group is founded to manage the museum Mrs Tussauds.
The wax museum took importance and became a major tourist site of London, including the Planétarium of London, located in the western wing of the building.
During years the museum opened several other sites apart from London of which Amsterdam, Las Vegas, New York, HongKong and Copenhagen. The museums took the name of Mrs Tussauds (without apostrophe) and controlled by the Tussauds Group.
In 1978, the Tussauds group, whose only possessions were the museums Mrs Tussauds, is made repurchase by S. Pearson and Its , become then Pearson PLC. Various acquisitions are then carried out until the purchase of the park Alton Towers in 1990.
In 2005, the funds of investment Dubai International Capital bought Tussauds Group for 1,5 billion $ with Charterhouse Capital Partners (£800 million books). In 2006, the Tussauds group announced that the museum of London was going to increase by transforming the joint planetarium into an auditorium presenting a spectacle designed by the studio Aardman Animations.
In March 2007, the group was bought for 1 billion books by Merlin Entertainments, mainly held by the funds of investment Blackstone Group. The same month, the museum of London accommodates the effigy of the actor Daniel Radcliffe, who becomes at 18 years the youngest artist to have his wax statue at Mrs Tussauds.
Other museums
-
open Las Vegas in 1999.
- HongKong China open in 2000.
- New York open in November 2000.
- open Shanghai China in 2006.
- Washington DC (opening October 2007)
Wax figures
See also: List of the wax figures of the museums Mrs Tussauds
Trivia
Mrs Tussauds is x-ray the off Steve Taylor 'S song “Meltdown (At Mrs Tussaud' S)” in which the song talks butt someone turning up the Thermostat (and claims it never did work) and causing the wax figures to melt.
With figure off Shah Rukh Khan will Be created and will Be placed in London
Figures off Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Richard Petty will Be unveiled At the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2007 and then placed in Las Vegas -->
See too
- the Comics Terror by Merry Rene and Andre-Paul Duchâteau
- Mrs Tussaud' S memoirs and reminiscences off France , by Marie Tussaud , ED. by F. Herve , London 1838.
- History off Mrs Tussauds. List off dates in Marie Tussauds life, maintained by the museum.
- Waxing Revolutionary: Reflections there is raid one has waxworks At the outbreak off the French revolution, by David McCallam, French History, flight 16, No 2 .
- Mrs Tussauds HongKong