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MIDGET BRIDE AND GROOM

Liliputians Fell in Love While Playing
at Coney Island and Wed

Council Bluffs, IA, December 26, 1905 – “Inez Lewis of
Council Bluffs, who is forty-two and one-half inches tall, and
who weighs forty-five pounds, yesterday became the wife of Jean
Bregant, an Austrian midget, forty-five inches tall and weighing
only sixty-six pounds.
“The romance, which culminated in the Christmas wedding,
is full of interest. Both Inez Lewis and Jean Bregant were playing
in vaudeville at Coney Island last summer. Curiously enough,
they both were at the Midget City opera house, and it was not
long before the acquaintance which sprung up between them
became serious.
“The bride is only eighteen years old, while Mr.
Bregant is thirty-five. The bride was born in Denver but Woodward Candy postcard, depicting the
has spent most of her life in the Bluffs. Her parents, Bregants by their scaled-down fireplace.
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Lewis, are both of normal size, and so The header: “A Quiet Evening At Home.”
were their ancestors, so far as known. Miss Lewis is their
only child. reaches the waist at the Bregants’. In the
“Jean Bregant, who was born in Styria, Austria, is also dining room, a specially constructed
the only midget of his family. His parents are of normal buffet/hutch boasts an interior mirror
size, and so are his brothers and sisters. He has been in perfectly situated for Inez to adjust her hat.
vaudeville for fifteen years, in which time he has played in A visitor of average height would find it
Berlin, St. Petersburg, Bucharest, Belgrade, Vienna, and all better suited for adjusting his belt.
the principal European cities. He played in New York last Of course, not every item in the home
summer, his first engagement in America. Mr. Bregant is a was Bregant-oriented. While some of the
linguist. Besides his native Slav, he speaks English, French, furnishings were built to scale, others were
and German.” of ordinary size. As Inez noted in a 1959
interview, “Some people think I furnish
Following their wedding, the newlyweds continued as my house entirely with small furniture. I
performers, including successful European tours in 1908 don’t. It would be foolish. I do quite a bit
and 1914. of entertaining, and all my friends are of
‘normal’ size.”
Choosing a The ex-vaudevillians lived contentedly
Happy Home in their made-to-order home, running
their grocery store, and “keeping their
Eventually, the duo On the road for Woodward: a
moved to Inez’s home town Bregant souvenir card promoting hand in” with occasional performances at
Woodward’s “pure sugar stick
local events. And then came re-discovery.
of Council Bluffs. There, the candy and real butter scotch.”
Bregants gave up show busi-
ness (for a time, anyway),
and settled into a new career
as grocers. Thanks to the
generosity of Inez’s parents
(who lived right next door),
they also settled into a
brand-new home: a made-
to-order “tiny house.” A
news article of the time
called the one-bedroom
Craftsman bungalow “one of
the prettiest and most
unique homes in the city.”
Set back from the street,
the Bregant abode could eas-
ily be mistaken for a child’s
playhouse. It’s wedged Jean and Inez Bregant, shortly
between two towering after their marriage, dressed
for a night on the town.
neighbors—a three-story
house on one side, and a
two-story duplex on the other. Although miniature in
size, it’s perfectly proportioned. Once inside, it’s quickly
evident that the residence was designed for the comfort
of its original owners. Reach for a light switch or a door
knob, and you’ll find it much lower than expected.
(Remember, the Bregants were both under 4 feet high.)
The fireplace mantel, shoulder-height in most homes, The Bregant house today.

20 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles