Tourists from all over the world travel to London to visit Madame Tussauds House of Wax Museum. However not many are aware of this womans claim to fame. With its beginnings set in the 1700, Madame Tussauds legend is set to carry on for centuries more. A sneak-peak into the evolution of a museum that has captivated the imagination of the intellectuals is interesting and yet hard to believe.
Madame Tussaud was born in Strasbourg with the maiden name of Marie Grosholtz. At sixteen years of age she modelled the great Francois Voltaire, author and philosopher. Her technique and skill beckon her to become the art tutor for King Louis’s sister in 1780 and she gets an invitation to live at the Royal court as guest to royalty in Versailles. Nine years later she comes to Paris. In 1793 she is imprisoned with her mother and forced to make death masks of nobles who have been executed, her former employees and that of the king and queen.
One year after the revolution ended Marie marries Francois Tussaud and inherits a wax exhibition from Dr Philippe Curtius. This is the beginning of a story that lasted for centuries. In 1802 Madam Tussaud took her exhibition on tour through the British Isles. A number of years passed and people took note of her talent and exhibition. In 1835 when her sons came of age, she set base in London’s Baker Street Bazaar.
Four years after Punch Magazine name the Separate Room, The Chamber of Horrors, Madame Tussaud dies in 1850. The exhibition was moved to its current site of Marylebone Road in 1884 by her grandsons. A fire destroyed the site in 1925 and just three years later it was built again with a restaurant and cinema attached. However, the destruction continued in 1940 when a WWW II bomb managed to destroy the cinema and 352 head moulds.
In 1993 the house of wax reopened completely new with a number of themed and interactive areas over and above the Chamber of Horrors. It was in the 90s that Madam Tussaud’s House of Wax grew to unprecedented bounds. The Planetarium with its imaginative and never seen before offering managed to captivate an audience with additions of comic relief like converting the planetarium dome into the biggest red nose the universe has ever seen.
Over the next few years various exhibitions like for the Top 100 people of the 20th century, an exhibition for wedding gowns of Princess Diana, Duchess of York and Countess of Wessex take it to international fame.
In 2000 Madame Tussaud’s House of Wax allows people to enter in a timely fashion if they book in advance. 2001 sees the opening of a glamorous new section Premier Night that is a celebration of Hollywood’s hottest stars. Ropes and poles that are a common feature in any museum are also removed so guests are allowed to freely move around and click pictures with the favourite stars.
Various sections have opened up since. Some celebrate, some celebrate star power and give you a sneak-peak into the party lives of Hollywood’s “A” list stars. The following is growing every year as stars from all over the world have started finding a place at the very much revered Madame Tussaud’s House of Wax.
Jack Wayne
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