Harvey Leach, ‘The Gnome Fly’ as ‘What Is It?’ at the Egyptian Hall

This page from ‘Rare Bits’ describes events that took place in the 1830s and 1840s in London. The story is bizarre and, as is common with such stories, there is more than one version. What is not in doubt is that Harvey Leach, also known as Hervio Nano, was displayed as a dangerous new species of wild animal at the Egyptian Hall in 1846 before being exposed as a human. Leach’s story may be found on the web, and Ricky Jay devotes a whole chapter to him in his book ‘Jay’s Journal of Anomalies’ first published in 2001 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This is one of the items contained in a wooden box of 19th century ephemera, mainly relating to the Egyptian Hall. To view all the items from the box, click on View Details and then the Key Phrase ‘Wooden box items’.