Unraveling the mysteries behind America’s Shrunken Head craze
Beginning sometime in the 1930’s, America had a fascination with “Shrunken Heads.” Spurred by stories from pop culture adventurers like Robert Ripley, who published the wildly popular “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” and Lewis Cotlow, who made anthropological exploitation films like “Savage Splendor” and “Jungle Head-Hunters,” Shrunken Heads became a national obsession.
Even toy manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon, evidenced by this insanely awesome TV spot from the late 60s for Pressman’s Witch Dr. Head Shrinkers Kit - “Now, Shrunken Heads for ALL OCCASIONS! Collect ‘em, swap ‘em, trade ‘em with your witch doctor friends, you can always cook up more!”
Museum curators went on a Shrunken Head buying spree, creating a market demand for these oddities which was happily filled by Shrunken Head purveyors like Gustav Struve, the subject of a great article in this month’s Outsider Magazine: http://bit.ly/rP4G0Z
While most of the shrunken heads purchased and displayed by museums and collectors have been proven fake, the myths and stories spun by those adventurers and amateur anthropologists continues to drive demand for these fake “tsantsas,” Pick one up for your home decorating needs cheap!
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