Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was set up by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud. It was formerly spelt "Madame Tussaud's", but the apostrophe is no longer used.
Marie Tussaud, born Anna Maria Grosholtz (1761–1850) was born in Strasbourg, France. Her mother worked as a housekeeper for Dr. Philippe Curtius, who was a physician skilled in wax modelling. Curtius taught Tussaud the art of wax modelling....
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Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was set up by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud. It was formerly spelt "Madame Tussaud's", but the apostrophe is no longer used.
Marie Tussaud, born Anna Maria Grosholtz (1761–1850) was born in Strasbourg, France. Her mother worked as a housekeeper for Dr. Philippe Curtius, who was a physician skilled in wax modelling. Curtius taught Tussaud the art of wax modelling. In 1765, Curtius made a waxwork of Marie-Jeanne du Barry, Louis XV's mistress. A cast of that mould is the oldest work currently on display. The first exhibition of Curtius' waxworks was shown in 1770, and attracted a large audience. The exhibition moved to the Palais Royal in Paris in 1776. He opened a second location on Boulevard du Temple in 1782, the "Caverne des Grands Voleurs", a precursor to the later Chamber of Horrors.
Tussaud created her first wax figure, of Voltaire, in 1777. Other famous people she modelled at that time include...
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