Editing Madame Tussauds (section)

==History==

===Background===
[[Marie Tussaud]] was born as Marie Grosholtz in 1761 in [[Strasbourg]], France. Her mother worked for [[Philippe Curtius]] in [[Bern]], Switzerland; he was a physician skilled in [[wax model]]ling. Curtius taught Tussaud the art of wax modelling when she was a child; when he moved to Paris, Marie and her mother followed.<ref name=denton>{{cite web|url=https://thelegendsoflondon.wordpress.com/2012/05/26/the-baker-street-bazaar/|title=The Baker Street Bazaar|date=26 May 2012}}</ref> Grosholtz created her first [[wax sculpture]], of [[Voltaire]], in 1777.<ref>{{cite web|last=Du Plessis |first=Amelia |title=England—Madame Tussauds |url=http://www.england.org.za/madame-tussauds.php |publisher=Informational site about England |access-date=12 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111213062041/http://www.england.org.za/madame-tussauds.php |archive-date=13 December 2011}}</ref> At 17, according to her memoirs, she became art tutor to Madame Elizabeth, the sister of King [[Louis XVI]]. During the [[French Revolution]], she was imprisoned for three months, but was subsequently released.<ref name=denton/> During the Revolution, she made models of many prominent victims.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Marie_Tussaud.aspx|title=Marie Tussaud Facts, information, pictures {{!}} Encyclopedia.com articles about Marie Tussaud|website=Encyclopedia.com |access-date=28 March 2016}}</ref>

{{multiple image|align=right
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Grosholtz inherited Curtius' vast collection of wax models following his death in 1794. For the next 33 years, she travelled around Europe with a touring show from the collection. She married Francois Tussaud in 1795, took his surname, and renamed her show as Madame Tussaud's. In 1802, she accepted an invitation from [[Magic lantern|lantern]] and [[phantasmagoria]] pioneer [[Paul Philidor]] to exhibit her work alongside his show at the [[Lyceum Theatre, London|Lyceum Theatre]], London. A wave of creativity was in vogue in London the year Tussaud arrived in the city, with new [[West End theatre|West End]] stage plays which included the first to be called a melodrama, the first appearance of [[Joseph Grimaldi]] in his [[Clown#History|whiteface]] clown character, and poet [[William Wordsworth]]'s poem "[[Composed upon Westminster Bridge, 3 September 1802]]" describing London and the Thames.<ref name="Walton">{{cite book |last1=Walton |first1=Geri |title=Madame Tussaud Her Life and Legacy |date=2019 |publisher=Pen & Sword Books |chapter=Chapter 15, page 1}}</ref> Adding her own creativity to the mix, Tussaud brought with her all her death masks, wax faces and busts.<ref name="Walton"/> Complaining that Philidor failed to promote her, Tussaud then decided to go into business alone.<ref>{{cite news |title=How Madame Tussaud built her house of wax |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-culture/2018/10/how-madame-tussaud-built-her-house-of-wax |access-date=9 April 2024 |publisher=National Geographic}}</ref>

Unable to return to France because of the [[Napoleonic Wars]], she travelled throughout [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain and Ireland]] exhibiting her collection and made her home in London. From 1831, she took a series of short leases on the upper floor of "Baker Street Bazaar" (on the west side of [[Baker Street]], Dorset Street, and King Street in London).<ref>Pilbeam (2006) pp. 102–106</ref> This site was later featured in the [[Druce-Portland case]] sequence of trials of 1898–1907. This became Tussaud's first permanent home in 1836.<ref>Pilbeam (2006) pp. 100–104</ref>

===Origins===
[[File:Madame Tussaud affiche 1835.jpg|thumb|Poster for the Tussaud wax figures exhibition, [[Baker Street]], London, 1835]]
By 1835, Marie Tussaud had settled down in Baker Street and opened a museum.<ref name="History">[http://www.madametussauds.com/london/about/history/default.aspx "The History of Madame Tussauds"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013114506/http://www.madametussauds.com/London/About/History/Default.aspx |date=13 October 2013}}. Madame Tussauds.com.</ref> One of its main attractions was the [[Chamber of Horrors (Madame Tussauds)|Chamber of Horrors]]. The name is often credited to a contributor to ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' in 1845, but Tussaud appears to have originated it herself, using it in advertising as early as 1843.<ref name="Berridge">{{cite book |last=Berridge |first=Kate |title=Madame Tussaud: A life in wax |url=https://archive.org/details/madametussaud00kate |publisher=HarperCollins |location=New York |year=2006 |page=4 |isbn=978-0-06-052847-8}}</ref> On its impact on the public, Oliver Smith of ''The Telegraph'' writes, "Londoners flocked to see the likes of [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Nelson]] and Sir [[Walter Scott]], but the highlight was undoubtedly the Chamber of Horrors, where Tussaud displayed models of murderers."<ref name="Telegraph"/> Other famous people were added to the museum, including the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]], [[Henry VIII]], and [[Queen Victoria]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Timbs |first1=John |title=Curiosities of London: Exhibiting the Most Rare and Remarkable Objects of Interest in the Metropolis, with Nearly Sixty Years' Personal Recollections |date=1868 |publisher=Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer |page=819}}</ref> 

The early commercial success of Madame Tussaud's saw it establish itself as a brand, and the museum became a pioneer in innovating various forms of publicity when the advertising industry was in its infancy.<ref name="Berridge"/> The Hall of Fame attraction exerted great influence among the public of Victorian London, and inclusion in it was definitive proof one had attained celebrity status.<ref name="Berridge"/>

{{Quote|In these days, no one can be considered positively popular, unless he is admitted into the company of Madame Tussaud's [[celebrities]] in Baker Street. The only way in which a powerful and lasting impression can be made on the public mind, is through the medium of wax. You must be a doll in Baker Street before you can become the I-dol(l) of the multitude. Madame Tussaud has become, in fact, the only dispenser of permanent reputation.|"The Tussaud Test of Popularity", ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'', 1849.<ref name="Berridge"/>}}

[[File:Street Advertising (5795814747).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Advertising man pasting a bill for Madame Tussaud's [[Chamber of Horrors (Madame Tussauds)|Chamber of Horrors]], London, 1877]]

Other businesses in Baker Street profited from being within close proximity to Madame Tussaud's, and in 1860, [[Charles Dickens]] hailed the museum as one of London's most popular entertainments, writing in ''[[All the Year Round]]'': "Madame Tussaud's is something more than an exhibition, it is an institution".<ref>{{cite book |title=All the Year Round Volume 2 |date=1860 |publisher=Charles Dickens |page=250}}</ref> A waxwork of Dickens appeared at the museum in 1873, three years after his death.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Litvack |first1=Leon |last2=Vanfasse |first2=Nathalie |title=Reading Dickens Differently |date=2020 |publisher=Wiley |page=213}}</ref> Some sculptures still exist that were made by Marie Tussaud herself. The gallery originally contained some 400 different figures, but fire damage in 1925 coupled with bombs during [[the Blitz]] on London in 1941, severely damaged most of such older models. The casts themselves have survived, allowing the historical waxworks to be remade, and these can be seen in the museum's history exhibit. The oldest figure on display is that of [[Madame du Barry]], the work of Curtius from 1765 and part of the waxworks left to Grosholtz at his death. Other faces from the time of Tussaud include [[Robespierre]] and [[George III]].<ref name="Telegraph"/> In 1842, she made a [[self-portrait]], which is now on display at the entrance of her museum. She died in her sleep in London on 16 April 1850.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Scott|title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOHgDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA762|access-date=30 November 2017|date=16 September 2016|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476625997|page=762}}</ref> 

[[File:'Madame Tussauds' in London..jpg|thumb|right|Entrance sign in London]]
By 1883, the restricted space and rising cost of the Baker Street site prompted her grandson Joseph Randall to commission construction of a building at the museum's current location on [[Marylebone Road]]. The new exhibition galleries were opened on 14 July 1884 and were a great success.<ref>Pilbeam, ''ibid''. pp. 166, 168–9.</ref> But Randall had bought out his cousin Louisa's half-share in the business in 1881, and that plus the building costs resulted in his having too little capital. He formed a limited company in 1888 to attract fresh capital but it had to be dissolved after disagreements between the family shareholders. In February 1889, Tussaud's was sold to a group of businessmen led by Edwin Josiah Poyser.<ref>Pilbeam, ''ibid''. p. 170.</ref> Tussaud's great-grandson, [[John Theodore Tussaud]], continued in his role as the museum's manager and chief artist.<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news |title=In pictures: The curious history of Madame Tussauds |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/madame-tussauds-history-in-pictures/ |access-date=11 April 2024 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> The first wax sculpture of a young [[Winston Churchill]] was made in 1908; a total of ten have been made since.<ref>Pamela Pilbeam ''Madame Tussaud: And the History of Waxworks''. P.199.</ref>

===Expansion===
[[File:Madame Tussaud's Ltd 1949.JPG|thumb|upright=0.8|First Mortgage Debenture Stock of Madame Tussaud's Ltd., issued 15 September 1949]]

In 1926, Madame Tussauds became a limited company. In 1949, the company issued a First Mortgage Debenture Stock with Sir [[Arthur Marshall (British politician)|Arthur Marshall]] among the signatories. In the 1960s, Tussauds was looking to expand beyond the UK and in 1970 opened their first international exhibition in Amsterdam.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Madame-Tussauds-to-open-shop-in-Delhi/articleshow/49763438.cms|title=Madame Tussauds' to open shop in Delhi |website=[[The Times of India]]|date=13 November 2015 }}</ref> In 1978, Madame Tussauds was acquired by S. Pearson and Son, now [[Pearson plc]]. The company had been seeking to expand beyond their own attractions before acquiring the group. Chessington Zoo (now [[Chessington World of Adventures]]) in southwest London was already owned by Pearson and it became a Tussauds attraction after the buyout. In 1989, the company opened [[Rock Circus|Madame Tussaud's Rock Circus]], an exhibition held at the [[London Pavilion]] celebrating the history of rock and pop music featuring its major figures recreated in wax.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Waxing Enthusiastic Over Tussaud's Rock 'n' Roll Circus : Nostalgia: Opened less than a year ago in London, the rock museum features robotic figures of rock stars sculpted in wax. Each exhibit is accompanied by music and comment.|url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-04-ca-1181-story.html|newspaper = Los Angeles Times|date = 4 August 1990|access-date = 20 March 2025}}</ref> In 1997, the museum in London attracted 2.79 million visitors, more than the [[Tower of London]].<ref name="Pearson"/> In 1999, the company opened its first US site in Las Vegas. Its success led the company to look for another exhibition location in the US, with the New York site opening the following year.<ref>{{cite news |title=Famous Faces, All in Wax |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/12/travel/famous-faces-all-in-wax.html |access-date=20 March 2025 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> In 1999, after being part of Pearson for twenty years, Charterhouse Development Capital acquired the group. The new company bought in new management and sought to increase profits whilst continuing the company's growth.<ref name="Pearson">{{cite news |title=No more fun and games for Pearson |url=https://www.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/196440.stm |access-date=20 March 2025 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> In 2000, the [[London Eye]] launched, in which Tussauds had a 33% stake, and managed by Tussauds the site soon became one of the UK's most popular attractions.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tussauds to buy BA stake in London Eye |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/tussauds-to-buy-ba-stake-in-london-eye-1.1184679 |access-date=20 March 2025 |work=Irish Times}}</ref>

In 2005, Madame Tussauds was sold to a company in Dubai, [[Dubai International Capital]], for £800m (US$1.5bn). In May 2007, [[The Blackstone Group]] purchased [[The Tussauds Group]] from then-owner Dubai International Capital for US$1.9&nbsp;billion;<ref name="auto">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/05/AR2007030501369.html|title=Blackstone Buys Madame Tussauds Chain|first=David|last=Cho|date=6 March 2007|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> the company was merged with Blackstone's [[Merlin Entertainments]] and operation of Madame Tussauds was taken over by Merlin.<ref name="auto"/><ref name="telegraph.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2812377/Merlin-conjures-up-leaseback-deal.html|title=Merlin conjures up leaseback deal|date=17 July 2007|work=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> After the Tussauds acquisition, Dubai International Capital gained 20% of Merlin Entertainment.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6419019.stm |work=BBC News| title=Tussauds firm bought in £1bn deal | date=5 March 2007}}</ref> On 17 July 2007, as part of the financing for the Tussauds deal, Merlin sold the freehold of Madame Tussauds to private investor [[Nick Leslau]] and his investment firm Prestbury under a sale and leaseback agreement.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6902797.stm |work=BBC News| title=Alton Towers sold in £622m deal | date=17 July 2007 | access-date=12 May 2010}}</ref> Although the attraction sites are owned by Prestbury, they are operated by Merlin based on a renewable 35-year lease.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/>

===Recent status===
[[File:Madame Tussauds London - panoramio.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Madame Tussauds logo (spelt without the apostrophe) next to a waxwork of [[Kate Winslet]] in London]]
Madame Tussaud's wax museum has been a major [[tourist attraction]] in London since it opened in the 1830s, an era viewed as being when the city's tourism industry began.<ref name="tourism">{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Andrew |last2=Graham |first2=Anne |title=Destination London. The Expansion of the Visitor Economy |date=2019 |publisher=University of Westminster Press |page=6|quote=Whilst London's appeal is based on historical attractions that date back to Roman times, the city's tourism 'industry' arguably dates back to the nineteenth century. In the period 1820–1840 new facilities were established that still provide the backbone of the city's tourism sector: iconic attractions (London Zoo, Madame Tussauds), leisure settings...}}</ref> In 2006 it incorporated the [[London Planetarium]] to its west wing. A large animated [[dark ride]], ''The Spirit of London'', opened in 1993. Today's wax figures at Tussauds include historical and royal figures, film stars, sports stars, and famous murderers. It has been known since 2007 as "Madame Tussauds" museums (no apostrophe).<ref>{{cite news |title=10 Things You Might Not Know About Madame Tussauds Wax Museum |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/25496/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-madame-tussauds-wax-museum |access-date=15 May 2021 |website=Mental Floss}}</ref> In 2009, a {{convert|5+1/2|in|cm}} waxwork of [[Tinker Bell]] (the fairy from [[J. M. Barrie]]'s ''[[Peter and Wendy|Peter Pan]]'') became the museum's smallest figure of all time when it was unveiled in London.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tinker Bell Immortalized at Madame Tussauds |url=https://www.awn.com/news/tinker-bell-immortalized-madame-tussauds|work=AWN |access-date=15 July 2023}}</ref>

In July 2008, Madame Tussauds' Berlin branch became embroiled in controversy when a 41-year-old German man brushed past two guards and decapitated a wax figure depicting [[Adolf Hitler]]. This was believed to be an act of protest against showing the ruthless dictator alongside sports heroes, movie stars, and other historical figures. The statue has since been repaired, and the perpetrator has admitted that he attacked the statue to win a bet.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.meeja.com.au/index.php?display_article_id=211|title = Adolf Hitler returns to Berlin museum after beheading |publisher = meeja.com.au |date = 14 September 2008|access-date = 14 September 2008|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919112006/http://www.meeja.com.au/index.php?display_article_id=211|archive-date = 19 September 2008|df = dmy-all}}</ref> The original model of Hitler was unveiled in Madame Tussauds London in April 1933; it was frequently vandalised and a 1936 replacement had to be carefully guarded.<ref>Pilbeam, ''ibid''. p. 199.</ref><ref>{{cite news|title = Madame Tussauds to repair beheaded Hitler|agency = Associated Press|date = 7 July 2008|url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25540602|access-date = 7 July 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Man rips head from Hitler wax figure |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN0547926220080705?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews |work=[[Reuters]] |first=Paul |last=Carrel |date=5 July 2008}}</ref> In January 2016, the statue of Hitler was removed from the Chamber of Horrors section in the London museum in response to an open letter sent by a staff writer of ''[[The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles]]'', followed by significant support for its removal from social media.<ref name=jjmadameremoved>{{cite news|last1=Gur-Arieh|first1=Noga|title=Madame Tussauds Museum in London Removed Hitler Figure|url=https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/blogs/180500/madame-tussauds-museum-london-removed-hitler-figure/|access-date=14 June 2021|work=The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles|date=6 January 2016}}</ref>

The first Madame Tussauds in India opened in New Delhi on 1 December 2017. Its operator, Merlin Entertainments, planned an investment of 50 million pounds over the next 10 years.<ref>[https://www.madametussauds.com/delhi/en/events-and-media/first-look/]: "Madame Tussauds (no longer an apostrophe)."</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Madame Tussauds debuts in Delhi|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-42193531|work=BBC News|access-date=1 December 2017|date=1 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Madame Tussauds Delhi to officially open for public on December 1|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/madame-tussaud-delhi-india-wax-museum-4961748/|website=The Indian Express|access-date=1 December 2017|date=30 November 2017}}</ref> It features over 50 wax models, including political and entertainment figures such as [[Ariana Grande]], [[Amitabh Bachchan]], [[Salman Khan]], [[Katrina Kaif]], [[Sachin Tendulkar]], [[Kim Kardashian]], [[Tom Cruise]], [[Leonardo DiCaprio]], [[Scarlett Johansson]], [[Angelina Jolie]], [[Asha Bhosle]], [[Kapil Dev]], and [[Mary Kom]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/miscellaneous/take-a-sneak-peek-into-indias-first-madame-tussauds-in-delhi/wax-figure-of-pm-narendra-modi/slideshow/61262357.cms|title=Take a sneak peek into India's first Madame Tussauds in Delhi – Wax figure of PM Narendra Modi|website=The Economic Times}}</ref> On 30 December 2020, the holding company of Madame Tussauds in Delhi confirmed a temporary shutdown of the museum.<ref>{{Cite web|date=30 December 2020|title=Wax museum feels Delhi heat, Madame Tussauds shuts|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/wax-museum-feels-delhi-heat-madame-tussauds-shuts-7125525/|access-date=31 December 2020|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}</ref> It reopened in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/madame-tussauds-to-reopen-in-delhi-in-2022-to-offer-discount-for-covid-warriors-jabbed-visitors-3770771.html|title=Madame Tussauds to Reopen in Delhi in 2022, to Offer Discount for Covid Warriors, Jabbed Visitors|date=24 May 2021}}</ref>