Madame Tussauds London
Madame Tussauds London helps you get to know people from history or even your favorite movie star. Forming truly fantastic images of iconic figures requires enormous effort and time, and visitors to the British Wax Museum highly appreciate the exhibits. The institution has 23 branches in different cities.
The first sculptor
Madame Tussauds London is named after Anne Marie Tussaud, who was an accomplished wax sculptor who began working on her masterpieces from an early age. After her father's death, her mother worked with Philipp Curtius, an anatomist who ran a workshop in Bern. Curtius fell in love with young Marie and later became her guardian and mentor. It is believed that she created the initial sculpture of the writer and philosopher Francois Voltaire at age 16. Tussauds opened the museum in 1835 and it has remained a fantastic tourist destination ever since.
Creating a wax figure
The team working on the statues at Madame Tussauds in London spends about 4 months creating each model. The process is expensive and it is estimated that around £280,000 was invested into each figure. The wax replicas at Madame Tussauds are slightly larger than the real people due to the wax being able to melt. For this reason, the team tries to build them 2% larger than their real-life counterparts to account for their shrinkage.
Fight for property
Madame Tussauds London was the first museum to be established on London's famous Baker Street. However, it is now located on Marylebone Road, having moved in 1884. The museum changed hands several times. Interested parties have bought and sold the museum more than once; Dubai Capital bought the exhibits in 2005. The brand is now owned by the British entertainment company Merlin PLC.
World famous
Madame Tussauds in London is expensive: to buy the collection, you need to pay at least 1.9 billion dollars. The museum features many famous people from royalty to film stars. However, it also depicts historical figures and even criminals.
Madame Tussauds London famously housed a wax replica of Adolf Hitler, which was removed in 2016 after a widespread complaint. Similar museums in honor of Tussaud's are open all over the world, although its main exhibits are in London. You will find wax figures in China, Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Turkey, Canada, USA and Australia.
