Mrs Salmon's waxworks

Before Madame Tussaud arrived in London, there was Mrs Salmon's waxworks.
In 1711 it occupied six rooms at the Sign of the Golden Ball in St Martin's Le Grand, and was relocated the north side of Fleet Street where it remained until 1795 when it moved across the road to number 17 Fleet Street, now Prince Henry's Room.

Originally run by Mr Salmon, his wife continued it alone after his death in 1718 until her own death. Described in a handbill published soon after its move to Fleet Street, the exhibitions were said to include a scene of King Charles I upon the scaffold, another of Queen Boudicea, and more exotic tableaux including one showing Canaannite ladies offering their children in sacrifice to the god Moloch, another of a Turkish seraglio, and another of Margaret, Countess of Heningbergh with the 365 children she is said to have given birth to, all at once!. There was also a mechanised figure of the "famous English prophetess" Old Mother Shipton, who is said to have given a boot to visitors as they left.

It remained at the site until 1816, when they were taken over by a Chancery Lane surgeon named Clarke after Mrs Salmon's death. Famous visitors included, James Boswell, William Hogarth, and were mentioned by Charles Dickens in his book, « David Copperfield ».