vintage and contemporary postcards and stamps from around the world


10 May 2014

Quints

These five sisters, born during the Depression, were the first quintuplets to survive infancy. The girls were taken from their poor French Canadian family by the government who feared exploitation but then exploited them anyway. They soon became a huge tourist attraction and thousands of people travelled to the Northern Ontario town of Callander to see them playing through a one way screen at the hospital across the road from their family home. Meticulous records were kept of their progress as they were studied, tested and examined over the nine years they lived in the hospital. Although they themselves had limited exposure to the outside world, the girls were featured on anything and everything that could have their image plastered on it. Only two of the Dionne sisters - Annette and Cécile - are still living and will be 80 years old on May 28th.

Sepia Saturday

12 comments:

Jofeath said...

How sad that these dear little girls were treated that way because being quintuplets was such a rarity, but at least they don't look too unhappy in that photograph, and hopefully it didn't damage them in the long term, although that might be wishful thinking.

violet s said...

yes, that might be wishful thinking. their relationship with the rest of the family was forever strained and they were left quite bitter by the experience.

Kristin said...

Sounds like a horrible way to grow up.

Postcardy said...

It is sad that they were exploited, but conditions probably would have been worse for them living with poor parents.

Alex Daw said...

An interesting choice for this week's theme. Made me think.

Barbara Rogers said...

Thanks for sharing pic of the Quints. I remember hearing about them all my childhood, and being amazed that one mother had that many babies at once. I know their pictures were often in the Weekly Reader of our school.

La Nightingail said...

I remember the Dionne quintuplets being a big deal as they were growing up. But I have also read articles about how unhappy their adult lives were in regard to their notoriety which is a shame. My brother dated one of identical triplets at one time & had a terrible time telling them apart. I asked him once if they ever played tricks on him by trading places but he just laughed & said he had no idea. Fortunately he only dated the one (or all three- who knew?) for a short time.

Anonymous said...

I had completely forgotten about these girls and was amazed to read that they spent their first nine years in the hospital. A unqiue choice for this week's theme

Boobook said...

Wow. I'm amazed the parents agreed to all of that but maybe they needed the financial and practical assistance.

Jackie van Bergen said...

Imagine the chaos of the girls - who would share a room, fighting over space, and mess, and spots at the table!

Little Nell said...

I remember hearing this story over the years and it never fails to anger me that they were removed form their parents because the state thought they knew better.

Tattered and Lost said...

The story of those girls is so very sad. The media destroyed them. If people hadn't bought into it and it hadn't sold so much junk…well we might not be looking at a fight in an elevator between celebrities who have nothing to do with our lives. The insatiable thirst to fill our lives with someone else's sorrow.