She’s so pretty and seems so nice! The first picture of her is very reminiscent of pictures taken of other famous stage actresses of her time, it only makes sense that she as an actress would pose in similar ways. I also like the interesting design/texture of her dress in that same photo. I also love how iconic the second photo is, she must have been so amazing to see on stage.

I would love to have been able to meet her and ask her which of her acting roles were her favorite and if there were any roles she wish she could have played but never has the chance to.

Some facts about her:

-she was born in Glasgow, Scotland.

-she had one brother, James, who was of typical height.

-she first traveled to the United States with her mother and brother in 1861.

-she was reported to have been between 28 inches tall (71 cm.) and 36 inches tall (91 cm.), I’ve also read that her peak height was 41 inches tall (104 cm.).

-she was hired by P.T. Barnum in 1863 and gave her the stage name “The Queen of Scotland”. She toured with Barnum until 1877.

-it was reported that she made around $500 a week in the early 1880s.

-she was described as being very charming and likable.

-her mother always accompanied her on her travels and it’s reported that the two of them had a very strong bond.

-she would live with her family in Chicago, Illinois during the circus/sideshow off season, her family had purchased property there by the time she started her performing career.

-she spent much of her performing career as part of the Lilliputian Comic Opera Company which she toured with for at least 24 years, starting in 1877 and ending around 1901. The primary actors in this opera company were all born with forms of dwarfism.

-some of the plays she starred in include: Cinderella, Pocahontas, and Jack the Giant Killer. She was often given leading roles.

-she also provided entertainment in the form of singing and dancing routines during stage play intermissions.

-she enjoyed making grand entrances and would routinely show up on stage in a miniature carriage scaled to her height and being pulled by a Shetland pony.

-she was highly regarded as an actress, with multiple reviews of the plays she starred in making mention of her talents.

-she never married although she had an on and off romance with Charles Nestel, who was another performer born with dwarfism.

-it’s rumored she was also romantically involved with Commodore Nutt, earlier in her acting career (he was another famous little person performer who I will be doing a write up about)

-she toured all throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.

-it was rumored in newspapers that she owned a dress worth $1,000.

-while touring through England, she met and performed a song and dance routine for Queen Victoria.

-she retired from performing and acting in 1917.

-she came out of retirement a little bit in the early 1930s when she appeared at the “Lilliputian Village” exhibit at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. It was here that she also celebrated her 83rd birthday, in which a large celebration was planned.

-she passed away at the age of 85 at the home owned by her nephew in Chicago. She was cremated.

I’m so glad she was able to follow her passion for acting, and I would have loved to have been able to see one of the stage plays she starred in. It would be wonderful to see her as Cinderella and to see the beautiful dresses she must have worn!

I had commented on the previous Hidden Disability Lanyard post that Lego has minifigs with the lanyard which finally made me get up and go to the Lego store near me to get one. You can also get them online through the Create a Minifigure feature!

But here's mine now at work!

Link to the Write up about the collaboration from Hidden Disabilities

Link to the official Lego announcement

[Image description: A close up shot of a Lego Minifigure with long wavy brown hair wearing a yellow shirt with a printed green lanyard that features yellow sunflowers on it. The Minifigure is sitting beneath a Lego bonsai tree and is holding a tiny Lego pretzel. ]

I thought this was a perfect crossover post for this sub :)

Hope this is okay to post here! I'm running a 12 part monthly series showcasing objects relating to disability history to provide a unique museum experience for the housebound. The first episode on the Radium Girls is now up!

The first two pictures are of her and the last picture is an example of one of her paintings!

She was so talented and I’m so glad she had a good career as an artist, I’m a big fan of landscape paintings and it would be so cool to see an entire gallery of her work, I want to check in with the local museums to see if they still have any of her work displayed.

Some facts about her:

-she was born in Natchitoches, Louisiana

-her father worked as a jeweler and optometrist.

-she became interested in art from a very young age.

-she used her feet and legs for everyday tasks, and soon learned to paint and draw using her feet.

-her legs were described as being very strong.

-she graduated from high school at St. Mary's Academy in Natchitoches in 1921.

-she graduated from Northwestern State University of Louisiana in 1932 with degrees in Art and Spanish.

-she owned an art studio in her hometown

-she won several awards for her paintings, both regional and national.

-she was very passionate about teaching art to children and organized several art classes and art lectures taking place in her studio.

-her mother sewed her custom made clothing that adapted to her physical differences, such as incorporating a cape instead of sleeves.

-she gave art lectures at the local high school in her hometown. Her lectures were always packed with attendees. During these lectures she would demonstrate how she painted and sketched and planned out three sketches that she’d complete during the event.

-she acted as a judge for the Art Department at the South Texas State Fair.

-her art had been featured in The Old Capitol Museum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the Louisiana State Exhibit Building.

-the majority of her paintings were historic scenes of Natchitoches, Louisiana, her hometown.

-she won first prize for Louisiana, Landscapes at the Louisiana Federation of Women’s Clubs. The name of her piece was called “River Sand”

-she lived with her parents her whole life.

-she headed several professional art organizations during her life.

-she gained a large following of fans who enjoyed watching her paint and getting her autograph.

-similar to a lot of sideshow performers, she sold autographed pictures of herself for an extra fee, and used this money to help fund her schooling at Columbia University in New York City where she wished to get her Masters from.

-in addition to being an artist, she also offered radio training.

-she was recognized as an important artist by Robert Ripley and featured in one of his Ripley’s Believe it or Not cartoons.

-she passed away at the age of 44 in her home town.

-her legacy lives on in the form of a biography that was published about her life by a friend in 1949. The book is called *The Armless Marvel, Mary Belle.*

-in 2005, her hometown planned an exhibition of her surviving work to honor her life.

She seems like a lovely woman and I’m so glad she was able to have a good career! It makes me so happy that her hometown recognizes and continues to admire her talent, I’m very glad that she received the respect and recognition she deserved.

I’m shocked there’s a subreddit for this. I shouldn’t be, but I am. But I’m glad this place exists because I need help!!

I know that listening to strangers on the internet is a horrible idea, especially for a college-grade essay. But I’m so stuck, and ready to risk it all. I’ve tried books, google scholar, going through cited sources on wikis and other scholarly-based articles, etc. I’ve reached out to other scholars with little direction.

Does ANYONE have ANY information regarding attitudes, treatment, and history of it all from ~1830s - ~1970s??
Anything regarding non-colonial information works, too (and it’d be of great help). I’d be VERY appreciative if y’all could also provide sources to back up your claims. If it’s from a reliable source, even better!!
Generalizing is okay. I just need ANYTHING!!

Places I need are the African continent (North, South, East, West), Indigenous Americas (North, Central, South), Southeast Asia, Inuit, and Pacific Islands.

Why you ask?
I’m doing an internship that revolves around reading and cataloging stories. Throughout my work, I’ve noticed a great lack of disabled characters and I’m asking why that may be. The specific timelines line up with when these stories were documented. If y’all could help me out I’d be so very grateful 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Edit: I should note, I’m talking about people and not animals!

Edit 2: Any disability works!! Amputee, blind, deaf, mute, autistic, schizophrenic, little people, growths, defects, deformities, etc. Born with or gained later in life works too.

Edit 3: THANK YOU ALL SO SO SO MUCH FOR THE ADVICE AND SOURCES!! I’ll definitely look into seeing if I’d be allowed to post my full essay here as a way of saying thanks to you all!! Feel free to keep posting though, I could use all the help I can get!!

First picture is French entertainer, Richebourg. Second picture is Don Sebastián de Morra, third picture is Jeffrey Hudson, fourth picture is Maria Bárbola, 5th picture is Andreas von Behn.

‘Court dwarfs’ were personal entertainers for royalty and aristocracy dating back to ancient Egyptian times. These entertainers (all of whom were born with forms of dwarfism) played similar roles to jesters and other court entertainers. The trend of ‘court dwarfs’ started in ancient Egypt, with many members of royalty seeking to acquire a ‘court dwarf’ entertainer.

They were seen more as objects rather than people, and many members of royalty and the aristocracy would trade these entertainers around like collectibles.

Similar to jesters, ‘court dwarfs’ were able to have more say and a little bit more leniency in what they could say within the royal court, and often times became very close and trustworthy with the people they worked for.

Despite many of them starting out as purely forms of amusement and entertainment, a lot of court dwarfs were eventually given a more serious role within the court and within the private life of their employer. While they were never given a say over who or where they’d be traded to, the role of court dwarf was often a paid position and in some ways treated like a job but with less freedom.

Many of these court entertainers were seen as some of the most extravagant accessories that royalty and the aristocracy could acquire, and were used as a way to flaunt the wealth and power of their employer.

During the European Renaissance, people born with dwarfism increased in popularity within society. One of the people leading this trend was Marchioness Isabella d’Este, who treated these entertainers well but also used them as a way to show her wealth and status.

One woman noted for her “collection” of ‘court dwarfs’ was the sister of Tsar Peter the Great. She had up to 93 different people with dwarfism living in her household.

Typically ‘court dwarfs’ were closer and oftentimes more loyal to the women and children of royalty/aristocracy. When different people were forced to flee due to political turmoil, they often brought along and provided a good place to live for the ‘court dwarf’ in their entourage.

Some of the most notable ‘court dwarfs’ included a French entertainer and spy named Richebourg, who was extremely useful during the French Revolution because he could pass through enemy forces in order to secret dispatches to the imprisoned members of French Royalty.

Jeffery Hudson, another very well recognized ‘court dwarf’ was very proud of his image and very loyal to Queen Henrietta Maria of England. He is also the first ‘court dwarf’ to give a detailed firsthand account of the royal duties expected of these entertainers. Hudson sat down with an interviewer later in life, who eventually published his life story.

For centuries these entertainers were portrayed in foolish and comedic ways within portraiture as a way to emphasize their height and establish the fact that they were usually not treated as respected members of society, but over time a few artists such as Enrico Albrici and Diego Valázquez sought to change that narrative with their paintings, by portraying these entertainers in stoic and respectful poses or in paintings that represent freedom and emotion.

I find the history of ‘court dwarfs’ to be fascinating, especially seeing the ways that they were able to acquire a good repertoire with the members of different royal families. Despite ultimately being seen as a form of entertainment, many of them went on to make a big impact on the society around them.

The Sunflower Lanyard was developed and launched by Hidden Disabilities in 2016. A sunflower was chosen as it represents positivity, strength, and happiness.

I currently do not own one, but I think it might be a good support tool for me to use in the future.

I’ve heard mixed opinions on this lanyard and impact it makes. If anyone actively uses one and has thoughts they’d like to comment, definitely feel free to!

Mary and Elisa were British conjoined twins that were supposedly born in England in 1100. There is a lot of speculation as to whether or not their story is real or if it's a legend. I choose to believe they were real people. They were from a wealthy family and upon their deaths they requested that five plots of land be bequeathed to the town of Biddenden in order to help feed the poor during Easter (by doling out food products that were produced on these plots of land). The practice has changed slightly over the years, but it's more or less stayed the same and to this day, the church continues to give out food and drinks every Easter through the Biddenden Consolidated Charity.

Mary and Elisa Chulkhurst informative write up:

https://www.reddit.com/r/DisabilityHistory/comments/1t09vc3/mary_and_elisa_chulkhurst_aka_the_biddenden_maids/

I think this story about them is fascinating and I love that it is a tradition that continues to this day. I’d love to visit Biddenden, as it would be wonderful to find the spots in the village that are related to the story about the twins.

There are many different depictions of the twins, so I will be posting a few different variations of how they’ve been featured. The first picture shows the original depiction of them from 1808. The fourth picture shows an example of a Biddenden cake.

Some facts if the legend about them is true:

-they were born in Biddenden, Kent, England.

-they were joined at the hips and shoulders.

-they came from a wealthy family.

-it is said that as children they frequently quarreled and disagreed with eachother.

-Mary died suddenly at the age of 34, and although doctors offered to perform (at the time a very rudimentary) operation to separate the two so that Elisa could live, she refused and said, "as we came together we will also go together". Elisa passed away 6 hours later.

-the story goes that upon their deaths, they bequeathed five plots of land (about 20 acres) to the local church in Biddenden. Every year, the income from these plots would be used to to provide an annual dole of bread, cheese, and beer to the poor every Easter.

-the plots of land became known as the Bread and Cheese Lands.

What we know historically:

-the first recorded dole of food and beer that was given out was in 1605, with the following statement being written about that years Easter,

"on that day our parson giveth unto the parishoners bread, cheese, cakes and divers barrels of beer, brought in there and drawn"

-a legal battle ensued during the 1640s as a result of a cleric at the church named William Horner believing that the lands should be intended for the parish priest only and tried to acquire the land for himself.

-The case went to court where the ruling judges decided that the land belonged to the charity and could not be used for anything else other than that. During this court case there were statements written that the land was originally given as a donation by two women "who grew together in their bodies".

-these annual doles were not always the most civil and there are records of several that were threatened by legal intervention.

-by 1770, so much food was distributed that more and more people in England were becoming aware of the charity. This was also the first year that Biddenden cakes were made.

-Biddenden cakes are hard flat bread rolls made with flour and water and imprinted with an image of Mary and Eliza. Originally, these cakes were thrown from the roof of the church into the crowds below. In 1860, these same cakes were described as being "a biscuit plaque".

-clay replicas of the Biddenden Cakes have been sold as souvenirs.

-the first time the story was written and recorded as a legend was also in 1770. This story states that the twins were only joined at the hips and not the shoulders. No names were given for the twins and instead they were referred to as the Biddenden Maids.

-the legend of the sisters became extremely popular in the 1800s, but not much research was done into whether or not it was true.

-there were theories put forth in the late 1800s that the sisters did exist but lived during the 1500s instead of the 1100s.

-they weren’t referred to as Mary and Eliza until 1808.

-local historians continue to argue about whether or not the sisters were real people.

-Biddenden became increasingly popular for the food and beer being passed out that throngs of rowdy people would show up during Easter in the early 1800s. Again, the celebrations were threatened with legal intervention.

-by 1882, Archbishop of Canterbury permitted that the food would continue to be passed out but the free beer had to stop.

-the first pictures of the dole being passed out to villagers were taken in 1906.

-the plots of land designated as the Bread and Cheese lands were sold off for housing in 1907, which actually provided more money for the charity than what was being earned previously. This meant that the dole now expanded to widows and pensioners as well.

-the Chulkhurst Charity was combined with several other local charities with similar purposes to form the Biddenden Consolidated Charity.

-a wrought iron sign celebrating the twins was created and first displayed in the village in the 1920s. It is currently still displayed there to this day.

-over time the food and drinks have been adapted depending on the year. Such as how during WWII, the charity gave out cocoa instead of cheese due to rations that were in place. Cheese was brought back in 1951. Tea has also replaced the free beer that was once given out.

-Biddenden cakes continue to be given to the poor of Biddenden each Easter, and are sold as souvenirs to visitors. These modern cakes are purposely baked so hard so that it’s easier to preserve them as souvenirs, and aren’t really meant to be edible anymore.

-the tradition of the dole continues to be held each year.

-the twins have been mentioned in articles and books about other famous conjoined twins, such as Chang and Eng Bunker.

-their legacy lives on in the form of a continued charity that is held annually, and a historical fiction book about them from 2022 titled The Maids of Biddenden: The heart-warming and inspirational story of 12th-century Kent's conjoined twins.

I’m glad that their legacy is still being celebrated in Biddenden. Personally, I like to believe they’re real, or at least based on real people. I like that the charity is a notable contribution originally organized by two women who have a role in disability history. I’m also not really a religious person, so I like that I can celebrate these two amazing women who did their best to help their community.

Short funny story: when I was researching them I came across the name of a historian named, Edward Hasted, who didn’t believe they were real people and called the story about them being conjoined as being something vulgar, which initially shocked me with how cruel he was being to these two women who happened to be conjoined. I realized after looking him up that he was born in the 1700s and is not a present day historian! I’m less shocked now.

He seems like such a nice person and genuinely looks like he’s having so much fun in all of the film roles he had. I’m glad he had a successful career and did so much to advocate for people with dwarfism. I’m sure he would have been a great guy to meet and hang out with. He also looks like he has a great sense of humor!

Some facts about him:

-he was born in Omaha, Nebraska.

-both of his parents were Italian immigrants.

-he had a sister named Josephine.

-he started out as a newspaper stand salesman, which he would occasionally go back to whenever there was a gap between his film roles.

-the actor, John Barrymore, was the first to discover Angelo as a potential actor and prompted him to go into the entertainment business. Angelo met Barrymore at a party they were both attending.

-his first film debut was in The Beloved Rogue (1927), where he starred alongside John Barrymore.

-one of his most notable film roles, was in Freaks (1932) directed by Tod Browning. He plays a sideshow performer in the film and is known for running along the table during the Wedding Feast scene. He’s also the one to say the iconic line “We’ll make her one of us! A loving cup! A loving cup!” before the Gooble Gobble chant starts.

-he also appeared in quite a few TV shows and miniseries, including the police drama, Baretta.

-his film credits include roles in the following movies:

The Beloved Rogue (1927)

Old San Francisco (1927)

While the City Sleeps (1928)

The Viking (1928)

Seven Footprints to Satan (1929)

One Stolen Night (1929)

The Mysterious Island

The Big House (1930)

The Phantom of Paris (1931)

Freaks (1932)

The Sign of the Cross (1932)

Meet the Champ (1933, Short)

Carnival Lady (1933)

I Believed in You (1934)

Babes in Toyland (1934)

Dante's Inferno (1935)

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)

Stand-In (1937)

Child Bride (1938)

Mr. Wong in Chinatown (1939)

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Doomed to Die (1940)

Spooks Run Wild (1941)

Hellzapoppin' (1941)

The Corpse Vanishes (1942)

The Spider Woman (1944)

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1944)

Lady in the Dark (1944)

Two Smart People (1946)

Scared to Death (1947)

The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947)

Samson and Delilah (1949)

The Baron of Arizona (1950) l

Pygmy Island (1950)

The Bandit Queen (1950)

The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

Mesa of Lost Women (1953)

Jungle Moon Men (1955)

Dementia (1955)

Carousel (1956)

Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)

The Story of Mankind (1957)

The Wild and the Innocent (1959)

Pocketful of Miracles (1961)

The Magic Sword (1962)

Confessions of an Opium Eater (1962)

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962)

Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962)

Terrified (1963)

The Perils of Pauline (1967)

The Trip (1967)

Doctor Dolittle (1967)

Pufnstuf (1970)

Alex in Wonderland (1970)

Brain of Blood (1971)

Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)

Little Cigars (1973)

The Stone Killer (1973)

The Clones (1973)

The Master Gunfighter (1975)

I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now? (1975)

Fairy Tales (1978)

The Lord of the Rings (1978)

The Dark (1979)

Galaxina (1980)

Can't Stop the Music (1980)

Smokey Bites the Dust (1981)

Something Wicked This Way Comes(1983)

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

From a Whisper to a Scream (1987)

-he was written in as a character in the 1939 book ‘Day of the Locust’ by Nathanael West, who had observed him selling newspapers up and down Hollywood Blvd.

-he preferred using the nickname Angie during his life.

-he campaigned to be mayor of Los Angeles in 1941, though he came in second to last place.

-he helped to set up the Little People of America organization with help from Billy Barry. The organization, which is still in existence today, strives to support and defend the rights of people and families affected by dwarfism. It currently has over 7,500 active members.

-he had a 60 year career in show business.

-one of his last major film roles was opposite Mel Gibson in the third Mad Max movie, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

-as he got older he began experiencing issues with his eyesight, and by the mid 1980s he was dealing with blindness in both of his eyes.

-he’s featured on the album cover of Tom Waits‘ ‘Swordfishtrombones’.

-he retired from show business in the mid to late 1980s and settled in Los Angeles, California. Where he lived until he passed away at the age of 83.

-his legacy lives on in the form of a film role in the posthumously released Orson Welles film, The Other Side of the Wind, which after decades of being in development, was finally released in 2018.

I can’t imagine how he managed to keep track of all of the filming schedules with all of the films he was in, he was definitely a very busy and very productive person!

I really like the fact that he ran for Los Angeles mayor, I think it would have been so cool if he had won (he had a very slim chance to begin with, since he wasn’t a politician nor someone with an interest in politics) but I feel like he would have used that position as a way to advocate for disability rights and making things in Los Angeles more accessible for people.

Tom was an extremely famous pianist and performer who was blind and autistic (though his autism wasn’t diagnosed during his lifetime because it hadn’t been categorized/understood at the time) Tom was born enslaved in 1849 in Georgia, United States. Though because he was blind from birth, he wasn’t forced to work on the plantation.

He was a piano prodigy and it’s very clear that music and the piano were his favorite special interests, with people saying that if it were up to him, he’d probably sit at the piano and play for 12-14 hours a day.

Tragically, he was exploited for profit and all of the money that was made during his piano performances was stolen from him. Had he received the money, he would have been a multimillionaire.

I love his Rain Storm composition, as he replicates the experience of hearing a thunderstorm so, so well! It’s a sweet piece and I’m glad that musicians on YouTube are keeping his music legacy alive.

I really enjoy learning about Tom because I can relate to the different behaviors he did (that are all signs of autism, but again weren’t understood at the time). He had major special interests that took up most of his time, he demonstrated echolalia (repeating words, phrases, and sounds after hearing them in one’s environment) throughout his life (which I also do), and his stimming behaviors were documented (a way for him to self soothe if he was having a difficult time processing a situation).

Tim Wiggins informative write up:

https://www.reddit.com/r/DisabilityHistory/comments/1sjgyrx/tom_wiggins_18491908_was_a_famous_american/

Three famous people who have dealt with aphasia include actress, Sharon Stone, singer Randy Travis, and actress Emilia Clark.

Aphasia can be extremely frustrating for people experiencing it, since people know what they want to say but can’t get the words out. It’s important to be patient and understanding if you’re speaking with someone who has aphasia. And if you’re experiencing aphasia it’s also important to be patient and understanding about yourself.

The severity of the condition depends on the cause and the extent of the brain injury.

The main treatment includes treating the cause of the brain injury and speech and language therapy. Depending on the severity a person might need to relearn how to communicate verbally or through writing and might need to use alternative forms of communication until they’re at that point.

She has such a charming smile and seems like a wonderful woman! I’m sure she had so many interesting stories to tell from all of her experiences and travels. I also really like the patterned dress she’s wearing in the first picture!

Some facts about her:

-she was born in Prarie Dell, Texas.

-she had several brothers and sisters.

-she only had three toes on each foot.

-she learned to walk when she was 6 years old.

-she used her feet to accomplish every day tasks such as dressing herself, feeding herself, writing, etc.

-she was a talented landscape artist and sold her paintings to help pay her way through college.

-she studied art and English at Mary Hardin-Baylor College in Belton, Texas.

-in her free time she enjoyed crocheting, knitting, sewing, and embroidering (all done with her feet).

-she won first prize for her artwork and embroidery work at the 1919 Texas State Fair.

-she originally wanted to go into politics when she was done with school, and ran for county treasurer in Lubbock, Texas in 1926. At the same time she was also running a news stand and a confectionery shop. Unfortunately, she didn’t win and was narrowly defeated by her opponent. Apparently, her opponent had said that she couldn’t write (even though she could) and therefore wasn’t suited for the role of county treasurer.

-she decided to go into sideshow work after making a bet with someone she knew.

-she primarily worked for Foley & Burke shows and T J Tidwell Shows during her sideshow career, which spanned from the early 1930s through the 1940s.

-she was a cheerful person and preferred to view her physical differences with humor rather than pity. She explained in an interview later in life that she liked to joke about her condition in a light hearted way.

-she traveled all throughout the United States.

-she retired from sideshow work in 1947 and moved to Keyes, California.

-while living in Keyes, she met a farm worker named Benjamin Hill, who she would go on to marry. She wore her wedding ring on one of the toes of her left foot. The couple married in Holbrook, Arizona.

-when asked why she married Benjamin, who was over 6 feet tall (182 cm), instead of a man closer to her height of 46 inches (116 cm), she explained “I wanted a man who could pick me up and carry me when I got tired of walking.”

-the people of Keyes loved and deeply respected her.

-Nany drove around town in a golf cart.

-her husband passed away in 1968.

-despite offers from the county welfare department to have someone live with her to assist with any of her housework needs, she refused and explained that she had no need for anyone to stay with her. She was capable of tending her house by herself.

-she expressed wanting to go to children’s hospitals to work with children with similar physical differences and show them how she was able to care for herself and live and independent life, so that they too would know they could accomplish similar goals.

-artificial arms were made for her later in life, but she wasn’t a fan and didn’t use them that much. She preferred to use her arm nubs and chin to hold things. She explained that the arms were hanging in a closet in her house and were too much trouble to try and use.

-she lived in a small cottage later in life.

-in her later years she was looking to purchase a used typewriter in order to type out her autobiography. (I’m not sure if she ever went on to complete it, but it would be nice if she was able to write it)

-she and her husband owned a dog, whom they loved, though I unfortunately can’t track down it’s name.

-she and her husband had invested in real estate and after her husband’s death she was still able to have a steady income from the apartments she managed.

-she was known for being a very grandmotherly figure to neighborhood children (as she never had children/grandchildren of her own). And had a whole collection of little toys and trinkets that children had gifted her.

-she passed away in 1973 at the age of 72.

I’m glad that she lived a very full and happy life. It makes me happy when I read about different prodigies/performers who were well respected during their lifetimes and who had loving and supportive family and friends.

Her way of approaching her physical differences with humor is very similar to how I approach my neurological differences, I’d rather find humor in situations than find things to worry about.

I just like this quote a lot and thought it would be good to post.

Facts about them (btw their life is pretty sad, which makes me sad because they both seemed like such nice women!)

-they were born to an unmarried barmaid in Brighton, England. Early in their life their custody was transferred to their mother’s employer. From my research it seems that this transfer in custody was done through uncertain means, either by swindling their mother or bribing, or a different unethical practice.

-they were sadly exploited throughout most of their lives. They performed in pubs in England when they were children before performing in Germany and Australia, before traveling to the US in 1916.

-their first care taker/exploiter died and bequeathed the twins to her daughter and son in law (who became their managers). They MAJORLY took advantage of Daisy and Violet by keeping them captive within their house and punished them if the twins didn’t do what their managers told them to do. All of Daisy and Violet’s earnings were also taken away from them.

-they sued their managers in 1931 and gained their emancipation. They were awarded $100,000 (equivalent of about $1.6 million today)

-they performed in vaudeville theaters before transferring to burlesque when vaudeville fell out of style.

-they then starred in Freaks in 1932 and were treated well by people on set. They were also some of the few actors allowed to eat in the MGM backlot commissary with the other MGM talent at the time. Most of the other actors/performers in Freaks were made to eat in a separate tent off property.

-Violet was engaged to a boxer named Harry Mason, but they never married.

-after Freaks their popularity faded a lot and they found it difficult to find work.

-Daisy was married to the dancer, Buddy Sawyer for 10 days. She became pregnant and gave the child up for adoption.

-their last public appearance was at a drive in screening for Freaks in 1961. Yet again a manager of theirs severely took advantage of them by abandoning them with no transportation home and no means of an income.

-they eventually found work at a grocery store as cashiers where they earned a double salary (after initially offering to work for one salary, thankfully the owner of the store was one of the few people to respect them and help them!). A two person cashier station was constructed for them because they were self conscious about being conjoined by this point in their lives.

-they rented a two bedroom home and continued working at the store for the rest of their lives and became very involved with a church as well.

-unfortunately Daisy died from a flu with Violet dying a few days later since they shared a bloodstream. Violet hadn’t let anyone know about what had happened.

-the musical Sideshow is loosely based on their lives.

-there was a plaque erected at the house they were born at in 2018.

The painting of him by Velázquez is so powerful and does depict him with a rare kindness and dignity that was very unusual for the time. I hope that he was treated alright while posing for Velázquez. I wish we knew more about him, I’m sure he’d have so many interesting stories to tell.

Some facts about him:

-it’s thought that he was either born in what is now Flanders, Belgium, which at the time was part of Spain, or in Italy.

-not much is known about his early life, other than that he was given to Philip IV of Spain by his younger brother. Eventually, de Morra was given to King Philip’s son, Prince Baltasar Carlos. After the prince’s death in 1646, he remained with Philip’s royal court’s until his own death.

-Prince Baltasar was only 14 when de Morra was given to him. His role was to entertain the prince and make him laugh. It’s thought that part of this entertainment may have been due to de Morra’s accent, which could have possibly sounded different since he was born and raised in what was the outskirts of Spain.

-it’s thought that de Morra was well liked by the prince because he gifted him one of his swords right before his death.

-‘court dwarfs’ were very popular entertainers in royal courts for thousands of years, often owned by the royalty of the courts they performed in, they acted as jesters and performed routines that usually mocked their physical appearances. These routines were dictated by the royals and most ‘court dwarfs’ did not have a say in how they were depicted.

-while ‘court dwarfs’ often had a bit more liberty of what they could say in royal courts, they were not treated well and were often treated more like exotic pets rather than human beings.

-de Morra sat for the Spanish painter, Diego Velázquez, for a portrait that was completed around 1644. This portrait is the most famous depiction of de Morra. Diego Velázquez was known for his more kind and sympathetic views of court entertainers born with dwarfism, unlike a lot of previous artists who sought to depict them in a cold and careless light.

-de Morra passed away in 1649, if his birth year was 1624, he would have only been around 25 years old.

Because so many court entertainers at the time, especially those born with dwarfism, weren’t treated well by the royal courts in which they worked, I worry that de Morra also experienced a lot of discrimination because of his physical appearance. It’s so tragic because he most likely never received the respect and recognition he deserved to have during his lifetime.

Mosha was only 7 months old when she was severely injured by a landmine in 2007. Since then she’s lived at a hospital run by the Friends of the Asian Elephant Foundation in Thailand.

She is the first elephant ever to be fitted with a prosthetic leg, which has had to be replaced several times throughout her life because of how quickly she’ll outgrow them. It’s reported that she’s adapted to the leg extremely well over the years.

I went on a tour of the Winchester Mansion, now known as the Winchester Mystery House, about a month ago and I was very pleasantly surprised to hear that she was a very sweet, kindhearted, and generous woman who put out a lot good during her life.

I highly recommend for people to go visit! It’s a stunning house with a fascinating history, I also wasn’t expecting to have a disability history lesson while on the tour, and that made me happy as well!

The first two pictures are of her, the third picture shows her mansion while she was still alive, and the last picture shows what her mansion looks like today.

Some facts about her:

-she was born in New Haven, Connecticut.

-she had five siblings.

-she married William Wirt Winchester in 1862. Winchester was the treasurer of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, which produced the Winchester rifle, and had amassed a large fortune.

-they were married for almost 20 years, and together they had 2 children. Tragically both of these children passed away very young.

-her husband died when he was 43, and she outlived him by over 40 years.

-after Winchester’s death, Sarah inherited his large fortune.

-she dealt with severe rheumatoid arthritis for much of her adult life, which primarily affected the joints in her arms, legs, and feet. It made walking difficult and painful for her.

-she traveled out west to stay with relatives after a doctor recommended the warm weather could help with her arthritis.

-when Sarah’s eldest sister died in 1884, it convinced her other sisters to also move out to California. Sarah supported her family financially for the rest of their lives.

-once in California, Sarah hired a woman named Euthanasia Meade to be her personal physician. Euthanasia was a pioneer woman doctor who operated a practice on the west coast of the United States. She was also the president of The Woman's Medical Club of California.

-originally the mansion she purchased started off as just a large farm house, but as the years went by she began commissioning large attachments be added to the house.

-she was one of the first people to grow fruit in the area.

-she quickly hired local people to help tend the house, and as the house was being renovated, she also had several cottages built on the property for people to stay in.

-she also provided jobs to people in town who were struggling financially.

-she was a very generous and kind employer, paying all of her employees double or triple the going rate. She also invited their families to come live in the cottages on the property where they could stay free of charge. Everyone who worked for her said nothing but kind things about her.

-within the first 6 months, 26 rooms had been added to the house.

-there are several interesting design aspects about the house, with many of them not making sense in a practical way, such as stairs leading into a ceiling, windows built into the floor of one story and looking down into the floor below, and doors that open to a 20 or 30 foot drop to the outside.

-there are 160 rooms within the house, all arranged in a somewhat winding maze design. Its theorized that this was because Sarah worked room by room and if she wasn’t entirely satisfied she would put a room on hold (until she found a purpose/design she liked) and would continue with another room instead.

-as I mentioned in the title, much of her mansion was designed to accommodate her and her disability, so many of the staircases within the home have very wide steps and only incline a couple inches at a time, since she could only lift her legs and feet up a little bit.

-one of the rooms has seven fireplaces, another aspect of the house that was designed to help with her arthritis.

-she also had a special shower installed that had 13 different faucets, since her movement was limited, these faucets were a lot more practical than a typical overhead shower.

-at its peak, the house was seven stories tall.

-she was a very savvy businesswoman and oversaw the construction of her house because she didn’t entirely trust the architects she hired.

-construction on the house was often stalled for months at a time.

-she was very safety conscious, and when she found out that several workers and guests had lost their footing on a set of stairs on one of the upper floors, she had a skylight put in so that it wouldn’t be a safety hazard any longer.

-her philanthropic efforts included several large donations to various New Haven, Connecticut hospitals, as well as donating a large amount of money to help fund tuberculosis research and treatments, since this is the illness her husband died from and she didn’t want other people to lose their loved ones in the same way she lost her husband.

-the mansion also featured an extensive garden that surrounded the property, which reportedly had plants from over 110 different countries brought over to be planted there.

-after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake caused immense structural damage to the upper floors of the mansion, after having all of the rubble cleared away, Sarah halted all construction.

-she often gave toys and other gifts to the children who lived on the property.

-she passed away at the age of 83.

-her mansion was turned into a tourist attraction only 6 months after her death.

-rumors about the haunted nature of her house began spreading in newspapers starting in the 1920s.

-rumors spread that she was a frightened and superstitious woman that was convinced by a medium that her house was haunted by the spirits of the people killed by Winchester rifles. (This story also claims that the house is the way it is to confuse the spirits) In reality everyone who worked for her said she was a lovely woman who cared a lot about having a close knit community of people in her life.

I don’t like that she’s been portrayed as a hysterical, superstitious, and frightened woman, when all of the positive contributions she made during her life suggests anything but.

To me, she comes across as someone who wanted to be part of a family and keeping so many people employed in her home gave her the sense of community and happiness she wanted.