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Estimate: $ 500 - $ 750
(MUSIC.) Signed carte-de-visite of the conjoined twin performers Millie and Christine, the "Two-Headed Nightingale." Albumen photograph, 3 1/2 x 2 1/4 inches, on original mount with photographer's stamp on verso, signed on verso "Millie / Chrissie"; minor foxing. Philadelphia: W.L. Germon's Temple of Art, circa 1870s
Born into slavery in North Carolina, Millie and Christine McCoy (1851-1912) were taken from their parents before their first birthday and exhibited across the country in circuses and freak shows. They reached their peak of fame after emancipation, performing with Barnum's circus and touring Europe as novelty musicians; they are here shown with a guitar. The twins acquired some education on the road, and wrote an unpublished autobiography when only 17. The signatures on verso match other known examples, as seen in Swann's 21 February 2008 catalogue and Joanne Martell's biography Fearfully and Wonderfully Made.
