Before John and Kate's TV freakshow there were the Dionnes. The Dionne quints were the first known quintuplets to survive childbirth and immediately went on public display. The quintuplets were born in 1934 to parents that would be the French-Canadian equivalent of good ol' hillbillies. The Canadian government deemed the parents unsuitable (they were poor and already had five kids) and raised the children in a nursery/zoo until they were nine years old, at which point their parents regained custody. There was a ton of Dionne quintuplets merchandise produced from expensive dolls to generic advertising pieces.
I picked up this photo today; which was most likely originally part of a promotional business calendar in the late 1930's, at the annual antique flea market in Ocean Grove, NJ. It was a an amazing day and there was lots of great stuff for sale (most of the vendors were dealers, so there weren't that many bargains around) and along with the quints photo, I found some antique postcards and a tramp art frame.
I remember the Dionne quints..in fact was just talking about them the other day after hearing the buzz of Jon & Kates troubles (not that I watch their show, it's just everywhere you go). Great find!
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