Advertisement: Millie-Christine the Renowned Two Headed Lady, 8th Wonder of the World

Advertisement featuring Millie-Christine to be seen only in John B. Doris' Great Inter-Ocean Largest and Best Show on Earth. The front of the advertisement features Millie-Christine, conjoined twins billed here asthe renown two headed lady and the 8th Wonder of the World. Millie and Christine wear a blue dress with pink bows, and hold sheet music and fans. On their feet are yellow shoes, and their hair is done up. As they were well known for their voices, their appearance is likely meant to evoke the image of an elegant vocalist. The back of the advertisement features a brief description of the twin's previous acts. Millie and Christine McCoy (July 11, 1851-October 8, 1912) were conjoined twins born into slavery in the state of North Carolina. Billed variously as the Carolina Twins, the Two-Headed Nightingale, and the Eighth Wonder of the World, the pair spent a great portion of their lives being exhibited, starting at only 10 months old. Due to being born in a slave state to a slave mother, they were treated as property and changed ownership from exhibitor to exhibitor for a number of years. Upon the issue of the Emancipation Proclamation, their final owner, Joseph Pearson Smith, brought them and their mother to Britain where the twins continued to work as freed women. There they moved into learning to perform, with a particular emphasis on their voice. Work encompassed concert tours and circus work, including P.T. Barnumu2019s circuses. They retired from the stage sometime during their 30s, and moved to where they had been born in North Carolina. (It had been left to them legally.) Millie and Christine died from tuberculosis at age 61. Barnum is best known for his involvement with the circus that still bears his name, but his circus ventures came about when he was in his 60s. The first show was called P.T. Barnumu2019s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Circus. Railroads propelled the circus to success, making it easier to reach a number of locations, and the intake was significant. Barnum then opened the New York Hippodrome with similar acts. In the 1880s, he encountered competition from other circuses. A merger between Barnumu2019s show and the Great London Show of Cooper, Bailey, and Hutchinson formed the Barnum and London Circus. Negotiations in 1887 formed the Barnum and Bailey circus. The name remained until 1919 when it became the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. It came to an end in May 2017 when the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus ceased performances after 146 years.