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's a rare item, an original vaudeville revue poster featuring Daisy and Violet Hilton, the Siamese Twins who were a huge attraction in the 1930s. Best known as stars of the infamous 1932 film "Freaks", the Hilton Sisters toured the country as a sideshow attraction and later starred in the equally infamous "Chained For Life" in 1951. 's some Wiki:
The girls were born in Brighton , England ( East Sussex ) on February 5 , 1908 .Their mother was a single barmaid named Kate Skinner. The sisters wereborn joined by their hips and buttocks; they shared blood circulation and were fused at the pelvis but shared no major organs. Skinner's boss Mary Hilton, who helped in childbirth, apparently saw commercial prospects in them, and thus effectively bought them from their mother and took them under her care. Mary Hilton, her husband and daughter kept the twins in strict control with physical abuse; they trained the girls in singing and dancing.
The Hilton sisters toured first in England at the age of three as "The United Twins". Mary Hilton took them to a tour through Germany , Australia and to the USA . In the true sideshow manner, their performance was accompanied with an imaginative "history". Their controllers kept all the money the sisters earned. In 1926 Bob Hope formed an act called the Dancemedians with the Hilton Sisters, who had a tap dancing routine.
In 1931, the sisters gatd enough courage to sue their "managers", gaining USD$100,000 in damages—and independence. They left the sideshows and went into vaudeville as "The Hilton Sisters' Revue". Daisy dyed her hair blonde and they began to wear different outfits so they could be told apart. As if to compensate for their deprived past, they had numerous affairs, failed attempts to get a marriage license and a couple of short marriages.
This poster is from 1934 (I figured it out from researching the calendar dates), it's from the RKO Capitol Theater in Trenton New Jersey. Also in the revue are Broadway stars Joe Melino and Dolly Davis from "Artists and Models"; Allen, Lynn and Allen; Jean And Duke; and Jack Cooper's 12-Piece Orchestra. A note at the bottom says "The Hilton Sisters will meet the patrons in the foyer after each performance and offer their autographs".
Poster is on thin newsprint stock and is fragile, 9" x 17.5", ready for framing. A real authentic collector's item!
CONDITION: Good with some aging and some minor rips and nicks, mostly along the top. Just three faint creases horizontally from ages ago, not very visible. Not dusty or musty. Will display nicely.
SHIPPING: $3.99 U.S. First Class mail, will be shipped carefully and securely in a hard mailing tube. U.S. and Canada only, please.
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