This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/25/2023
[CHANG AND ENG] Life of the Siamese Twins. New York: Published by T.W. Strong, 1853. Buff pictorial wrappers bearing a portrait of the twins with two of their children. Engraved frontispiece, text “elegantly illustrated” with engraved plates and headpieces. [i – v], vi, [7], 8 – 91 (verso blank), two blank leaves. 12mo. Foxed, stained, wraps torn at spine, corners dog-eared. SIGNED on the front free endpaper in pencil by Chang and Eng. Scarce. Born in Siam (now Thailand), Chang and Eng toured for years under the management of various impresarios, but eventually liberated themselves, toured on their own, and retired with considerable wealth to a farm near Mount Airy, North Carolina. In 1843, Chang and Eng married sisters Sarah and Adelaide Yates, and went on to have 21 children between them. They returned to touring in the late 1840s, teamed with Barnum in the 1860s, and eventually died within two hours of each other on January 17, 1874. It was their fame that made the term “Siamese Twins” synonymous with that of conjoined twins.