The tragic story of American Rapunzel: how the fate of the Sutherland sisters turned out

At a time when there was no cinema, people had fun in other ways. For example, we went to the circus to admire those who were born unlike others: Siamese twins or those born with extra limbs. The Sutherland sisters were perfectly healthy girls. And they stood out with their long, mermaid-like hair.

Source: There were seven of them.

Seven sisters, daughters of a poor farmer: Sarah, Victoria, Isabella, Grace, Naomi, Mary and Dora. Biographer Brandon Stickney called them the sexiest artists in the United States. But they did not conquer the audience with depraved dances — everyone came to admire their hair. The sisters' curls reached to their ankles and covered them like cloaks.

The sisters and their only brother were born between 1851 and 1865 in Cumbria. In an attempt to pull the family out of poverty, the father decided to teach his daughters to sing so that they could earn money by performing.

So they joined the famous Barnum and Bailey circus company, where they were called "the seven most charming wonders of the world." And indeed, the sisters quickly began to gather crowds of spectators, but the audience was not interested in the singing talent of the girls.

They were shocked by the hair. Stickney wrote:

The sisters' magic potion was rumored that their mother Mary, who died in 1867, that is, just a few years after the birth of her youngest daughter, smeared their hair with a disgusting smelling lapping.

As if it was this magic potion that stimulated incredible growth.

Of course, Mr. Sutherland could not miss such an opportunity, and as soon as the rumors got stronger, the magic tonic "Seven Sutherland Sisters" appeared on the market. The Pharmaceutical Era pharmaceutical magazine analyzed the composition of this tonic and posted the results on its pages: 56% diluted witch hazel extract, 44% bay cherry water, a little salt, magnesia and hydrochloric acid. The label read:

A bottle of such an elixir cost from 50 cents to $ 1.5, which in the XIX century was equal to a daily or even weekly salary of the middle class. Thanks to good advertising, the Sutherlands sold 2.5 million bottles and earned $3 million.

Soon the Sutherlands became so famous that their photos were published in the most famous magazines of the time: Cosmopolitan, The New Yorker, The New York Times and Time.

By 1888, when the father of the family died, the Sutherland sisters had rebuilt a luxurious mansion in their hometown. The house had 14 rooms, cold and hot water (an exceptional luxury at that time!), parquet floors and chandeliers.

The end of the epochProblems began around 1920.

Fashion turned out to be merciless to the Sutherland family, and bob haircuts became the latest trend. The Sutherland Empire began to crack at the seams.

The sisters are too used to living in a big way and have not been able to quickly change their rules. They continued to spend money thoughtlessly until the budget ran out completely.

There was still hope to get married successfully. But due to the fact that the girls spent too much time on business, they never learned how to communicate with men. Only three of them got married.

In addition to all the troubles, their house burned down in 1938, and all the symbols of former glory disappeared under the rubble.