The Albino circus performers of the Victorian Era: Fascinating photos show how men, women and children who were shunned by society entertained crowds across Europe and America
- During the 1800s, a lot of men and women with albinism went to join the circus
- This extraordinary collections highlights the struggles of some everyday Albinos
- It also celebrates some of the more famous Albinos active in the Victorian era
These rare and fascinating photos show Albino men, women and children posing for the camera in the nineteenth century – at a time when many of them would have been kept segregated from the rest of society.
During the 1800s, people with albinism featured on postcards and were exhibited in Victorian travelling circus sideshows, usually the only form of employment available to them.
This extraordinary collections highlights the struggles of everyday Albinos in the era, as well as celebrating some of the more famous ones who were active.
Featured in the collection are remarkable relatives like long-haired albino sisters Florence and Mary Martin, who were known to tour with P.T Barnum’s legendary circus in the 1800s.
Also pictured is Helen Ann Windman Walker and her twin brother Henry Sedam Walker, with the ‘black and white’ twin siblings later exhibited at Burnell’s Museum in New Orleans, USA in May 1866.
Albinism – which denotes people with a hereditary genetic condition which causes a total absence of pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes – occurs in all racial and ethnic groups throughout the world.
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