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Original Calendar - The Dionne Quintuplets

Brown and Bigelow, St. Paul, MN, 1938

Original calendar with staple binding. Calendar features a color illustration of the Dionne Quintuplets on the front cover. 9" x 6." Twelve unnumbered pages, complete. Edges and spine have some chipping. This is a twelve-month calendar for the year 1938 and includes pages with health, domestic, and life advice and various recipes. Calendar lists holidays and the birthdays of historical figures and famous celebrities. Among the recipes are "Moulded Peas in Aspic Jelly," "Veal Croquettes," "Mock Turkey Legs," "Split Pea Soup," "Tea Biscuits," "Lime Sherbet," "Vegetable Plate," "Mushrooms, Cheese and Broccoli in a Noodle Ring," "Jellied Mayonnaise," and "Guest Cookies." The Dionne quintuplets were born on May 28, 1934 to Elzire and Oliva Dionne in Callander, Ontario, Canada. They were the first quintuplets to survive their infancy. In order of their birth, the quintuplets comprised Yvonne, Annette, Cecile, Emilie, and Marie. All five sisters lived to adulthood. During this time, it was unknown if quintuplets were even possible, and this, paired with the rarity of quintuplets and the common practice at the time of exhibiting premature "incubator babies" to the public, catapulted the sisters to fame. However, the publicity led to tensions between the sisters' parents and the Ontario government. The quintuplets were declared Wards of the Crown by the government until the age of eighteen with the claim that the girls needed to be protected from exploitation. Despite this claim, the Dionne sisters were exhibited to the public in their new home, Dafoe Nursery, which was known as "Quintland." Quintland rivaled the popularity of Canada's side of Niagara Falls and featured souvenirs and the like for tourists. The Dionne sisters also starred in three Hollywood films. Elzire and Oliva regained guardianship of their daughters between the late 1930s and early 1940s after Dr. Dafoe resigned as guardian in 1939. The quintuplets and their parents moved into a lavish mansion that was paid for by the money the sisters had earned from their fame. The sisters moved out upon turning eighteen and went on to create their own lives. In the 1990s, three of the surviving sisters, Yvonne, Annette, and Cecile, sought redress for being exploited by the government and other agencies during their childhood. In 1998, they reached a $2.8 million settlement from the Ontario government for their exploitation. In 1997, Yvonne, Annette, and Cecile had also written an open letter to the parents of the McCaughey septuplets, advising them to protect their children from publicity.. Ephemera. Book Condition: Collectible-Very Good. Binding: Soft cover

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