Rosa and Josefa Blazek, Conjoined Twins
Rosa and Josefa Blazek were pygopagus twins born in Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic) on January 20, 1878. They shared tissue and cartilage but were also joined at a thoracic vertebra. It was that delicate fusion that negated any possibility of separation and when their mother took them to Paris at the age of thirteen, doctors told her just that. It was in Paris were the twins began their career in professional exhibition. The Blazek sisters were famous in the 1890's as they toured Europe. They eventually become quite skilled on the violin and stunned crowds with their enthusiastic duets. But, by the turn of the twentieth century, their popularity quickly evaporated due to poor management and overexposure. Their obscurity was shattered in 1909 when Rosa claimed to be pregnant. She claimed she had only had intercourse once and she refused to name the father. Regardless of the paternity,a son, Franz, was born on April 16 1910. He eventually joined the twins' traveling show as "The Son of Two Mothers" and with their newfound celebrity the three of them left Europe and appeared in the United States. The twins set their sights on vaudeville and established a base in Chicago but their dream of the American stage was cut short when Rosa fell ill with influenza. As Rosa recovered, Josepha became sick and her illness soon overcame her. Josepha died on March 30, 1922. Rosa followed her twelve minutes later. No artist credited, undated.
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Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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