While many sideshow attractions were subject to exaggeration, Serpentina's billing as "Nature's Strangest Living Enigma" was hardly an embellistment. The Serpent lady from Oakland, California, was born with no bones in her body, except for her skull and a few in her arms. Hailed as the eighth wonder of the world, She was exhibited at Coney Island and other travling shows. "Of all the great many curiosities of nature that have been presented to the public from time to time, possibly not one of them can equal in anatomical and physical peculiarities as the subject of the present sketch.
"The Eighth Wonder of the World, the Despair of Doctors, the Puzzle of Scientists are only a few of the many appellations that have been bestowed upon this interesting lady.
"In her, we are confronted with the unusual sight of a prepossessing young lady, 37 years of age. She was born in Oakland, California, and is one of a family of children, but the father, the mother, the brother and the sisters are ordinary in appearance; nothing unusual in their personal appearance or physical characteristics. The peculiarity of Serpentina consists of the fact that she possesses no bones in her body below the shoulders, i.e., no spinal column, vertebrae, or backbone, but in every respect she is exactly the same as any normal young woman of the same age.
"Looking at Serpentina for the first time, visitors will be inclined to pity her, but the writer can assure them that Serpentina needs neither pity nor sympathy. She does not know what an ache or pain means, and she has never needed the services of a physician since she was a small child.
"Yet she has been examined by hundreds, not because she ever needed their services, but simply because she was good enough to submit to examinations for their benefit and instruction.
Serpentina's Only Exercise "And yet Serpentina is one of life's tragedies, for wherever she is placed, there she must stay until someone goes for her. She must always have someone within call, and consequently she can never know the real meaning of an individual life.
"Just imagine, if you can how you would feel if for thirty-seven years you had never straighened out the lower limbs, never once stood upon their feet, and consequently never taken one step of walking exercise.
"In all these years, Serpentina has only been able to assume, or be placed in three different positions. The first one is her ordinary reclining position. That position is to her the same as sitting in a chair is to you. In that position she passes the greater part of her time. When she sleeps she is placed in the position illustrated in . Each night for thirty-seven years she has slept in that position.
"Exercise of some kind is a necessity in order to prevent the internal organs from becoming congested. So the only exercise Serpentina can take is for her to be placed in the position illustrated in.
"THE CAUSE - Serpentina's condition, in the opinion expressed by the leading physician, is described as being a case of 'Arrested Ossification' caused by a lack of developing power of the mother, probably due to over work before the child was born."
The pitch booklet quoted above says she was born in Oakland, California, but Daniel Mannix says she was from Douglas, Ontario, Canada. Though she claimed to have no bones below the neck, photos show her with her head propped up on one elbow, indicating that her arms, at least, were rigid. Her triangular face and crooked nose seem to indicate osteogenesis imperfecta, which would explain why Serpentina couldn't walk. She was also exhibited as "Sea-Tiny, the Mermaid".
"The Eighth Wonder of the World, the Despair of Doctors, the Puzzle of Scientists are only a few of the many appellations that have been bestowed upon this interesting lady.
"In her, we are confronted with the unusual sight of a prepossessing young lady, 37 years of age. She was born in Oakland, California, and is one of a family of children, but the father, the mother, the brother and the sisters are ordinary in appearance; nothing unusual in their personal appearance or physical characteristics. The peculiarity of Serpentina consists of the fact that she possesses no bones in her body below the shoulders, i.e., no spinal column, vertebrae, or backbone, but in every respect she is exactly the same as any normal young woman of the same age.
"Looking at Serpentina for the first time, visitors will be inclined to pity her, but the writer can assure them that Serpentina needs neither pity nor sympathy. She does not know what an ache or pain means, and she has never needed the services of a physician since she was a small child.
"Yet she has been examined by hundreds, not because she ever needed their services, but simply because she was good enough to submit to examinations for their benefit and instruction.
Serpentina's Only Exercise "And yet Serpentina is one of life's tragedies, for wherever she is placed, there she must stay until someone goes for her. She must always have someone within call, and consequently she can never know the real meaning of an individual life.
"Just imagine, if you can how you would feel if for thirty-seven years you had never straighened out the lower limbs, never once stood upon their feet, and consequently never taken one step of walking exercise.
"In all these years, Serpentina has only been able to assume, or be placed in three different positions. The first one is her ordinary reclining position. That position is to her the same as sitting in a chair is to you. In that position she passes the greater part of her time. When she sleeps she is placed in the position illustrated in . Each night for thirty-seven years she has slept in that position.
"Exercise of some kind is a necessity in order to prevent the internal organs from becoming congested. So the only exercise Serpentina can take is for her to be placed in the position illustrated in.
"THE CAUSE - Serpentina's condition, in the opinion expressed by the leading physician, is described as being a case of 'Arrested Ossification' caused by a lack of developing power of the mother, probably due to over work before the child was born."
The pitch booklet quoted above says she was born in Oakland, California, but Daniel Mannix says she was from Douglas, Ontario, Canada. Though she claimed to have no bones below the neck, photos show her with her head propped up on one elbow, indicating that her arms, at least, were rigid. Her triangular face and crooked nose seem to indicate osteogenesis imperfecta, which would explain why Serpentina couldn't walk. She was also exhibited as "Sea-Tiny, the Mermaid".
While many sideshow attractions were subject to exaggeration, Serpentina's billing as "Nature's Strangest Living Enigma" was hardly an embellistment. The Serpent lady from Oakland, California, was born with no bones in her body, except for her skull and a few in her arms. Hailed as the eighth wonder of the world, She was exhibited at Coney Island and other travling shows. "Of all the great many curiosities of nature that have been presented to the public from time to time, possibly not one of them can equal in anatomical and physical peculiarities as the subject of the present sketch.
"The Eighth Wonder of the World, the Despair of Doctors, the Puzzle of Scientists are only a few of the many appellations that have been bestowed upon this interesting lady.
"In her, we are confronted with the unusual sight of a prepossessing young lady, 37 years of age. She was born in Oakland, California, and is one of a family of children, but the father, the mother, the brother and the sisters are ordinary in appearance; nothing unusual in their personal appearance or physical characteristics. The peculiarity of Serpentina consists of the fact that she possesses no bones in her body below the shoulders, i.e., no spinal column, vertebrae, or backbone, but in every respect she is exactly the same as any normal young woman of the same age.
"Looking at Serpentina for the first time, visitors will be inclined to pity her, but the writer can assure them that Serpentina needs neither pity nor sympathy. She does not know what an ache or pain means, and she has never needed the services of a physician since she was a small child.
"Yet she has been examined by hundreds, not because she ever needed their services, but simply because she was good enough to submit to examinations for their benefit and instruction.
Serpentina's Only Exercise "And yet Serpentina is one of life's tragedies, for wherever she is placed, there she must stay until someone goes for her. She must always have someone within call, and consequently she can never know the real meaning of an individual life.
"Just imagine, if you can how you would feel if for thirty-seven years you had never straighened out the lower limbs, never once stood upon their feet, and consequently never taken one step of walking exercise.
"In all these years, Serpentina has only been able to assume, or be placed in three different positions. The first one is her ordinary reclining position. That position is to her the same as sitting in a chair is to you. In that position she passes the greater part of her time. When she sleeps she is placed in the position illustrated in . Each night for thirty-seven years she has slept in that position.
"Exercise of some kind is a necessity in order to prevent the internal organs from becoming congested. So the only exercise Serpentina can take is for her to be placed in the position illustrated in.
"THE CAUSE - Serpentina's condition, in the opinion expressed by the leading physician, is described as being a case of 'Arrested Ossification' caused by a lack of developing power of the mother, probably due to over work before the child was born."
The pitch booklet quoted above says she was born in Oakland, California, but Daniel Mannix says she was from Douglas, Ontario, Canada. Though she claimed to have no bones below the neck, photos show her with her head propped up on one elbow, indicating that her arms, at least, were rigid. Her triangular face and crooked nose seem to indicate osteogenesis imperfecta, which would explain why Serpentina couldn't walk. She was also exhibited as "Sea-Tiny, the Mermaid".
"The Eighth Wonder of the World, the Despair of Doctors, the Puzzle of Scientists are only a few of the many appellations that have been bestowed upon this interesting lady.
"In her, we are confronted with the unusual sight of a prepossessing young lady, 37 years of age. She was born in Oakland, California, and is one of a family of children, but the father, the mother, the brother and the sisters are ordinary in appearance; nothing unusual in their personal appearance or physical characteristics. The peculiarity of Serpentina consists of the fact that she possesses no bones in her body below the shoulders, i.e., no spinal column, vertebrae, or backbone, but in every respect she is exactly the same as any normal young woman of the same age.
"Looking at Serpentina for the first time, visitors will be inclined to pity her, but the writer can assure them that Serpentina needs neither pity nor sympathy. She does not know what an ache or pain means, and she has never needed the services of a physician since she was a small child.
"Yet she has been examined by hundreds, not because she ever needed their services, but simply because she was good enough to submit to examinations for their benefit and instruction.
Serpentina's Only Exercise "And yet Serpentina is one of life's tragedies, for wherever she is placed, there she must stay until someone goes for her. She must always have someone within call, and consequently she can never know the real meaning of an individual life.
"Just imagine, if you can how you would feel if for thirty-seven years you had never straighened out the lower limbs, never once stood upon their feet, and consequently never taken one step of walking exercise.
"In all these years, Serpentina has only been able to assume, or be placed in three different positions. The first one is her ordinary reclining position. That position is to her the same as sitting in a chair is to you. In that position she passes the greater part of her time. When she sleeps she is placed in the position illustrated in . Each night for thirty-seven years she has slept in that position.
"Exercise of some kind is a necessity in order to prevent the internal organs from becoming congested. So the only exercise Serpentina can take is for her to be placed in the position illustrated in.
"THE CAUSE - Serpentina's condition, in the opinion expressed by the leading physician, is described as being a case of 'Arrested Ossification' caused by a lack of developing power of the mother, probably due to over work before the child was born."
The pitch booklet quoted above says she was born in Oakland, California, but Daniel Mannix says she was from Douglas, Ontario, Canada. Though she claimed to have no bones below the neck, photos show her with her head propped up on one elbow, indicating that her arms, at least, were rigid. Her triangular face and crooked nose seem to indicate osteogenesis imperfecta, which would explain why Serpentina couldn't walk. She was also exhibited as "Sea-Tiny, the Mermaid".
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