Tragically, people with deformities, biological abnormalities and other variances from the norm were often bought, sold and exhibited in "freak shows" or circus sideshows. The popularity of this practice first took off in England during the mid-sixteenth century. It wasn't until the end of the nineteenth/beginning of the twentieth century that there was public backlash against the cruelty of such exhibits. The change in public opinion was partially the result of mass sympathy for Joseph Merrick, also known as the Elephant Man.
While so many personal stories of freak show performers were tragedies marked by abuse and exploitation amidst poor living and working conditions, the story of the lady pictured above is refreshingly different.
Her name was Sarah Biffin. She was born in 1784 with vestigial legs and no arms, yet that didn't dampen her independent spirit. She learned to sew and write with a pen in her mouth by the age of twelve. At thirteen she left home to travel with a sideshow. Initially exhibited doing everyday tasks, Biffin grew bored with that and decided she wanted to paint. She turned out to be an incredibly gifted painter. Biffin devised a technique in which she held the brush with her mouth and kept it steady by tying it to her shoulder. Eventually, Biffen not only freed herself of sideshows by age 29, but she became the official painter to royalty. Her portraits are still featured today in the National Portrait Galleries of Britain.
Read about the lives of other freak show performers here.