Portrait of Mahphoon (also spelled Mah-Phoon), a female member of a Burmese family with hereditary cases of hypertrichosis—excessive hair growth. As typical of her time, she cruelly became a sideshow attraction and was recruited to join Barnum's circus for a tour of the United States in 1888. The photo, with caption, "Mahphoon the Burmese hairy woman," dates from 1886, when Mahphoon was in her late sixties. 6.5 x 4.25 inches (16.5 x 10.8 cm).
Portrait of Mahphoon (also spelled Mah-Phoon), a female member of a Burmese family with hereditary cases of hypertrichosis—excessive hair growth. As typical of her time, she cruelly became a sideshow attraction and was recruited to join Barnum's circus for a tour of the United States in 1888. The photo, with caption, "Mahphoon the Burmese hairy woman," dates from 1886, when Mahphoon was in her late sixties. 6.5 x 4.25 inches (16.5 x 10.8 cm).