The real-life Rapunzels: How seven sisters with tresses measuring 37 feet between them tantalized their audiences to make their fortune... and patented a 'miracle' hair tonic
A group of women hailed as 'America's first celebrity models' tantalized audiences during the 19th century, not with provocative dance routines or barely-there outfits, but with their Rapunzel-like locks.
The Sutherland Sisters, consisting of Sarah, Victoria, Isabella, Grace, Naomi, Mary and Dora, each boasted ankle-skimming hair which apparently measured a collective 37 feet in length.
The siblings' biographer, Brandon Stickney reveals how they became one of the 'sexiest' performing acts in the U.S. and their patented 'miracle' hair-growing tonic scored sales of over $3million.
Girls, let down your hair: The seven Sutherland Sisters, Sarah, Victoria, Isabella, Grace, Naomi, Mary and Dora photographed with their father Reverend Fletcher
The sisters, along with their only brother, Charles, were born between 1851 and 1865 in the rural farming community of Cambria, New York.
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In an effort to dig the family out of poverty their father, Reverend Fletcher Sutherland, pushed them into show business, originally encouraging their singing talents.
However, after they joined the circus company, Barnum & Bailey, where they were billed as the 'the seven most pleasing wonders of the world', he realized the audiences were more enthralled by their flowing tresses than their vocal prowess.
Mane attraction: The women's ankle-skimming hair apparently measured a collective 37 feet in length
Magic formula: It was rumored that the the girl's mother, Mary, who died in 1867, applied an 'offensive-smelling' ointment on their hair to stimulate growth when they were growing up
Biographer, Mr Stickney writes: 'Though their shows, consisting of church music, parlor songs and drawing-room ballads, received rave reviews, it was ultimately the girls' hair that seemed the biggest draw.'
It was rumored that their mother, Mary, who died in 1867, applied an 'offensive-smelling' ointment on their hair to stimulate growth when they were growing up.
And in a bid to capitalize on public interest, Mr Sutherland had the idea of producing and selling a hair tonic with the family name as its signature.
According to Hair Raising Stories, the academic journal The Pharmaceutical Era analyzed the The Seven Sutherland Sisters Hair Grower and published its findings in 1893.
Forgotten past: The Sutherland sisters went on to make a fortune from their trademarked hair care products and lived lives of great excess
The solution was made up of 56per cent witch-hazel water, 44per cent bay rum, and a little bit of salt, magnesia, and hydrochloric acid.
A label on the glass bottle reportedly read: 'To our patrons: The enclosed preparation is manufactured and used by ourselves and we recommend it as the best in the world.'
In addition to using the sisters as living proof, the name and portrait of Reverend Sutherland appeared in most of the advertising.
'The preacher's title fostered a label of pious honesty to accompany their claims,' Mr Stickney reveals.
The hair care products were sold between 50 cents and $1.50 a piece, which could be a day to nearly a whole week’s salary in the 1880s.
Thanks to their marketing tactics the Sutherlands sold 2.5million bottles of hair grower by 1890, just about four years after production began, and more than $3million in reported income was realized.
Pieces of history: On eBay a glass bottle once containing The Seven Sutherland Sisters Hair Grower is listed at $249.99 (left), while a 1903 newspaper advert for their ointment is priced at $9.99 (right)
According to Mr Stickney, the Sutherland women achieved such celebrity status, they dominated the front page of newspapers and were featured in titles including Cosmopolitan, The New Yorker, The New York Times and Time.
The Niagara County Historical Society reports that five years after their father's death around 1888, the Sutherland Sisters built a lavish mansion in their hometown of Cambria.
The house had 14 rooms, hot and cold running water, beds imported from Europe, hardwood floors, chandeliers, as well as an attic room for the cook and maids.
The Sutherland family continued to live lives of extreme excess and, although they earned millions of dollars in their lifetimes from their hair care products, they all died destitute.
Today many items from their now defunct beauty range regularly crop up at auction.
On eBay a glass bottle once containing The Seven Sutherland Sisters Hair Grower is listed at $249.99, while a 1903 newspaper advert for their ointment is priced at $9.99.
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