PHOTOGRAPH BY GEORGE WIDMAN 2009 FOR THE MÜTTER MUSEUM OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS IN PHILADELPHIA
COURTESY OF THE SURRY ARTS COUNCIL, MOUNT AIRY, NORTH CAROLINA “Eng-Chang” lithograph by P. A. Mesier & Company, 1839. In the midst of a deep silence, and with great solemnity, the earth was then removed… and the coffin was exposed… and after being placed in a proper position the cover was taken off. All the members of the commission and several others present bent eagerly over the coffin, the first sensation they experienced being a cadaveric odor, which…was not at all repulsive…The features of Chang were partially discolored, those of Eng being natural… they seemed to be in a very good state of preservation… After the bodies were disrobed, Lineback began to work. He took full-length photographs of the twins and then focused on the ligament. The photography session took longer than expected, as the interior of the house was quite dim. According to reports, Lineback’s photographs did not provide clear images and only one could be deemed successful. Nevertheless, all images were given to the physicians and Lineback was paid for his service. The physicians found themselves in WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM
a similar circumstance. The structure of the ligament was more complicated than they had imagined and the home did not provide facilities necessary for an autopsy. They therefore decided that the bodies should be taken to The College of Physicians in Philadelphia for an appropriate and adequate examination. On Monday, February 2, Lineback, Fogle, the doctors, and the bodies of Eng and Chang, left Mount Airy and headed to Salem. It was said that the procession of men, wagons, and coffin, gave the appearance of a “funeral procession” and “attracted the attention of people all along the route.” By Tuesday afternoon, the “cortège” had arrived in Salem. Lineback and Fogle—who were no doubt glad to be home—unpacked their wagon, as the physicians continued their trek north. When the bodies of Eng and Chang arrived in Philadelphia, an autopsy was performed in The Mütter Museum. The examination, according to the Museum, “revealed that the band connecting the twins included portions of the peritoneal cavities of each twin and that their livers
Death cast of Eng and Chang Bunker at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. were joined by a thin strip of liver tissue.” As to the question of whether or not Eng and Chang could have been safely separated, the answer was no. The twins would have died from blood loss. When the physicians completed their examination, the bodies of Eng and Chang were returned to Sarah and Adelaide. Following their burial at Chang’s house, the twins were not disturbed again until 1917, when they were reinterred at the White Plains Baptist Church cemetery in Mount Airy. Lineback continued to operate his photography studio long after the trip to Surry County. In 1876, he married his assistant and together they had two children—Lucy and Robert Frederick. By 1889, Lineback had moved his entire operation to the corner of Fifth and Liberty streets in Winston. He worked at that location until 1922, when he retired at the age of eightythree. A notice of his death was printed in the December 31, 1932, edition of the Twin-City Sentinel and said “Outstanding in his recollection and one of his fondest stories during his declining years was his
experience in making post-mortem photographs of Eng and Chang Bunker.” A photographer from Salem became connected to the Siamese twins on a cold winter day in 1874. During his life, Henry Alexander Lineback was known as the man who braved hazardous conditions to take photographs of two famous men. In regard to those images, it is unknown whether any survive. An archivist at the Mütter Museum believes it is likely but cannot be sure. Lineback’s legacy, however, is not related to the Siamese twins. Instead, it is a large collection of extraordinary photographs that he took in Salem and Winston from the 1860s to the 1920s. Those photographs provide a visual record for which “the city of Winston-Salem is indebted.” In memory of Henry Alexander Lineback 1839-1932; and Eng and Chang Bunker 1811-1874. !
NOVEMBER 9-15, 2016
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