Dionne Quintuplets Plate
Q: I’m trying to identify a collector plate of the Dionne Quintuplets. It has a marking on the back of the Canadian Maple Leaf with “Decorated in Canada” in a banner draped in front. Beneath it reads “22 K Gold.” I can’t find any information regarding this plate. It’s 11 1/4 inches in diameter. I’m trying to find year and manufacturer in order to find value.
A: The Dionne quintuplets were born in Canada on May 28, 1934. They became world famous because they were the first quintuplets to survive. The quints became wards of the Canadian government in 1935 and lived in a nursery built for them, where visitors could come and look at them. Their family regained custody of the girls in 1943 and they returned to live with their family. Thousands of souvenirs were made picturing the quints at different ages. The picture on your plate shows them at age two. It was used on the cover of the booklet, “Dionne Quintuplets Picture Album, The Complete Story of Their First Two Years,” published in 1936. The maker of your plate is unknown. Most plates picturing the quintuplets sell for about $100.
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The quints life story is in Wikipedia: worth looking up. Gives their whole history. Yes, they were marketed by the government as infants and young children and led quite a life. Emile became a nun and suffered seizures and died at 20. Two others have died and three are still living. I think only two ever married. They even wrote a letter to parents of the couple who had quints In the USA 20 years ago or so, warning them of getting involved with marketing their children. I knew all about them because my mother was near the end of her first pregnancy at the same time and told me later that she was scared to death she might also have a multiple childbirth! The Dionnes were world famous at the time.
The Government took the children away and exploited them from 1934 to 1942 at a place called Quintland. Very strange moment in history where it was common to display children publicly. The family was reunited in 1942.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionne_quintuplets
https://www.countryliving.com/life/kids-pets/a42542/dionne-quintuplets/
I remember hearing about them years ago. I felt the parents were blessed. Where are they now, at age 86 ? Did any of them also have multiple babies?
Here’s a question :
Did the children’s parents need help and request it from the Canadian Government, or did the Canadian Government recognize the “gold mine” they had in front of them and then pressure the parents to surrender the children to the government’s care?
I’m just asking for a friend.