BOARDWALK BABIES

Premature babies as a sideshow attraction?

Kids will be amazed to learn that a “Baby Incubator” exhibit opened at Coney Island in 1903, attracting huge crowds. Spectators flocked to ogle tiny newborns and the groundbreaking technology—the “warming boxes” themselves—designed to keep premature babies alive. Back then, medical wisdom held that tiny, fragile newborns couldn’t survive, and hospitals, skeptical of newfangled machines, wouldn’t use them. German-born Dr. Martin Couney believed otherwise. His own mentor in Paris had suggested using incubators for preemies, and Couney at first demonstrated the machines without babies at the Berlin Exposition of 1896. In order to help the public better understand that they really worked effectively, Couney then placed infants in them. This enhanced exhibit succeeded wildly, and the babies survived. In 1903, Couney established what became a permanent preemie hospital display, complete with incubators, on Coney Island’s boardwalk. The newborns received round-the-clock nursing care, with admission fees paying for food, treatment, equipment, and medical personnel; it closed in 1943. This smoothly written account of little-known events results in a heartwarming story that will help develop audience empathy. Appealing illustrations capture the period and ambiance nicely and depict winsome infants of different races and ethnicities. Dr. Couney, his family, and medical professionals present White; spectators throughout are racially diverse. Questionable, startling endpaper art depicts “weird folks” once placed on public display as sideshow attractions.

A thought-provoking telling of an unusual historical episode.