The Siamese twins had long been used ironically as symbols of American nationalism. The earliest pamphlet about the twins published in the United States in the early 1830s featured a title page image of a flying eagle carrying a banner that read "E Pluribus Unum," and beneath that was the phrase, "United We Stand." This appeared opposite a frontispiece that pictured the twins as dark-skinned boys wearing queues and loose Oriental garments. The 1836 pamphlet published under the twins' direction similarly featured a bald eagle clutching the national shield, beneath which were the words "Union...