Celebrate Twins Day With Vintage Photos of Identical Twins
Celebrate Twins Day With Vintage Photos of Identical Twins
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Caption from LIFE. Although teen-age girls are more romantic and less boisterous than they used to be, they still like to put on some old clothes, whizz around with boys and even get a little grease on their hands.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty images
This weekend, thousands of twins will descend upon the town of Twinsburg, Ohio, for the 40th annual Twins Days, the largest gathering of twins and other multiples in the world. Twins have long been a source of curiosity to non-twins—who wonder what classes they might have gotten away with skipping had they had an identical stand-in—as well as to scientists, who study twins to better understand the genetic versus environmental origins of certain traits.
When LIFE photographed 17-year-old identical twins Betty and Barbara Bounds in 1947, the magazine was more concerned with what the Bounds sisters had to say about the life of the postwar American teenager than that of a twin. Photographer Nina Leen captured the lives of the Bounds’ teenaged cohort in Tulsa, Okla., from their hairstyles (they “wear it shoulder-length”) to their accessories (“combs are often carried in sock”) to their interests (“boys and parties”).
Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.
Caption from LIFE. At a party, teen-agers of the Bounds twins' set munch doughnuts and sip Cokes whenever they are not dancing with serious faces to sentimental music. At right, Barbara dances with Jimmy Dick.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty imagesCaption from LIFE. Contrasts in teen-age clothes are shown by Betty Bounds (right), wearing a dainty 1947 outfit, while Barbara poses in sloppy get-up.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty imagesCaption from LIFE. Chores are receiving new respect, for 1947 teen-agers think of marriage much more seriously than their wartime equivalents did. Note the frilliness of Betty's shorts.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty imagesIdentical twins Barbara and Betty Bounds eat al fresco with their parents in Tulsa, Okla.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty imagesBarbara and Betty Bounds pose in matching outfits, 1947.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty imagesCaption from LIFE. Although teen-age girls are more romantic and less boisterous than they used to be, they still like to put on some old clothes, whizz around with boys and even get a little grease on their hands.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty imagesBetty Bounds talks to classmates at school.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty imagesBarbara and Betty Bounds look at a globe with a friend.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty imagesCaption from LIFE. Always handy, combs are often carried in sock. No girl is ever without one.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty imagesThe Bounds sisters take a ride with friends.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty imagesBarbara and Betty Bounds sunbathe side by side.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty imagesIdentical twins Barbara and Betty Bounds ride a horse together.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty imagesNancy Churchwell, a friend, tastes a mixture for fudge cake as Barbara Bounds, 17, watches skeptically.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty imagesThe Bounds sisters get ready for ballet class.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty imagesThe Bounds go for a ride with friends.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty images
