In the legal section of The Graphic dated Saturday October 23rd 1880, the following was reported:
Mme Rachel, the person who became notorious a few years ago as claiming the power to make people "beautiful for ever" and who, after suffering seven years penal servitude for fraud, was convicted a second time in 1878, died in Woking Prison last week from dropsy. An inquest was heard and the jury returned a verdict of "Died by the Visitation of God".
Mme Rachel (aka Sarah Rachel Leverson or Levison and Sarah Russell) was a British criminal and con artist in Victorian-era London during the late 19th century. Operating a prominent beauty salon, from which she personally guaranteed her clientele everlasting youth (using grandiose sounding concoctions comprising everyday ingredients such as bran and water) she would blackmail many wives of London's upper class ...
More can be found on Mme Rachel here: http://vichist.blogspot.com/2008/10/madame-rachel-beautiful-for-ever.html
Or at www.helenrappaport.com/page15.html
This is a photograph from my collection. You've either lifted this scan from my photostream on Flickr or from the blog I contributed on Madame Rachel to a friend's website, yet you don't acknowledge the source nor link to either my photostream or my blog. I'd be grateful if you would give credit it where it's due and either credit Collection Paul Frecker or link to Beniah Brawn's photostream on Flickr. Thank you.
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