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Message:: [QUOTE="johnmilton, post: 3590027, member: 101855"]Last evening I viewed the movie musical "The Greatest Showman" on my DVD system. The plot took a lot of license with the truth, but it was a high energy, entertaining work. It reminded me of an article I wrote a couple of years ago for my local club. I hope you enjoy it. Bah Humbug! That phrase is most often associated with Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, but the word, "humbug," had many other applications in the 19th century. "Humbug" describes something that is met to deceive or mislead people. Some people applied that description to the many projects of Phineas T. Barnum, but I would prefer to characterize him as America's first great showman, perhaps our greatest showman. P.T. Barnum was born on July 5, 1810 in Bethel, Connecticut. Later in life he would settle in Bridgeport which would claim him as a native son when he appeared on the obverse of the Bridgeport commemorative half dollar. His first job was as a clerk in a country store at age 13. At age 18 he started to find his calling when he got into the lottery business. A year later he moved to Danbury, Connecticut where he published a newspaper, "The Herald of Freedom." That publication was not always noted for accuracy. At one point he spent 60 days in jail after he was convicted of libel. At age 25 Barnum bought his first true "humbug," an African-American slave, Joice Heth. Barnum claimed that she was 161 years old and had been the property of George Washington's father, Augustine. To add spice to the story, Barnum claimed that Joice had nursed George Washington when he was a baby. To set the record straight, Washington was born in 1732 and Barnum presented Ms. Heth as a paid attraction in 1835, 103 years later. Joice Heth died not long after Barium acquired her, but not before he had earned seed money for his later attractions. [ATTACH=full]959200[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]959201[/ATTACH] Barnum acquired some of the attractions for his museum from Charles Wilson Peal's museums which were located in Philadelphia and New York City. Here is a scarce season pass token for the Philadelphia Branch of Peal's Museum. In 1842 Barnum opened one of his greatest projects, the American Museum, in New York City. Barnum began by buying the collections of the Scudder and Peale museums and added to their holdings with many attractions of his own. His live attractions included the conjoined twins, Chang and Eng, a bearded lady and "the pinhead," William Henry Johnson, who had Microcephaly. While these attractions were genuine oddities, others like "the Fiji Mermaid," was nothing more than the body of a monkey joined to the tail of a fish. [ATTACH=full]959202[/ATTACH] Barnum's most successful live attraction was "the little person," "General Tom Thumb," whose real name was Charles S. Stratton. Stratton began his career at age 5 when he was less than two feet tall. Barnum raised his age to 11 for public consumption, but Stratton's adult height was only about 33 inches. Stratton, who could sing, dance and imitate famous people, had more talents that just his small size. He performed for Queen Victoria and King Louis Philippe of France, where he became an international sensation. Later he performed for Abraham Lincoln. In 1863 Barnum staged an elaborate wedding for Stratton when he wed another "little person," Lavinia Warren. That event actually pushed the Civil War off the front pages of the nation's newspapers for a time. Barnum made a fortune from his Tom Thumb promotion, but Charles Stratton made great deal of money as well. Although Barnum was the master of the "humbug" and promotions, he was surprisingly honest in his business dealings. Even in tough times he paid his performers well and strove to pay his creditors even when he was facing bankruptcy. [ATTACH=full]959203[/ATTACH] Jenny Linn Barnum's greatest cultural project was the tour of Swedish singer, Jenny Lind, who was known as "the Swedish nightingale." Barnum put her on tour to sold-out audiences, while paying her the unheard of salary of $1,000 a week. Lind was a talented singer, but Barium's skills as a promoter did much to lift her to the unusual status of a well remembered 19th century entertainer. Barnum's American Museum continued to do well in New York City. Charging an admission of 25 cents, it attracted thousands of customers per day. The facility featured a rotating array of mounted and living animals in addition to an auditorium that was greatly expanded in the mid 1850s. In 1864 a group of Confederate sponsored terrorists set the building on fire, but the blaze was quickly contained. Barnum would not be so fortunate on July 13, 1865 when another fire burned the structure to the ground. Everything was destroyed and Barnum was forced to start over. He opened another museum at another location, but it too was destroyed by flames in 1868. After those setbacks it appeared that Barnum's days as an entertainer were over. He agreed to lend his name to another Manhattan museum that was operated by businessman, George Wood. In 1870 a circus entrepreneur, W.C. Coup, and a professional clown, Dan Castello, approached Barnum about starting a traveling show. Their intent was to use Barnum's name to front the organization, but Barnum was intrigued by the idea and dove into the development of the project completely.  "P.T. Barnum's Great Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Hippodrome" opened on April 10, 1871 in Brooklyn, New York. For many years the standard schedule for the circus was to open in the early spring in New York City at a fixed venue, like Madison Square Garden. During the warm weather months, the shows moved every night from town to town and were performed under a large tent. When the show went on the road, it required 100 wagons, 250 horses and 275 teamsters to move it. In 1872 Coup developed the idea of moving the show on a railroad train. The new main tent could seat 12,000 people and second ring was added to entertain the crowd. For the first time, the circus was labeled, "The greatest show on earth," was also billed as "A traveling world's fair." Another fire destroyed a large portion of the show at the end of 1872, but it hardly deterred Barnum. By the spring of 1873, "The greatest show on earth," was back up and running again better than ever with an even larger "big top" that could seat 13,000. The show included live and stuffed animals, "Human Curiosities" and large array of circus acts. Patrons could see everything for a 50 cent ticket. Children were admitted for a quarter and reserved seats were 75 cents. Gross receipts soared from an amazing $1 million in 1872 to an incredible $5 million in 1873 when Barnum and his partners shared $750,000 in profits.  The Panic of 1873, which was a major 19th economic downturn, did not immediately effect Barnum's receipts, but as the depression continued, it cut into his receipts and profits. In April 1874 Barnum opened a new, larger show, "P.T. Barnum's Great Roman Hippodrome." He staged it at the former site of the Harlem Railway buildings. The venue was surrounded by brick walls and covered with an 80 foot stretch of canvas that protected an oval track that measured about a fifth of mile. Numerous attractions including exotic animals, foreign people in native costumes and circus act performers paraded around the oval. This production was not a financial success when it opened in New York, and it did no better when Barnum took it on the road.  The receipts and net income were disappointing. The show's failure led to a less than civil parting of ways between Barnum and W.C. Coup. From the mid 1870s until 1880, Barnum teamed with other investors. [ATTACH=full]959208[/ATTACH] The success of Barnum's "railroad circus" prompted competitors to emulate his operation. One of the most successful of those rival operations was the Great London Show, which was run by James Bailey. The two combined their operations to form a single circus that was called "Barnum and London" from 1881 to '86 and then "Barnum and Bailey" from 1887 to 1919. Bailey, who was a meticulous business manager, took charge of the day to day operations. He introduced electric lighting to the show, the third ring of entertainment and found innovative ways move the operation from place to place. Barnum was in charge of advertising and supplied much of the capital. [ATTACH=full]959205[/ATTACH]  Jumbo the elephant was Barnum's most spectacular attraction during his circus years. Jumbo stood over 12 feet tall and weighed over six tons. He was 24 years old when Barnum acquired him from the Royal Zoological Society in London for $10,000. The British people objected to the sale, but Barnum was able to complete the deal. [ATTACH=full]959206[/ATTACH]  Jumbo was an African elephant which made him less predictable and harder than handle than his Asian counterparts. For that reason he came with his own handler, Mathew Scott, and could not be led down the streets of New York during the annual circus parade like most Barnum elephants. Instead he was caged and pulled by a team of horses and elephants. Nevertheless his immense size made Jumbo an immediate sensation, and audiences clamored to see him. Newspapers claimed that circus customers were in the enthrallment of "Jumbomania." Jumbo's career was cut short in 1885 when he was killed in a railroad accident. Yet Barnum was able to salvage one more year out of his investment by displaying the Jumbo's skeleton and hide for a paid admission. Barnum suffered a stroke in 1890 and died the following year. After his death James Bailey continued to operate the circus until his death in 1906. The Ringling Brothers bought the show in 1907 and ran it as separate operation from their Ringling Brothers Circus until 1919. That year the surviving brothers merged the two shows to form the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus which continued as a traveling show, later under new ownership. In January 2017, the circus ownership announced that they were closing the show. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Baily Circus gave its last performance in May 2017 after 146 years. It was the end of an era. The next post will cover Barnum's exonumistic legacy.  [/QUOTE]

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