P.T.
Barnum, (1810-1891) - The Man, the Myth, the Legend
By Kathleen Maher,
The Barnum Museum Executive Director/Curator
 P.T.
Barnum; the name alone conjures ideas and imagination, preconceived notions of
a man and philosophy. Known to most of the world as the 'Great American Showman',
for more than 150 years, the weight of the Barnum name has forced associations
of humbug and merriment; the hyperbolic alongside the austere; provoked thought
and invited controversy; welcomed the cynical and engaged and challenged the skeptic.
With the burgeoning ambitions of a visionary, yet still a man of his times, P.T.
Barnum embraced the dream of a truly democratic nation, and in doing so, inspired
a new American society to reach beyond the limits of ordinary expectations, to
see the world as a place of opportunity and wonder.
P.T. Barnum's
story begins long before his circus enterprise was created. Although the Barnum
name lives on today as part of the American circus legacy, Mr. Barnum was 61 years
old when the circus collaboration was presented to him. It was, in fact, his life-long
love of his American Museum in New York City that drove his marketing machine
and revealed a genius beyond the ideals of 19th century society. P.T. Barnum seized
every moment and found promise in every opportunity. He crafted his life this
way, taking chances, stimulating change, always giving back. He acknowledged that
his actions forced 'better elements in his character', reaping the benefits
of his many successes, and at times, suffering for his miscalculations. On
the 5th of July 1810, the nation had just celebrated its 34th year and Phineas
Taylor, later to be known as P.T., was born in Bethel, Connecticut. America was
a fledging nation, raw from ongoing struggles for independence and hardened by
years of reconstruction and expansion. Connecticut was grounded in Yankee heritage;
stable, steadfast, frugal, and pious. Family farms rolled along the countryside,
and small villages spotted the landscape. The life of the
Barnum family was humble. Despite lean family resources, P.T. Barnum began school
by the age of six. As he progressed in years, he exhibited great aptitude for
mathematics, and used "head-work" as his method for escaping egregious
farming chores. Although Barnum's attitude toward farm life-style was not favorable,
he found invention in traditional work and by the age of twelve owned a sheep
and a calf, sold cherry-rum to soldiers, and was hired to help herd a cattle drive
to Brooklyn, New York. This pilgrimage to the city proved to be a life defining
adventure for young Barnum, and as he became an adult, he found himself exploring
the vast diversities of the flourishing metropolis, uncovering extraordinary opportunities
awaiting his discovery. It "was clear to my mind that
my proper position in the busy world was not yet reached. I had displayed the
faculty of getting money, as well as getting rid of it; but the business for which
I was destined…had not yet come to me." P.T. Barnum Barnum's
American Museum
America was a new and culturally emerging nation. Amusements
as we know them today did not exist. The concept of public entertainment was perceived
as questionable and even considered inappropriate as Americans aspired to the
highest standards of moral and civil behavior. On January 1, 1842, P.T. Barnum
challenged this popular social ideology by opening his American Museum
on lower Broadway in New York City. Promoting the Museum as a place for family
entertainment, enlightenment and instructive amusement, Barnum's American Museum
became a shrine for advancing public knowledge of fine arts, music, literature
and the marvels of nature, showcasing natural curiosities alongside artistic and
historic exhibitions. Barnum's American Museum quickly became the cultural hub
of New York, claiming its place as the city's most popular attraction for 23 years. From
1842 until 1865, the American Museum grew into an enormous enterprise,
and was promoted as having 850,000 exhibits and curiosities throughout the saloons.
The Museum occupied four conjoined buildings where workshops and laboratories
were arranged to prepare exhibits. A wax-figure department to produce likenesses
of notable personalities of the day, a taxidermy department and aquarium were
in operation, and an elaborate set-design department satisfied the demand for
an active public theater. Amidst the performers, lecturers, and living curiosities
were a host of exhibitors, demonstrating various skills and crafts, as well as
new technological devices. A continual stream of changing exhibitions ranging
from talking machines, panoramas of Niagara Falls, Paris and Peru, ivory carvers,
glassblowers, sewing machine operators, musicians and ballerinas entertained the
masses. It was through the success of the American Museum
that Barnum realized that conventional ideals could be transformed through ingenuity
and innovation. The Museum embodied all that American society sought as they struggled
to legitimize a new democratic frontier, and celebrate a newly found personal
authority. Whether fact or fiction, the conclusion was less relevant than the
experience or opportunity. Barnum was ingenious in presenting speculation within
a world of curiosity. He offered a chance to explore the irrational, examine imaginative
possibilities, and derive opinions and truths. Even for P.T. Barnum, the American
Museum was only the beginning of a lifetime of extraordinary adventure and
acquisition of immense personal knowledge and fame. Tom
Thumb
In November of 1842, Barnum stopped in Bridgeport, Connecticut while
returning home from a trip to Albany, New York. Barnum's half brother Philo introduced
him to a small boy named Charles Sherwood Stratton who was four years-old, stood
25 inches high, and weighing only 15 pounds. Recognizing Charles as a marvel of
nature, Barnum recalled, "After seeing him and talking with him, I am
once determined to secure his services from his parents and to exhibit him in
public." Barnum made arrangements with Sherwood and Cynthia Stratton,
to hire their little son for $3.00 a week, plus room, board, and travel for the
boy and his mother while in New York. Barnum set to work creating a legend. The
small boy became known to society as General Tom Thumb, Man in Miniature,
billing him as eleven-years old, recently arriving from England. New York's fascination
with the child was overwhelming, and after the first month, Barnum raised Tom's
salary to $7.00 a week. Soon Tom Thumb was commanding the astounding weekly salary
of $25. With this extraordinary popularity, Barnum arranged a tour of England
where the company was given an audience with Queen Victoria, the royal family
and many crowned heads-of-state. Barnum and Tom Thumb continued to travel through
England, France, Germany, and Belgium, performing as various costumed characters
such as Samson, Napoleon, and characters from ancient Greece. With the momentum
of glorious fame, Barnum and Tom continued to tour the United States and Cuba,
attracting audiences of thousands, and quickly being hailed as the "most
SURPRISING and DELIGHTFUL curiosities the world has ever produced!" By
the 1850's, Phineas Taylor Barnum was one of the wealthiest men in the country
and he had taken great care in constructing his position as a prominent social
player in New York City. He was as famous as his American Museum and became
as remarkable an attraction as many of the exhibits. It was common to see the
Barnum name printed and posted on broadsides and in newspapers all over America.
Advertisements regaling the wonders of the natural world as presented at his American
Museum continued to charge the imagination and stimulated the nation's desire
to seek reason, engage in discussion and formulate personal conclusions. Jenny
Lind
The mid 19th century in America was a time of great excitement, change,
growth and trepidation. Broader exposure to the modes and manners of European
cultural tastes was intriguing and offered variety. The pursuit of refinement
and cultural enlightenment assisted in molding a new American society that was
eager to advance its standard of civility. Times of leisure were filled with activities
that promoted self-betterment, and familiarity with the arts, music, and literature
became building blocks in constructing a virtuous, intellectual and enlightened
character. Barnum was typical of this attitude. Although professionally he catered
to the amusement desires of the masses, he found greater enjoyment in classical
entertainment, stating; "I myself relished a higher grade of amusement,
and I was a frequent attendant at the opera, first-class concerts, lectures and
the like." During the 1840's, while abroad on the
successful European engagement of Tom Thumb, P.T. Barnum contemplated an American
tour by the famous Swedish coloratura soprano, Jenny Lind. Known throughout Continental
Europe as the Swedish Nightingale, Lind was the toast of England and Europe. After
months of negotiation, the terms for the amazing venture were fixed, and the agreement
was drawn. It was concluded that Lind was to receive $1,000 a night for her performances,
up to $150,000 for compensation during the tour. In addition, all expenses, including
servants, a secretary, three musical assistants and related transportation and
board, would be assumed by Barnum. The terms of the contract served both parties;
Lind received an enormous monetary guarantee from the tour affording her the opportunity
to realize her dream of establishing a musical academy for girls in Stockholm;
in return, Jenny Lind was ordained Barnum's instrument of reformation, furthering
his ideals of theater going as moral, benevolent, educational, and entertaining. The
first concert, scheduled to take place at Castle Garden in New York City on September
11, 1850, quickly sold out. More than 5,000 people filled the Garden and thousands
more crowded outside hoping to catch faint echoes of the concert. The New York
Herald declared, "Jenny Lind is the most popular woman in the world
at this moment." Barnum confesses in his autobiography that his anticipation,
and that of the public, might be too high to be realized… "and hence
that there would be a reaction after the first concert: but I was happily disappointed…The
transcendent musical genius of the Swedish Nightingale was superior to all that
fancy could paint..." The momentum did not fade. By the end of the New
York engagement, the concerts had generated $87,055.89, and Jenny Lind's salary
was immediately increased. On June 3, 1851, The New York
Daily Tribune reported that after nine months of constant publicity and tour
management details, Barnum and Lind decided to terminate the enterprise. The total
receipts of the concerts amounted to $712,161.43. Barnum's
aspiration of reconstructing social attitudes toward the theater was realized
as the American entertainment industry flourished and gained momentum. Subsequently,
Barnum's pursuit of respectability, and social gratitude was found in the Lind
endeavor, enabling him to identify and justify his cultural and intellectual sophistication
within mid 19th century genre. As Barnum's instrument, Jenny Lind captured a nation's
passion and spirit. The message of her music and integrity of her character resonated
to audiences throughout America and continue to be celebrated even today. City
of Bridgeport, Connecticut
P.T. Barnum had a vision for his adopted home
of Bridgeport, Connecticut. "In 1851…the east side of the river…
[was] intended this as the nucleus of a new city." This section of land
was declared East Bridgeport. Barnum designated his acquisition as the new metropolis
of the eastern seaboard, intended to thrive as Connecticut's hub for the nation's
industrial surge. Barnum solicited successful manufacturers, enticing them to
move their businesses to this agriculturally rich and naturally advantageous landscape.
With these valuable resources at hand, East Bridgeport was prime real estate for
Barnum's ideological city, capable and destined to infuse the developing northeastern
economy and establish Bridgeport as a predominant industrial leader. As
Barnum proceeded with his plan of growth and commercial initiative, he suffered
a disastrous miscalculation during a business negotiation with the Jerome Clock
Company of Litchfield and New Haven that bankrupted his amassed fortune. Barnum
was forced to sell and mortgage his properties and collections to satisfy the
inherited dept of the doomed company. In a maneuver, atypical of the astute businessman,
his monumental pursuit of developing a new industrial city was halted by this
reversal of financial standing and stability. Departing from his New York and
Connecticut enterprises to reestablish his fortune and integrity, Barnum sought
redemption in England and Europe touring with his long time friend and business
associate, General Tom Thumb, and devoted himself to the lecture field on the
theme of his book, "The Art of Money-Getting". It
took Barnum five years to re-establish his monetary standing, believing that the
reversal of his good fortune was a divine lesson, Barnum stated in his autobiography,
"I humbly hope and believe that I am being taught humility and reliance
upon Providence, which will yet afford a thousand times more peace and true happiness
than can be acquired in the din, strife and turmoil, excitements and struggles
of this money-worshipping age." With his return to the American social
and professional scene, Barnum purchased back many of his properties and assets
including the collection and control of his New York American Museum. In addition,
Barnum sought to revitalize his zeal for the development of East Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Barnum ultimately became the primary engineer of the city's prosperous industrial
age. An entrepreneur, Bridgeport Mayor, Connecticut legislator, urban developer,
community benefactor, philanthropist, abolitionist, and author, Barnum was committed
to the intellectual and cultural development of the City of Bridgeport and assisted
in ushering in an epic of unprecedented industrial growth in Connecticut and on
an American landscape. GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH
"I
thought I had finished the show business," Barnum wrote to a friend, "just
for a flyer I go it once more." In 1870 Barnum's innate
showman instinct was stimulated by a proposal from mid-western circus managers,
W.C. Coup and his partner, Dan Castello, to collaborate on an enormous circus
venture that promised to revitalize his passion for museums and menageries. It
was Barnum's life-long affection for his American Museum that ultimately fostered
the creation of "The Greatest Show On Earth," and he enthusiastically
recruited many of his old friends and performers, seeking new exciting acts to
join in his latest adventure. "Greater than anything he had ever done,"
Barnum stated, "[It will be] the largest group of wonders ever known…My
great desire is… to totally eclipse all other exhibitions in the world."
On April 10, 1871, P.T. Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and
Circus opened in Brooklyn. As the wheels of Barnum's The
Greatest Show on Earth continued to gain momentum, he secured a site as a
permanent home for the spectacular show. Opening on April 30, 1874, The New York
Hippodrome, later to be known as Madison Square Garden, was the largest
public amusement structure ever built, seating over 10,000 and costing $150,000.
The lavish productions presented at the Hippodrome set the tone for the future
of the circus spectacular, and first-class performances were synonymous with Barnum
shows. A new challenge came to P.T. Barnum in 1880. The Great
London Show, managed in part by James Bailey, was met with enormous success
the world over. Encroaching on Barnum's American market, the idea of combining
the two great shows was approached. Barnum wrote, "I had at last met showmen
worthy of my steel!" With the success of the circus enterprise, Barnum
acknowledged James Bailey as one of his most prized associates, recognizing Bailey's
instinctive propensity for circus management. In March of 1881, The Barnum &
London Circus opened in New York and traveled more than 12,000 miles before returning
to the winter quarters in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The following season brought
great success to Barnum and Bailey with the purchase of the legendary elephant
Jumbo from the Royal Zoological Gardens in England. The purchase of Jumbo was
one of Barnum's greatest triumphs. Standing over 11 ½ feet tall and weighing
6 ½ tons, it was not long before Jumbo became the fascination of America,
and after only six weeks in the United States, Jumbo's appearances grossed $336,000.
Billed as a friend to the children of the world, Jumbo was Barnum and Bailey's
major attraction for over three years until the elephant's accidental death, being
struck by a train in Ontario, Canada in September, 1885. In
1887, for the first time, Barnum agreed to relinquish control of the show's management,
dividing into an equal partnership and sharing title becoming the Barnum &
Bailey Greatest Show on Earth. Bailey continued the management of The Greatest
Show on Earth for many years after Barnum's death in 1891. Touring Europe
and the United States, Bailey proceeded to build upon the grandeur of the spectacular
production, traveling with 28 rail cars, employing over 1,000 people, introducing
5 rings, creating elaborate animated floats and wagons, and incorporating modern
acts. By the beginning of the new century, however, Bailey's rivals, the Ringling
brothers, were as grand a production in scale and pageantry as the Barnum &
Bailey show. Upon Bailey's death in 1906, the Barnum & Bailey circus continued
without a namesake at the helm. The renowned Kings of the Circus World,
the Ringling brothers were now respectfully the leaders of the amusement world
and purchased the interest of the Barnum & Bailey Show in July, 1907. In 1919,
twenty-eight years after P.T. Barnum's death, economic impacts and war-time conditions,
forced the shows to combine, becoming known as Ringling Bros. and Barnum &
Bailey Combined Shows, The Greatest Show on Earth. The
Sun of The Amusement World
The Barnum story cannot be fully or fairly told
if the multitude of layers composing his character are not addressed. Aware of
his own complexities, Barnum wrote an autobiography in 1855 that underwent numerous
additions throughout his life. Giving equal relevance to his childhood experiences
as well as his major professional enterprises, the text provides us with a detailed
narrative of Barnum's life, enabling us to transform our modern conceptions of
the man, offering insight and validation for provincial personal explorations
while divulging sophistication in his character and composition. It was reported
that P.T. Barnum's final words on April 7, 1891, were a request asking what the
circus receipts were at Madison Square Garden that day. Barnum's fervor and personal
resolution were present until his final moments. Although more than 60 years old
when he created "The Greatest Show on Earth," Barnum's life-long
ambitions, reflections, resolutions, experiences and successes served to define
the legacy of the great entrepreneur and showman. It is, however, P.T. Barnum's
circus endeavor that has endured through time and has become testament to his
struggles and triumphs, enshrining his existence and preserving his immortality.
Barnum uncovered a world of curiosity and, in doing so, discovered
the curious, offered the superlative and invited the controversial. P.T. Barnum
was the answer to the democratic dream to challenge the establishment and alter
the authoritative voice. His pioneering spirit of promotion and his acumen for
business transformed popular conceptions of the era, in turn molding and defining
many ideals of today. Although Barnum was considered extreme in his methods, a
concept at times still shared today, he must be acknowledged and credited with
significant contributions to the face of American entertainment, and the art of
making entertainment great. Kathleen Maher
The Barnum
Museum Executive Director/Curator P.T. Barnum's impact
reaches deep into our American heritage and the story of his vast contributions
are preserved in his Bridgeport museum. Conceived and constructed by P.T., The
Barnum Museum has proudly served an international audience since 1893, and is
one of our country's great national treasures. The ornate, exotic building distinguishes
the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut's uniqueness, it is a symbol of achievement
and creativity, and is a testament to the pioneers and visionaries of the 19th
century. |
