Spirit of America Bookstore
[1810-91]
 | short profile |  |
“Nobody ever lost a dollar underestimating the taste of the American people.”
“The noblest art is that of making others happy.”
“Money is in some respects life's fire: it is a very excellent servant, but a terrible master.”
“Every crowd has a silver lining.”
“Witchcraft is one of the most baseless, absurd, disgusting, and silly of all the humbugs.”
“Without promotion, something terrible happens . . . Nothing!”
— Phineas Taylor 'P.T.' Barnum
B I O
t e x t
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Phineas Taylor 'P.T.' Barnum is credited with inventing the 3-ring circus
P.T. Barnum entry at Wikipedia
browse books
browse P.T. Barnum Store at Amazon
credits for character 'P.T. Barnum' at Internet Movie Database
P.T. Barnum Museum in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Kathleen Maher is the Executive Director of The Barnum Museum
Barnum's Businesses
Barnum's Grand Scientific and Musical Theater [circa 1836]
Barnum purchased Scudder's American Museum [est. 1791] in New York City in 1841 and renamed it Barnum's American Museum;
the museum burned down in 1865, and again in 1868, at which point Barnum gave up the exhibition business.
While running the American Museum in New York City, Barnum produced a series of wholesome stageplays with the intention of improving the legitimate theatre's reputation
as tawdry and dangerous (so he invented matinees); his productions of 1861 to 1865 numbered at least eleven and are listed in the Stageplays Section below.
Phineas T. Barnum credits [1861-65] at Internet Broadway Database
Barnum established 'P.T. Barnum's Museum, Menagerie and Circus' in 1870 with partners William C. Coup & Dan Castello; it was Coup who invented the circus train
and the concept of the two- and three-ring circus; the show was later renamed 'The Greatest Show On Earth'. The Cooper & Bailey Circus was established in the 1860s;
the Barnum & Bailey Circus was formed by merger in March 1881.
Five of the seven Ringling Brothers established The World's Greatest Shows circus in 1884; Ringling purchased Barnum & Bailey in 1907 and finally merged in 1919
to form the 'Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus'. The Feld family bought the Ringling circus in 1967; they announced in January 2017 that the company
will close down in May due to the sluggish economy, declining attendance, and animal rights activism.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey official website
John & Mable Ringling Museums, 5401 Bay Shore Road in Sarasota, Florida
temporary redirect for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus [1919-2017] Section
Works by P.T. Barnum
browse P.T. Barnum Store at Amazon
pseudo-autobiographical novel "The Adventures of An Adventurer" [1841]
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"The Life of P.T. Barnum: Written by Himself" [Redfield, NYC 1855]
Kindle Edition from Tadalique & Co. [7/2014] for $1.75 Univ Illinois Press 9x6 pb [8/2000] for $19.95 Univ Illinois Press 9x6 pb [8/1999] out of print/used |
"The Humbugs of The World: An Account of Humbugs, Delusions, Impositions, Quackeries, Deceits and Deceivers Generally, In All Ages" [1866]
 | "Struggles and Triumphs: or, Forty Years' Recollections of P.T. Barnum" autobiography [American News Co. 1869 & 1873] Barnum's update of his 1855 autobiography Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [5/2015] for $1.99 Forgotten Books 9x6 pb [9/2015] for $19.57 Penguin American Library ABRIDGED 7¾x5 pb [12/81] for $21.72 Palala Press 9¼x6 hardcover [9/2015] for $28.95 |
 | "The Art of Money Getting: or, Golden Rules For Making Money" [1880] by P.T. Barnum Kindle Edition from Spalding Designs [12/2011] for 99¢ {sic} Arc Manor 8x5 pb [4/2008] for $4.99 Theophania Publng 9x6 pb [7/2011] for $14.99 |
 | "The Wild Beasts, Birds, and Reptiles of The World: The Story of Their Capture" [1888]
Fredonia Books 9¼x7½ pb [7/2002] for $22.38 hardcover [8/00] for $40.76 |
 | trilogy of picture books with Sarah J. Burke [1888] P.T. Barnum and children's author & illustrator Sarah J. Burke collaborated on three picture books 'arranged for little people' with titles "Circus", "Museum", and "Menagerie"; the combined trilogy {cover at left} is not available on Amazon and only the single book "Menagerie" is found there Menagerie: 24-page Kindle Edition from HardPress Publng [10/2015] for $6.64 Menagerie: 42-page CreateSpace 9x6 pb [3/2014] for $14.99 Menagerie: 26-page HardPress Publng 9x6 pb [6/2015] for $18.95 |
"Why I Am A Universalist" [1890]
 | "Animal Stories by P.T. Barnum: An Account of The Author's Famous Expedition In Search of Wild Animals For The Circus" [14 stories 1926] Illustrated by Florence White Williams Wildside Press 8½x5½ pb [8/2012] for $11.99 Saalfield Publng Every Child's Library hardcover [1926] out of print/used Saalfield Publng Every Child's Library 7½x5¼ hardcover [1926] out of print/used |
 | "Selected Letters of P.T. Barnum" [1983] Edited & Introduced by A.H. Saxon Columbia Univ Press 9x6 hardcover [5/83] for $39.99 |
 | "The Colossal P.T. Barnum Reader: Nothing Else Like It In The Universe" [2005] Edited by James W. Cook The largest collection of Barnum's works ever produced, with excerpts from his pseudo-autobio-graphical novel "The Adventures of An Adventurer" [1841], his European letters from 1844-46 informing readers of the New York Atlas of his regal reception overseas, and a large selection from "Ancient and Modern Humbugs of The World", Barnum's 1864-65 insider's look into the frauds of XIXth-century American culture. Univ Illinois Press 10x7 pb [12/2005] for $16.23 Univ Illinois Press 10¼x7¼ hardcover [12/2005] out of print/used |
 | "P.T. Barnum Premium 4 Book Collection" for Kindle [2014] contains his autobiography [1855], "The Humbugs of The World" [1866], "The Art of Money Getting" [1880], and "Why I Am A Universalist" [1890] Kindle Edition from Timeless Wisdom Collection/BLP [11/2014] for 99¢ {sic} |
 | "P.T Barnum Premium Collection - 4 Books" [2015] contains his autobiography [1855], "The Humbugs of The World" [1866], "The Art of Money Getting" [1880], and "Why I Am A Universalist" [1890] Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [9/2015] for 99¢ {sic} CreateSpace 9½x6¾ pb [9/2015] for $18.99 |
Works About P.T. Barnum
 | "The Life of Hon. Phineas T. Barnum: A Unique Story of A Marvelous Career (Illustrated)" [1891] by Joel Benton [1832–1911]
Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [3/2011] for FREE! {sic} Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [3/2013] for $1.99 Tredition Classics 8x5¼ pb [11/2012] for $39.99 Tredition Classics 8x5 hardcover [11/2012] for $49.99 online etexts in multiple formats at Project Gutenberg |
 | "The Story of P.T. Barnum" excerpt [1922] by Olive Beaupré Miller [1883-1968] Excerpted chapter from “My Book House, Volume 6: The Latch Key” [1922]; length here approx. 22 pages Kindle Edition from A.J. Cornell Publns [11/2011] for 99¢ |
 | "Barnum's First Circus & Other Stories" [1949] by Laura Benét [1884-1979] Details are scarce: it may well be that only the title/cover story is about Barnum Literary Licensing 9x6 pb [10/2012] for $31.95 Literary Licensing 9x6 hardcover [10/2012] for $46.94 Dodd, Mead & Co. hardcover [1949] out of print/used |
 | "The World's Greatest Showman: The Life of P.T. Barnum" [1956] by J. Bryan III Random House / Landmark Books hardcover [1956] out of print/many used Random House / Landmark Books hardcover [1956] out of print/used |
 | "The Fabulous Showman: The Life and Times of P.T. Barnum" [1959] by Irving Wallace Signet mass pb [1962] out of print/used Hutchinson 8½x5½ hardcover [1960] out of print/used Knopf 8¼x6 hardcover [1959] out of print/60+ used |
 | "Circus Heroes and Heroines" [1972] by Rhina Kirk Brief profiles of famous circus personalities such as P.T. Barnum, Tom Thumb, Clyde Beatty, and Annie Oakley - plus a short history of the origins of the circus. Hammond, Inc. 10x7¼ hardcover [1972] out of print/many used Hammond, Inc. 10x7¼ hardcover [1972] out of print/used |
 | "Humbug: The Art of P.T. Barnum" [1973] by Neil Harris analytical and critical exploration of American cultural life, of developing urbanization between 1840 and the 1880s, and of major patterns within that movement, through the prism of the career and doings of P.T. Barnum Univ Chicago Press 9x6 pb [5/81] for $17.50 Little, Brown & Co. hardcover [1973] out of print/used |
 | "P.T. Barnum: The Legend and The Man" [1990] by A.H. Saxon Columbia Univ Press 9¼x6 pb [4/95] for $18.10 Columbia Univ Press 9¼x6 pb [4/95] out of print/used Columbia Univ Press 9x6 hardcover [1990] for $29.24 |
 | "P. T. Barnum: The World's Greatest Showman" biography [grades 6-9; 1993] by Alice Mulcahey Fleming Walker & Co. 9x6 hardcover [10/93] for $2.99 {sic} Walker & Co. 90¼x6¼ library hardcover [10/93] out of print/used |
 | "Prince of Humbugs: A Life of P. T. Barnum" [grades 6-9; 1994] by Catherine M. Andronik Atheneum 9½x6½ hardcover [11/94] out of print/used |
 | "There's A Customer Born Every Minute: P.T. Barnum's Secrets To Business Success" [1998] by Joe Vitale
Kindle Edition from Wiley [2007 edition] for $21.59 {sic} Wiley pb [4/2006] out of print/used AMACOM 9x6½ pb [1/98] out of print/many used Wiley 9x6¼ hardcover [4/2006] for $6.99 |
Edgar Poe Mystery Novels by Harold Schechter, 1999-2006
Why are these books included here? Because P.T Barnum co-stars in three, and the first is also relevant.
author's official website •
author entry at Wikipedia
 | "Nevermore: A Novel" [#1 = 1999] A scathing review of the autobiography of Col. David Crockett brings the frontiersman-now-Congress-man to Edgar Poe's Baltimore chambers, to demand an apology; events lead to a series of gruesome murders which the two men try to solve . . . Kindle Edition from Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster Digital Sales [6/2010] for $9.99 Atria Books 9x6 pb [8/2009] for $19.65 Pocket mass pb [2000] out of print/40+ used Atria Books 9¾x6½ hardcover [1999] for $12.00 |
 | "The Hum Bug" [#2 = 2001] / renamed "Edgar Poe At The Mystery Museum" Edgar Poe and his frail wife Sissy have moved to Manhattan; an exhibit of Davy Crockett artifacts at P.T. Barnum's Mystery Museum is fraudulant, as Edgar owns the original items; the controversy pleases Barnum, for he loves publicity of any kind; but the next round of press attention connects Barnum to a fresh brutal murder, so he hires young Poe to help clear his name. MM: Kindle Edition from Author & Company [3/2013] for $4.99 HB: Pocket mass pb [11/2002] out of print/used HB: Atria Books 9½x6½ hardcover [11/2001] for $12.41 |
 | "The Mask of Red Death" [#3 = 2004] / renamed "Edgar Poe and The Frontier Fiend" Two girls are brutally murdered in the sweltering summer of 1845, their throats slashed, viciously scalped, and - most shocking of all - missing their livers. Prime suspect is one of the human attractions at P.T. Barnum’s American Museum, the redskin Chief Wolf Bear. Writer Edgar Poe finds a third victim, a man who is also scalped. Then Western scout Kit Carson appears, on the trail of a liver-eating killer . . . FF: Kindle Edition from Author & Company [3/2013] for $4.99 MRD: Ballantine Books 8x5¼ pb [7/2005] out of print/used MRD: Ballantine Books 9½x6½ hardcover [8/2004] out of print/used |
 | "The Tell-Tale Corpse" [#4 = 2006] / renamed "Edgar Poe and The Concord Killer"
P.T. Barnum implores Edgar Poe to go to Boston and obtain a medicine urgently needed by Poe's ailing wife and also to bring back several crime-scene artifacts for Barnum's museum; while in Boston, Edgar stumbles into serial killings that the authorities have not yet connected; he is joined by fellow author Louisa May Alcott in the search for the killer . . . CK: Kindle Edition from Author & Company [3/2013] for $4.99 TTC: Ballantine Books 9½x6½ hardcover [3/2006] for $9.00 |
 | "Barnum!: In Secret Service To The USA" [2003] by David Tischman & Howard Chaykin, Illustrated by Niko Henrichon American showman Phineas Barnum saves the life of President Grover Cleveland and is asked to become a secret federal agent (because his circus traveled all over the country). Amazon reviewers cite sloppy plotting and lame jokes, and the choice of visionary Nikola Tesla (just thirty years old in the late 1880s) as an evil mastermind is simply ludicrous. Vertigo/DC Comics 10¼x6½ pb [2005] for $7.95 Vertigo/DC Comics 10½x7 hardcover [6/2003] for $4.75 |
 | "The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P. T. Barnum" [grades 3-7; 2009] by Candace Fleming, Illustrated by Ray Fenwick Schwartz & Wade 9¾x8 hardcover [9/2009] for $7.49 |
 | "Among The Wonderful: A Novel" [2011] by Stacy Carlson Fresh off his success promoting the slave Joice Heth, Phineas Barnum purchased Scudder's American Museum [est. 1791] in New York City; he quickly ordered major changes which made holdover taxidermist Emile Guillaudeu unhappy; giantess Anna Haining Swan {Bates} was simply unhappy. The book evokes a time when parts of Manhattan were still wilderness, Irish gangs controlled the streets, and new technologies made life both better and more difficult. Kindle Edition from Steerforth/Penguin Random House [7/2011] for $14.99 Steerforth Press 9¼x6 pb [10/2012] for $15.60 Steerforth Press 9¼x6 pb [10/2012] out of print/used Steerforth Press 9½x5¾ hardcover [8/2011] for $21.78 |
 | "The Peerless Prodigies of P.T. Barnum" [2012] A stupendous graphic novel by Jillian Lerner, Illustrated by Marc Olivent In 1857, an assistant to photographer Matthew Brady is seduced into working for New York City showman P.T. Barnum . . . Sensorium Editions 10x7 pb [3/2012] for $9.99 |
 | "P.T. Barnum For Kids" for Kindle [2014] by Ian D. Fraser
55-page Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [5/2014] for $2.99 |
Movies & Television About P.T. Barnum
credits for character 'P.T. Barnum' at Internet Movie Database
"Broadway Broke" silent feature
[Selznick Distributing Oct 1923]
  | A retired Broadway actress has a small dog who is part of a vaudeville act and is the sole support of the family; looking for ways to make more money, she begins to write plays and sells them to a Hollywood producer . . . • Produced by Murray W. Garsson; directed by J. Searle Dawley; written by John Lynch, based on a Saturday Evening Post short story by Earl Derr Biggers; starring Mary Carr, Percy Marmont, Gladys Leslie, Dore Davidson, Macklyn Arbuckle {as P.T. Barnum}, Macey Harlam, Edward Earle, Pierre Gendron, Billy Quirk, Henrietta Crosman, Sally Crute, Leslie King {as Mark Twain}, Albert Phillips, Frederick Burton
VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb |
"Barnum Was Right" silent cartoon short [Sherwood-Wadsworth/Educational Nov 1926] /tt0402826/
Not really about P.T. Barnum, but indicative of his popular reputation
"Barnum Was Right" comedy feature [Universal Studios Sept 1929] /tt0019676/
The owner of a failing hotel spreads a rumor that there is pirate treasure somewhere in the building . . .
"A Lady's Morals" [M.G.M. Nov 1930] /tt0021045/
Produced by Irving Thalberg; directed by Sidney Franklin; starring Grace Moore {as Jenny Lind}, Wallace Beery {as Barnum}
"Jenny Lind" [M.G.M. Sept 1931] /tt0910907/
alternate-language version {French?} of the "A Lady's Morals" [1930] script;
directed by Arthur Robison; starring Grace Moore, André Berley {as Barnum}
"The Mighty Barnum" [1934] starring Wallace Beery /tt0025501/
"High, Wide, and Handsome" [1937] /tt0029000/ Played by Raymond Brown
"The Great John Ericsson" [Sweden Dec 1937, USA May 1938] /tt0029068/
"P.T. Barnum Presents Jenny Lind (September 11, 1850)" [1955] /tt0751907/
episode of the "You Are There" TV series; played by Ray Collins
"More Than Kin (1958) /tt0685376/ episode of "The Restless Gun" TV series
Played by Robert Carson
"The Greatest Coward On Earth" [1965] /tt0531295/ episode of the "Branded" TV series
with Pat O'Brien (as Phineas T. Barnum)
"Those Fantastic Flying Fools" [American Intl Pictures July 1967]
 | aka "Jules Verne's Rocket To The Moon' • Phineas T. Barnum {Burl Ives} and friends finance the first flight to the moon but are blocked at every turn . . .; U.K. version 119 minutes, first run not very successful in USA, so cut down to 95 minutes for further distribution as "Blast Off" • Filmed in Ireland; directed by Don Sharp; written by Harry Alan Towers/Peter Welbeck & Dave Freeman, 'inspired by the writings of Jules Verne'; co-starring Terry-Thomas, Gert Fröbe, Lionel Jeffries, Hermione Gingold, Troy Donahue, Daliah Lavi
BO (95 minutes): Olive Films color Blu-ray [3/2017] for $17.46 BO (95 minutes): Olive Films color DVD [3/2017] for $14.72 BO (92 minutes): H.B.O./Cannon Video color VHS [2008] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"The Fetching of Jenny" [Dec 1969] /tt0599879/
episode of "Here Come The Brides" TV series directed by E.W. Swackhamer
non-historical scheme to bring Jenny Lind (Mala Powers) to Seattle also brings P.T. Barnum (Ivor Francis)
"Barnum" TV movie [1986] starring Burt Lancaster /tt0090701/
"Barnum!" TV movie [1986] starring Michael Crawford /tt0090702/
"P.T. Barnum: America's Greatest Showman" [A&E-TV Jan 1995]
episode of "Biography" TV series
 | 60-minute episode co-produced by Philip B. Kunhardt Jr., Philip B. Kunhardt III & Peter W. Kunhardt; co-produced & directed by Andrea Black; co-produced & written by Russ Firestone; hosted by Jack Perkins; narrated by Cliff Robertson; featuring Karl Malden {as voice of Barnum}, with archive footage of Anna Swan & Jack Earle
VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available (2017) • credits at IMDb |
 | "P.T. Barnum: America's Greatest Showman" [1995] companion book to the Biography/Discovery TV show by Philip B. Kunhardt Jr., Philip B. Kunhardt III & Peter W. Kunhardt Knopf 10x8½ hardcover [9/95] for $29.24 Knopf 10x8½ hardcover [9/95] out of print/used |
"P.T. Barnum" [1995] /tt1119733/ episode of the "A.J.'s Time Travelers" TV series
played by Dell Yount
"P.T. Barnum" TV movie [1999] /tt0209720/ w/Beau Bridges
"Humbug" (2002) /tt0646511/ episode of the "Mentors" TV series
Played by Heath Lamberts
"Gangs of New York" [2002] /tt0217505/ Played by Roger Ashton-Griffiths
"Freak Show II" [2005] /tt0748479/ episode of the "Wild West Tech" TV series
Played by Tad Atkinson
"Masters of Illusion" (2014) /tt4104170/ 23-minute episode of the "America: Facts vs. Fiction" TV series
featuring Barnum {portrayed by Paul D'Elia} + Harry Houdini
"P.T. Barnum The Lost Legend" docudrama [festival circuit 2017] /tt3954940/
Played by Bruce Bayley Johnson
"The Greatest Showman (On Earth)" [Fox limited Nov, wide Dec 2017] 
 | Announced 8/2011: 20th Century Fox’s period musical about P.T. Barnum, the legendary showman who created the three-ring circus, and loved to hoax a gullible public, will star Hugh Jackman. Commercials director & visual effects wizard Michael Gracey is set to direct; a focal point of the movie is Barnum’s infatuation with opera singer Jenny Lind, who was called 'The Swedish Nightingale'; added 3/2017: Michelle Williams and Zac Efron are signed • Directed by Michael Gracey; written by Jenny Bicks & Bill Condon; original songs by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul; starring Hugh Jackman {as P.T. Barnum}, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson {as Jenny Lind}, Austyn Johnson, Cameron Seely, Keala Settle, Sam Humphrey {as Tom Thumb}, Yusaku Komori & Danial Son {as Chang & Eng}, Luciano Acuna Jr. {as Dog Boy}, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eric Anderson, Ellis Rubin, Skylar Dunn, Daniel Everidge, Radu Spinghel, Paul Sparks, Will Swenson, Linda Marie Larson, Byron Jennings, Betsy Aidem, Damian Young, Tina Benko, Fredric Lehne, Kathryn Meisle, Timothy Hughes, Gayle Rankin {as Queen Victoria}
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available • Atlantic Records original motion picture soundtrack CD [12/2017] 11 tracks for $10.99 Atlantic Records original motion picture MP3 soundtrack album download [12/2017] 11 tracks for $9.49 full credits at IMDb • official movie site • movie entry at Wikipedia watch official trailers online at YouTube: 6/2017 trailer #1 [2:23] • 11/2017 trailer #2 [2:28] |
Stageplays, Other Media
 | "Voices of History, Volume 2: Arts, Science & Exploration" [2006]
British Library Sound Archive audio CD [1/2006] 2 disks for $41.49 38 tracks on 2 disks, mostly from very early in the XXth Century, including the voices of P.T. Barnum, Sarah Bernhardt, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Thomas Alva Edison, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Charles Lindbergh, Guglielmo Marconi, Robert Edwin Peary, Alice Ellen Terry, and Leo Tolstoy |
Phineas T. Barnum credits [1861-65] at Internet Broadway Database
"Jocko [Musical, Pantomime, Original] Produced by Phineas T. Barnum
http://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/jocko-429473
"The Witch of the Black Cavern [Musical, Pantomime, Original] Produced by Phineas T. Barnum
http://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-witch-of-the-black-cavern-429465
"The Midnight Assault/Love Among the Bonnets Aug 07, 1865 - Aug 12, 1865
http://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-midnight-assault-love-among-the-bonnets-429454
"The Beauty of Seville/Robert and Bertrand Jul 31, 1865 - Aug 05, 1865
http://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-beauty-of-seville-robert-and-bertrand-429405
several more
® ®
"Mr. Barnum" #1 Sep 9, 1918 - Sep 1918
Written by Harrison Rhodes, Thomas A. Wise
https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-show/mr-barnum-6274
https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Barnum-comedy-four-acts/dp/B0008CLP9A
® ®
"Barnum" musical comedy [1980-82]
http://www.ibdb.com/broadway-show/barnum-1847
"BARNUM: A Musical Suggested by the life of P.T. Barnum" [1980] by Mark Bramble
http://www.amazon.com/BARNUM-Musical-Suggested-life-Barnum/dp/B000HSD8AY/
Barnum-playscriptMB.jpg
® ®
 | "Bigger Than Life! P.T. Barnum Presents: American Folktales & Legends" [1995] by Cynthia Mercati 45-minute stageplay for children Pioneer Drama Service, Inc. pb [1995] proprietary/scarce publisher's stageplay page with licensing info |
Image Gallery
Sideshow Attractions
 | "Elephant Story: Jumbo and P.T. Barnum Under the Big Top" [2000] by Les Harding McFarland & Co. 9x6 pb [2/2000] for $19.99 Jumbo the Circus Elephant [1860-85] entry at Wikipedia |
 | "The Showman and The Slave: Race, Death, and Memory In Barnum's America" [2001] by Benjamin Reiss Barnum's first exhibit as a showman was Joice Heth, an elderly enslaved woman who was said to be the 161-year-old former nurse of the infant George Washington; though she was nearly paralyzed, Barnum took her on travelling exhibition from August 1835 to her death in February 1836. Seizing upon the novelty, the newly emerging commercial press (with help from Barnum) turned her act - and especially her death - into one of the first media spectacles in American history. Kindle Edition from Harvard Univ Press [6/2009] for $13.49 Harvard Univ Press 9x6 pb [3/2010] for $23.00 Harvard Univ Press 9½x6½ hardcover [10/2001] out of print/used |
 | "Freaks: Historia del Circo Barnum" [2012] by Marc-Pierre Dylan A Spanish-language history of Barnum's circus and of the lives of his deformed circus artists Spanish-language Kindle Edition from Tombooktu [10/2012] for $2.99 Tombooktu Historia Spanish-language 8x5 pb [10/2012] for $9.95 Tombooktu Historia Spanish-language 7¾x5 pb [10/2012] out of print/used |
 | "Jumbo The Elephant: Mr Scott's Obsession - Inspired By A True Story" [2013] by Jon Ellison The elephant Jumbo lived at the London Zoo from 1865 to 1882, when he was sold to P.T. Barnum and then exhibited in America until 1885. Jumbo was killed by a railroad locomotive in Canada, after which Barnum exhibited the skin and skeleton; Jumbo's skeleton & hide was on exhibit at Tufts University until destroyed in a fire in 1975. 181-page Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [2/2013] for 99¢ |
Family & Friends
Phineas Taylor 'P.T.' Barnum was born in 1810 in Bethel, Connecticut; he operated a famous museum in New York City from 1840 to 1868
and operated a famous circus from 1870 to his death; he died at home in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1891 at age 80.
first wife Charity Hallett Barnum [?-1873] - married 1829-1873
second wife Nancy Fish Barnum [] - married 1874, widowed 1891
'Swedish Nightingale' soprano Johanna Maria 'Jenny' Lind {Goldschmidt} [1820-87]
The relationship began as business; while Barnum was touring Europe with Gen. Tom Thumb in 1849, he heard about the huge crowds attending concerts by 'Swedish Nightingale' Jenny Lind; at major risk, he offered her $1,000 per show in America for 150 performances; Jenny negotiated payment up front and other benefits; Barnum scrambled to gather the funds, but delivered payment. Barnum's publicity caused 60,000 fans to greet her arrival in New York City in September 1850. The tour was quite successful, the fans loved her. Some accounts skip the romance aspect, other accounts suggest that Barnum (then aged 40 to Jenny's 30) became enamored or even fell in love with her. Jenny realized that some of Barnum's promotion tactics were suspect, and so invoked a clause that let her out of the contract in June 1851. Barnum and Lind did 93 performances together; she earned $350,000 and Barnum made at least $500,000. Lind continued the American tour for nearly a year, managed at first by accompamist Julius Benedict and then by old friend Otto Goldschmidt; she and Goldschmidt were married in February 1852. The final American concert was in New York City in May 1852, after which her party sailed back to England.
entry at Wikipedia •
character 'Jenny Lind' credits at IMDb
Jenny Lind Society [est. 2003] based in Belgium
Jenny Lind Sällskapet (Society) [est. 1943] based in Stockholm, Sweden
Jenny Lind's "Memoir" [1891]
http://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Madame-Jenny-Lind-Goldschmidt-Collection/dp/1108038689/
 | "The Story of Jenny Lind: The Swedish Nightingale" excerpt [1912] by Kate Dickinson Sweetser [1870-1939] Excerpted chapter from “Ten Girls From History” [1912]; length here approx. 16 pages Kindle Edition from A.J. Cornell Publns [8/2012] for 99¢ |
 | "Jenny and Barnum: A Novel of Love" [1981] by Roderick Thorp Kindle Edition from Open Road Media [12/2014] for $7.99 Doubleday 8¼x5½ hardcover [1981] out of print/used |
L i n k s
P.T. Barnum Museum in Bridgeport, CT
The Lost Museum {virtual tour of Barnum's American Museum in New York City}
listed #67 on The Atlantic Monthly's Top 100 Most Influential Figures in American History [Dec 2006]
here on the P.T. Barnum [1810-91] Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
top of page • businesses • works by P.T. Barnum • works about P.T. Barnum • movies & TV • stageplays, other media •
image gallery • sideshow attractions • family & friends • links
and on The American Circus Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
top of page • brief history • books • movies & TV • stageplays, other media • toys & games •
legendary circus people • American circuses • circus music • links
Spirit of America Bookstore's Circus Film Festival Pages
Spirit of America Bookstore's Circus Fiction Page
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