PT Barnum

Troy’s Great Elephant Rampage

May 15, 2026 by Dave Waite Leave a Comment

Barnum & Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth opened their 1882 season March 11th with a torchlight parade to Madison Square Garden. Every foot of their route through the city was shoulder to shoulder with spectators. Those who braved the cool evening were rewarded with a two-and-a-half-hour circus parade.

Their next stop, Philadelphia on April 24th, was just the beginning of a busy season that would take the circus across 129 cities in New England, New York, and down the eastern seaboard. Also that spring, Barnum and Bailey purchased Jumbo, a 21-year-old African Savanna Elephant from the London Zoo. He soon joined the other elephants on the tour and was quickly given top billing. [Read more…] about Troy’s Great Elephant Rampage

When PT Barnum’s Stagecoach Plunged into an Old Fort’s Moat

February 8, 2026 by Joseph W. Zarzynski Leave a Comment

The railroad did not come to the village of Lake George, formerly known as Caldwell, until 1882. So for decades travel to the lakeside village was mainly by stagecoach along the plank road from Glens Falls built in 1848 (now Route 9). [Read more…] about When PT Barnum’s Stagecoach Plunged into an Old Fort’s Moat

Tales of Early American – Chinese Trade Relations

June 5, 2025 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

The tradition of freak shows in Europe dates back to the sixteenth century. Medical “monstrosities” became standard components of traveling exhibitions. During the nineteenth century such shows caught the imagination of large viewing (and paying) audiences.

Human exhibits were presented for public entertainment and the parade of “freaks of nature” was a booming business. With the expansion of colonialism, the emphasis changed from physical to racial characteristics. Displays of exotic but “backward” populations (“human zoos”) became common in the 1870s in the midst of imperialist ambitions. [Read more…] about Tales of Early American – Chinese Trade Relations

Mystery Tusk: Searching for Elephants in the Maine Woods

October 23, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Mystery Tusk: Searching for Elephants in the Maine Woods (North Country Press, 2022) chronicles Gary Hoyle’s search for the identity of a tusk found in the collection of an old, dismantled museum, when the author was the Curator of Natural History at the Maine State Museum. [Read more…] about Mystery Tusk: Searching for Elephants in the Maine Woods

There Were Giants in the Earth in Those Days

April 17, 2023 by Jack Kelly 3 Comments

My first brush with the artifacts of history came when I was a youngster on a family vacation to Cooperstown, Otsego County, NY. I found the famous Baseball Hall of Fame, with its baggy uniforms, battered bats and flattened fielders’ mitts, decidedly ho-hum. I couldn’t wait to get to the nearby Farmers’ Museum and see something that I had heard of with wonder: the Cardiff Giant. [Read more…] about There Were Giants in the Earth in Those Days

Becoming Barnum: The Anatomical Venus & Tom Thumb in Scotland

March 14, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, newly discovered letters from P.T. Barnum reveal details about his activities during the Gen. Tom Thumb tour in Scotland offering insight into Barnum’s anxieties, including his quest for a new play for Gen. Tom Thumb. They also shed light on Barnum’s commissioning of the “Anatomical Venus,” A life-sized, dissectible wax woman, for his American Museum in New York. [Read more…] about Becoming Barnum: The Anatomical Venus & Tom Thumb in Scotland

Becoming Barnum: Taxidermy & The Physioscope

March 6, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, P.T. Barnum was worried about his employees at the American Museum in New York City. He wanted museum taxidermist Emile Guillaudeu to create a pose for a pony’s skin that suggested motion with dignity and speed, but it is uncertain if he was successful. [Read more…] about Becoming Barnum: Taxidermy & The Physioscope

Becoming Barnum: General Tom Thumb’s Performance

February 28, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, P.T. Barnum tries to navigate a problem at the theater and make sure everything is running smoothly. He’s also eager to get a play about General Tom Thumb ready for an audience. Despite the play not being ready yet, Barnum is in London waiting for it and writes letters to his friends for help. Eventually, he gets the play and makes a big announcement in the newspaper about the General’s upcoming performance. [Read more…] about Becoming Barnum: General Tom Thumb’s Performance

Science & Suckers: The Cohoes Mastodon & The Cardiff Giant

February 9, 2023 by Peter Hess Leave a Comment

In 1866, NY State Geologist James Hall received a message from T.G. Younglove, an official at Harmony Mills in Cohoes, New York, informing Hall that while conducting some excavations to expand the mill they uncovered a “great pothole” at the foot of Cohoes Falls where the Mohawk River begins to empty into the Hudson.

The “great pothole” contained a large jawbone “of some unknown beast,” much larger than that of an elephant. [Read more…] about Science & Suckers: The Cohoes Mastodon & The Cardiff Giant

Becoming Barnum: Going It Like a Rush

January 23, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, we dive into P.T. Barnum‘s 1846 letters to his uncle Alanson Taylor. He shares his business advice for their partnership in the Baltimore Museum, emphasizing the importance of good systems, press relations, and gradual improvements.

He also expresses disdain for previous museum managers and their lack of physical improvements. [Read more…] about Becoming Barnum: Going It Like a Rush

Becoming PT Barnum: New Year’s Day, 1846

January 18, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, explore the letters P.T. Barnum wrote on New Year’s Day in 1846 as he navigated his business dealings on both sides of the Atlantic and grappled with the difficult decision of whether to return home during his wife’s confinement. From business schemes to the challenges of managing a family across the ocean, this episode offers a unique insight into the mind of the legendary showman. [Read more…] about Becoming PT Barnum: New Year’s Day, 1846

PT Barnum’s Personal Life

January 14, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, we learn about P.T. Barnum’s thoughts on personal wealth, honor, and “gulling” the public, as well as his religious beliefs and values.

We explore letters written in December 1845 in which Barnum discusses his wife’s pregnancy, his acquisition of paintings of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, and his efforts to persuade others of his Universalist beliefs. Don’t miss this fascinating look into the personal and financial life of P.T. Barnum in the 19th century. [Read more…] about PT Barnum’s Personal Life

PT Barnum’s Promotion of General Tom Thumb in London

January 5, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, P.T. Barnum works to promote the performances of his famous protégé, General Tom Thumb, in London. He uses handbills, street parades, and even advertising vans to attract a crowd. This episode includes an interesting tale of how Barnum brought General Tom Thumb to the stage in London and offers a unique glimpse into 19th century entertainment. [Read more…] about PT Barnum’s Promotion of General Tom Thumb in London

PT Barnum & Showing Human Beings As Curiosities

November 20, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

This episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast discusses an uncomfortable truth about showing human beings as curiosities. A letter from P.T. Barnum in November 1845 concerns the exhibition of people with genetic abnormalities. To be sure, this topic is complex. [Read more…] about PT Barnum & Showing Human Beings As Curiosities

PT Barnum, George Catlin & Indigenous Exploitation

November 11, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

On this week’s episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, the connection between P. T. Barnum and a lawyer-turned-artist, author, and showman George Catlin is explored. While in Europe, Barnum reached out, looking for new and profitable opportunities, especially since the entourage had made so little money performing in French towns, Paris being the exception.

This proposal, in particular, which Barnum described to Catlin on November 8, 1845, comes across like a middle-of-the-night brainstorm that should never have made it to pen and paper. The idea was abhorrent, and further investigation reveals that this wasn’t a novel and untested idea for Barnum in 1845. Far worse, it points to a disturbing piece of history, exposing a profound injustice that should not be swept out of sight. [Read more…] about PT Barnum, George Catlin & Indigenous Exploitation

PT Barnum Podcast: Frances Clarkson, Barnum Museum Ticket Taker

November 3, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

This week on the Becoming Barnum podcast, we have the opportunity to learn about an employee in a less glorified, though still significant, position: the ticket-taker and bookkeeper for PT Barnum’s museum, one Frances Clarkson.

The name “Frances” is mentioned in earlier letters about a person leaving the museum, an incident that seemed to upset Barnum. Yet those letters gave no clue as to the role or identity of that individual. [Read more…] about PT Barnum Podcast: Frances Clarkson, Barnum Museum Ticket Taker

PT Barnum Podcast: A Tree Found, Tried & Shook

October 14, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Fall is apple season and the title phrase of this week’s Becoming Barnum podcast — plucked from a P. T. Barnum letter — seemed ripe for picking.

Writing from France to his American Museum manager Fordyce Hitchcock on September 12th, 1845, Barnum commented, “No, my dear H, the Museum, like Tom Thumb (2 years ago), is a tree found, tried & shook. There is nothing now to do but pick up the fruit.” [Read more…] about PT Barnum Podcast: A Tree Found, Tried & Shook

Becoming Barnum: Read & Reflect, Then Do as You Please

October 11, 2022 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

This episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast explores circus impresario P.T. Barnum’s relationship with his family. A collection of letters written in 1845-46 during a trip to Europe include relatively few to his wife Charity Hallett Barnum.

Although it’s clear that Barnum missed his wife and their young children, the correspondence suggests a marital relationship that was often out of sync, compounded by Charity’s chronic health problems. [Read more…] about Becoming Barnum: Read & Reflect, Then Do as You Please

The Albany Museum: Curiosities, Circus & Performing Arts

July 4, 2022 by Peter Hess 6 Comments

Albany’s first museum was started in 1798 in a building on the corner of Green and Beaver streets. In the summer of 1808, two royal tigers were housed at the Thespian Hotel, a circus pitched its tent, and Ralph Letton started the Albany Museum.

The Albany Museum was located in the Old City Hall (Stadt Huys) on the northeastern corner of South Market Street and Hudson Avenue (today’s Broadway and Hudson Avenue). The Old City Hall was built in 1741 and was the site of the 1754 Albany Congress meeting where Benjamin Franklin first proposed the Albany Plan, a plan of union of the colonies that later was a basis for the U.S. Constitution. On its steps, the Declaration of Independence was first read to Albany on July 19, 1776 by the order of the Provincial Congress. With the construction of the new building on Eagle Street in 1808, the Old City Hall was converted into the Albany Museum. [Read more…] about The Albany Museum: Curiosities, Circus & Performing Arts

Circus Artists and the Flying Trapeze Metaphor

January 3, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp 3 Comments

Equestrian artist Philip Astley was a pioneering entertainment entrepreneur. His demonstrations of trick horse-riding at London’s Royal Amphitheatre in 1768 constitute the origins of modern circus.

Astley performed his routine in a circular arena which would subsequently be referred to as the ring. He interspersed his displays with a variety of additional acts. Both in Europe and America other producers copied and expanded his new style of entertainment. [Read more…] about Circus Artists and the Flying Trapeze Metaphor

PT Barnum

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