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OF P. T. BARNUM. WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. A U T H O R’S E D I T I O N. [BIOGRAPHY COMPLETE TO APRIL, 1872.] BUFFALO, N. Y. WARREN, JOHNSON & CO. ——— 1872. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by P. T. BARNUM, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Entered also at Stationer’s Hall, London, England. TO MY WIFE AND FAMILY I DEDICATE THIS STORY OF A LIFE WHICH HAS BEEN LARGELY DEVOTED TO THEIR INTERESTS AND SERVICE....
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To the Public :—Although the large octavo edition of Struggles and Triumphs , upon fine paper, has enjoyed an unprecedented large sale at $3.50 and upwards, according to styles of binding; yet determined to supply the popular demand for a cheaper edition, and thus in a measure render to the great American people, who have lavished upon me so many favors, a due recognition of their claims upon my gratitude and esteem,—I have purchased, of the original publishers, the electrotype plates of text and engravings together with the copyright of the work; and, now enabled to control the publication myself, I give the same precise text with the original, (together with an additional chapter bringing the biography down to April 2d, 1872,) at the low price of $1.50. Copies of the cheap edition can be had on application to the American News Company, New York, Warren, Johnson & Co., Buffalo,...
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T HIS book is my Recollections of Forty Busy Years. Few men in civil life have had a career more crowded with incident, enterprise, and various intercourse with the world than mine. With the alternations of success and defeat, extensive travel in this and foreign lands; a large acquaintance with the humble and honored; having held the preëminent place among all who have sought to furnish healthful entertainment to the American people, and, therefore, having had opportunities for garnering an ample storehouse of incident and anecdote, while, at the same time, needing a sagacity, energy, foresight and fortitude rarely required or exhibited in financial affairs, my struggles and experiences (it is not altogether vanity in me to think) can not be without interest to my fellow countrymen. Various leading publishers have solicited me to place at their disposal my Recollections of what I have been, and seen, and done. These...
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MY BIRTH—FIRST PROPERTY—FARMER-BOY LIFE—GOING TO SCHOOL—EARLY ACQUISITIVENESS—A HOLIDAY PEDDLER—FIRST VISIT TO NEW YORK—LEARNING TO “SWAP”—MISERIES FROM MOLASSES CANDY—“IVY ISLAND”—ENTERING UPON MY ESTATE—CLERKSHIP IN A COUNTRY STORE—TRADING MORALS—THE BETHEL MEETING-HOUSE—STOVE QUESTION—SUNDAY SCHOOL AND BIBLE CLASS—MY COMPOSITION—THE ONE THING NEEDFUL. I WAS born in the town of Bethel, in the State of Connecticut, July 5, 1810. My name, Phineas Taylor, is derived from my maternal grandfather, who was a great wag in his way, and who, as I was his first grandchild, gravely handed over to my mother at my christening a gift-deed, in my behalf, of five acres of land situated in that part of the parish of Bethel known as the “Plum Trees.” I was thus a real estate owner almost at my very birth; and of my property, “Ivy Island,” something shall be said anon. My father, Philo Barnum, was the son of Ephraim Barnum, of Bethel, who was...
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DEATH OF MY GRANDMOTHER—MY FATHER—HIS CHARACTER—HIS DEATH—BEGINNING THE WORLD BAREFOOTED—GOING TO GRASSY PLAINS—THE TIN WARE AND GREEN BOTTLE LOTTERY—“CHAIRY” HALLETT—OUR FIRST MEETING—EVENING RIDE TO BETHEL—A NOVEL FUR TRADE—OLD “RUSHIA” AND YOUNG “RUSHIA”—THE BUYER SOLD—COUNTRY STORE EXPERIENCES—OLD “UNCLE BIBBINS”—A TERRIBLE DUEL BETWEEN BENTON AND BIBBINS—FALL OF BENTON—FLIGHT OF BIBBINS. I N the month of August, 1825, my maternal grandmother met with an accident in stepping on the point of a rusty nail, and, though the matter was at first considered trivial, it resulted in her death. Alarming symptoms soon made her sensible that she was on her death-bed; and while she was in full possession of her faculties, the day before she died she sent for her grandchildren to take final leave of them. I shall never forget the sensations I experienced when she took me by the hand and besought me to lead a religious life, and especially to remember...
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MY CLERKSHIP IN BROOKLYN—UNEASINESS AND DISSATISFACTION—THE SMALL POX—GOING HOME TO RECRUIT—“CHAIRY” HALLETT AGAIN—BACK TO BROOKLYN—OPENING A PORTER-HOUSE—SELLING OUT—MY CLERKSHIP IN NEW YORK—MY HABITS—OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY—IN BETHEL ONCE MORE—BEGINNING BUSINESS ON MY OWN ACCOUNT—OPENING DAY—LARGE SALES AND GREAT PROFITS—THE LOTTERY BUSINESS—VIEWS THEREON—ABOUT A POCKET-BOOK—WITS AND WAGS—SWEARING OUT A FINE—FIRST APPEARANCE AT THE BAR—SECURING “ARABIAN”—A MODEL LOVE-LETTER. Mr. Oliver Taylor removed from Danbury to Brooklyn, Long Island, where he kept a grocery store and also had a large comb factory and a comb store in New York. In the fall of 1826 he offered me a situation as clerk in his Brooklyn store, and I accepted it. I soon became conversant with the routine of my employer’s business and before long he entrusted to me the purchasing of all goods for his store. I bought for cash entirely, going into the lower part of New York City in search of the cheapest...
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PLEASURE VISIT TO PHILADELPHIA—LIVING IN GRAND STYLE—THE BOTTOM OF THE PILE—BORROWING MONEY—MY MARRIAGE—RETURN TO BETHEL—EARLY MARRIAGES—MORE PRACTICAL JOKING—SECOND APPEARANCE AS COUNSEL—GOING TO HOUSEKEEPING—SELLING BOOKS AT AUCTION—THE “YELLOW STORE”—A NEW FIELD—“THE HERALD OF FREEDOM”—MY EDITORIAL CAREER—LIBEL SUITS—FINED AND IMPRISONED—LIFE IN THE DANBURY JAIL—CELEBRATION OF MY LIBERATION—POOR BUSINESS AND BAD DEBTS—REMOVAL TO NEW YORK—SEEKING MY FORTUNE—“WANTS’, IN THE “SUN”—WM. NIBLO—KEEPING A BOARDING-HOUSE—A WHOLE SHIRT ON MY BACK. D URING this season I made arrangements with Mr. Samuel Sherwood, of Bridgeport, to go on an exploring expedition to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where we understood there was a fine opening for a lottery office and where we meant to try our fortunes, provided the prospects should equal our expectations. We went to New York where I had an interview with Mr. Dudley S. Gregory, the principal business man of Messrs. Yates and McIntyre, who dissuaded me from going to Pittsburg, and offered me the entire...
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THE AMUSEMENT BUSINESS—DIFFERENT GRADES—CATERING FOR THE PUBLIC—MY CLAIMS, AIMS AND EFFORTS—JOICE HETH—APPARENT GENUINENESS OF HER VOUCHERS—BEGINNING LIFE AS A SHOWMAN—SUCCESS OF MY FIRST EXHIBITION—SECOND STEP IN THE SHOW LINE—SIGNOR VIVALLA—MY FIRST APPEARANCE ON ANY STAGE—AT WASHINGTON—ANNE ROYALL—STIMULATING THE PUBLIC—CONTESTS BETWEEN VIVALLA AND ROBERTS—EXCITEMENT AT FEVER HEAT—CONNECTING MYSELF WITH A CIRCUS—BREAD AND BUTTER DINNER FOR THE WHOLE COMPANY—NARROW ESCAPE FROM SUFFOCATION—LECTURING AN ABUSIVE CLERGYMAN—AARON TURNER—A TERRIBLE PRACTICAL JOKE—I AM REPRESENTED TO BE A MURDERER—RAILS AND LYNCH LAW—NOVEL MEANS FOR SECURING NOTORIETY. B Y this time it was clear to my mind that my proper position in this 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, and, I believe, made, had not yet come to me; or rather, I had not found that I was to cater for that insatiate want...
24 minute read
THREE MEALS AND LODGING IN ONE HOUR—TURNING THE TABLES ON TURNER—A SON AS OLD AS HIS FATHER—LEAVING THE CIRCUS WITH TWELVE HUNDRED DOLLARS—MY FIRST TRAVELLING COMPANY—PREACHING TO THE PEOPLE—APPEARING AS A NEGRO MINSTREL—THREATENED WITH ASSASSINATION—ESCAPES FROM DANGER—TEMPERANCE—REPORT OF MY ARREST FOR MURDER—RE-ENFORCING MY COMPANY—“BARNUM’S GRAND SCIENTIFIC AND MUSICAL THEATRE”—OUTWITTING A SHERIFF—“LADY HAYES’S” MANSION AND PLANTATION—A BRILLIANT AUDIENCE—BASS DRUM SOLO—CROSSING THE INDIAN NATION—JOE PENTLAND AS A SAVAGE—TERROR AND FLIGHT OF VIVALLA—A NONPLUSSED LEGERDEMAIN PERFORMER—A MALE EGG-LAYER—DISBANDING MY COMPANY—A NEW PARTNERSHIP—PUBLIC LECTURING—DIFFICULTY WITH A DROVER—THE STEAMBOAT “CERES”—SUDDEN MARRIAGE ON BOARD—MOBBED IN LOUISIANA—ARRIVAL AT NEW ORLEANS. An amusing incident occurred when we were at Hanover Court House, in Virginia. It rained so heavily that we could not perform there and Turner decided to start for Richmond immediately after dinner, when he was informed by the landlord that as our agent had engaged three meals and lodging for the whole company, the entire bill...
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DISGUST AT THE TRAVELLING BUSINESS—ADVERTISING FOR AN ASSOCIATE—RUSH OF THE MILLION-MAKERS—COUNTERFEITERS, CHEATS AND QUACKS—A NEW BUSINESS—SWINDLED BY MY PARTNER—DIAMOND THE DANCER—A NEW COMPANY—DESERTIONS—SUCCESSES AT NEW ORLEANS—TYRONE POWER AND FANNY ELLSLER—IN JAIL AGAIN—BACK TO NEW YORK—ACTING AS A BOOK AGENT—LEASING VAUXHALL—FROM HAND TO MOUTH—DETERMINATION TO MAKE MONEY—FORTUNE OPENING HER DOOR—THE AMERICAN MUSEUM FOR SALE—NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE PURCHASE—HOPES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS—THE TRAIN LAID—SMASHING A RIVAL COMPANY. I HAVE said that the show business has as many grades of dignity as trade, which ranges all the way from the mammoth wholesale establishment down to the corner stand. The itinerant amusement business is at the bottom of the ladder. I had begun there, but I had no wish to stay there; in fact, I was thoroughly disgusted with the trade of a travelling showman, and although I felt that I could succeed in that line, yet I always regarded it, not as an end, but...
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A TRAP SET FOR ME—I CATCH THE TRAPPERS—I BECOME PROPRIETOR OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM—HISTORY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT—HARD WORK AND COLD DINNERS—ADDITIONS TO THE MUSEUM—EXTRAORDINARY ADVERTISING—BARNUM’S BRICK-MAN—EXCITING PUBLIC CURIOSITY—INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES—A DRUNKEN ACTOR—IMITATIONS OF THE ELDER BOOTH—PLEASING MY PATRONS—SECURING TRANSIENT NOVELTIES—LIVING CURIOSITIES—MAKING PEOPLE TALK—A WILDERNESS OF WONDERS—NIAGARA FALLS WITH REAL WATER—THE CLUB THAT KILLED COOK—SELLING LOUIS GAYLORD CLARK—THE FISH WITH LEGS—THE FEJEE MERMAID—HOW IT CAME INTO MY POSSESSION—THE TRUE STORY OF THAT CURIOSITY—JAPANESE MANUFACTURE OF FABULOUS ANIMALS—THE USE I MADE OF THE MERMAID—WHOLESALE ADVERTISING AGAIN—THE BALCONY BAND—DRUMMOND LIGHTS. M Y newspaper squib war against the Peale combination was vigorously kept up; when one morning, about the first of December, I received a letter from the Secretary of that company (now calling itself the “New York Museum Company,”) requesting me to meet the directors at the Museum on the following Monday morning. I went, and found the directors in session. The venerable...
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THE MOST POPULAR PLACE OF AMUSEMENT IN THE WORLD—THE MORAL DRAMA—REFORMING THE ABUSES OF THE STAGE—FAMOUS ACTORS AND ACTRESSES AT THE MUSEUM—ADDING TO THE SALOONS—AFTERNOON AND HOLIDAY PERFORMANCES—FOURTH OF JULY FLAGS—THE MUSEUM CONNECTED WITH ST. PAUL’S—VICTORY OVER THE VESTRYMEN—THE EGRESS—ST. PATRICK’S DAY IN THE MORNING—A WONDERFUL ANIMAL, THE “AIGRESS”—INPOURING OF MONEY—ZOOLOGICAL ERUPTION—THE CITY ASTOUNDED—BABY SHOWS, AND THEIR OBJECT—FLOWER, BIRD, DOG AND POULTRY SHOWS—GRAND FREE BUFFALO HUNT IN HOBOKEN—N. P. WILLIS—THE WOOLLY HORSE—WHERE HE CAME FROM—COLONEL BENTON BEATEN—PURPOSE OF THE EXHIBITION—AMERICAN INDIANS—P. T. BARNUM EXHIBITED—A CURIOUS SPINSTER—THE TOUCHING STORY OF CHARLOTTE TEMPLE—SERVICES IN THE LECTURE ROOM—A FINANCIAL VIEW OF THE MUSEUM—AN “AWFUL RICH MAN.” T HE American Museum was the ladder by which I rose to fortune. Whenever I cross Broadway at the head of Vesey Street, and see the Herald building and that gorgeous pile, the Park Bank, my mind’s eye recalls that less solid, more showy edifice which once...
21 minute read
PEALE’S MUSEUM—MYSTERIOUS MESMERISM—YANKEE HILL—HENRY BENNETT—THE RIVAL MUSEUMS—THE ORPHEAN AND ORPHAN FAMILIES—THE FUDGEE MERMAID—BUYING OUT MY RIVAL—RUNNING OPPOSITION TO MYSELF—ABOLISHING THEATRICAL NUISANCES—NO CHECKS AND NO BAR—THE MUSEUM MY MANIA—MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES S. STRATTON—GENERAL TOM THUMB IN NEW YORK—RE-ENGAGEMENT—AN APT PUPIL—FREE FROM DEBT—THE PROFITS OF TWO YEARS—IN SEARCH OF A NEW FIELD—STARTING FOR LIVERPOOL—THE GOOD SHIP “YORKSHIRE”—MY PARTY—ESCORT TO SANDY HOOK—THE VOYAGE—A TOBACCO TRICK—A BRAGGING JOHN BULL OUTWITTED—ARRIVAL AT LIVERPOOL—A GENTLEMAN BEGGAR—MADAME CELESTE—CHEAP DWARFS—TWO-PENNY SHOWS—EXHIBITION OF GENERAL TOM THUMB IN LIVERPOOL—FIRST-CLASS ENGAGEMENT FOR LONDON. T HE president and directors of the “New York Museum Company” not only failed to buy the American Museum as they confidently expected to do, but, after my newspaper squib war and my purchase of the Museum, they found it utterly impossible to sell their stock. By some arrangement, the particulars of which I do not remember, if, indeed, I ever cared to know them, Mr....
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ARRIVAL IN LONDON—THE GENERAL’S DEBUT IN THE PRINCESS’S THEATRE—ENORMOUS SUCCESS—MY MANSION AT THE WEST END—DAILY LEVEES FOR THE NOBILITY AND GENTRY—HON. EDWARD EVERETT—HIS INTEREST IN THE GENERAL—VISIT TO THE BARONESS ROTHSCHILD—OPENING IN EGYPTIAN HALL, PICCADILLY—MR. CHARLES MURRAY, MASTER OF THE QUEEN’S HOUSEHOLD—AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE BY COMMAND OF HER MAJESTY—A ROYAL RECEPTION—THE FAVORABLE IMPRESSION MADE BY THE GENERAL—AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE VISIT—BACKING OUT—FIGHT WITH A POODLE—COURT JOURNAL NOTICE—SECOND VISIT TO THE QUEEN—THE PRINCE OF WALES AND PRINCESS ROYAL—THE QUEEN OF THE BELGIANS—THIRD VISIT TO BUCKINGHAM PALACE—KING LEOPOLD, OF BELGIUM—ASSURED SUCCESS—THE BRITISH PUBLIC EXCITED—EGYPTIAN HALL CROWDED—QUEEN DOWAGER ADELAIDE—THE GENERAL’S WATCH—NAPOLEON AND THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON—DISTINGUISHED FRIENDS. I MMEDIATELY after our arrival in London, the General came out at the Princess’s Theatre, and made so decided a “hit” that it was difficult to decide who was best pleased, the spectators, the manager, or myself. The spectators were delighted because they could not well...
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GOING OVER TO ARRANGE PRELIMINARIES—PREVIOUS VISIT TO PARIS—ROBERT HOUDIN—WONDERFUL MECHANICAL TOYS—THE AUTOMATON LETTER-WRITER—DION BOUCICAULT—TALK ON NATURAL CURIOSITIES—HOW I COMPROMISED—THE GENERAL AND PARTY IN PARIS—FIRST VISIT TO KING LOUIS PHILIPPE—A SPLENDID PRESENT—DIPLOMACY—I ASK A FAVOR AND GET IT—LONG CHAMPS—THE GENERAL’S EQUIPAGE—THE FINEST ADVERTISEMENT EVER KNOWN—ALL PARIS IN A FUROR—OPENING OF THE LEVEES—“TOM POUCE” EVERYWHERE—THE GENERAL AS AN ACTOR—“PETIT POUCET”—SECOND AND THIRD VISITS AT THE TUILERIES—INVITATION TO ST. CLOUD—THE GENERAL PERSONATING NAPOLEON BONAPARTE—ST. DENIS—THE INVALIDES—REGNIER—ANECDOTE OF FRANKLIN—LEAVING PARIS—TOUR THROUGH FRANCE—DEPARTURE FOR BRUSSELS. B EFORE taking the little General and party to Paris, I went over alone to arrange the preliminaries for our campaign in that city. Paris was not altogether a strange place to me. Months before, when I had successfully established my exhibition in London, I ran over to Paris to see what I could pick up in the way of curiosities for my Museum in New York, for during my...
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CROSSING THE FRONTIER—PROFESSOR PINTE—QUALIFICATIONS OF A GOOD SHOWMAN—“SOFT SUP”—GENEROUS DISTRIBUTION OF MEDALS—PRINCE CHARLES STRATTON—AT BRUSSELS—PRESENTATION TO KING LEOPOLD AND HIS QUEEN—THE GENERAL’S JEWELS STOLEN—THE THIEF CAUGHT—RECOVERY OF THE PROPERTY—THE FIELD OF WATERLOO—MIRACULOUSLY MULTIPLIED RELICS—CAPTAIN TIPPITIWITCHET OF THE CONNECTICUT FUSILEERS—AN ACCIDENT—GETTING BACK TO BRUSSELS IN A CART—STRATTON SWINDLED—LOSING AN EXHIBITION—TWO HOURS IN THE RAIN ON THE ROAD—THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY—A STRICT CONSTRUCTIONIST—STRATTON’S HEAD SHAVED—“BRUMMAGEM” RELICS—HOW THEY ARE PLANTED AT WATERLOO—WHAT LYONS SAUSAGES ARE MADE OF—FROM BRUSSELS TO LONDON. I N crossing the border from France into Belgium, Professor Pinte, our interpreter and General Tom Thumb’s preceptor, discovered that he had left his passport behind him—at Lille, at Marseilles, or elsewhere in France, he could not tell where, for it was a long time since he had been called upon to present it. I was much annoyed and indignantly told him that he “would never make a good showman, because a...
21 minute read
LEVEES IN EGYPTIAN HALL—UNDIMINISHED SUCCESS—OTHER ENGAGEMENTS—“UP IN A BALLOON”—PROVINCIAL TOUR—TRAVELLING BY POST—GOING TO AMERICA—A. T. STEWART—SAMUEL ROGERS—AN EXTRA TRAIN—AN ASTONISHED RAILWAY SUPERINTENDENT—LEFT BEHIND AND LOCKED UP—SUNDAYS IN LONDON—BUSINESS AND PLEASURE—ALBERT SMITH—A DAY WITH HIM AT WARWICK—STRATFORD ON AVON—A POETICAL BARBER—WARWICK CASTLE—OLD GUY’S TRAPS—OFFER TO BUY THE LOT—THREAT TO BURST THE SHOW—ALBERT SMITH AS A SHOWMAN—LEARNING THE BUSINESS FROM BARNUM—THE WARWICK RACES—RIVAL DWARFS—MANUFACTURED GIANTESSES—THE HAPPY FAMILY—THE ROAD FROM WARWICK TO COVENTRY—PEEPING TOM—THE YANKEE GO-AHEAD PRINCIPLE—ALBERT SMITH’S ACCOUNT OF A DAY WITH BARNUM. I N London the General again opened his levees in Egyptian Hall with undiminished success. His unbounded popularity on the Continent and his receptions by King Louis Philippe, of France, and King Leopold, of Belgium, had added greatly to his prestige and fame. Those who had seen him when he was in London months before came to see him again, and new visitors crowded by thousands to the General’s...
20 minute read
THE WIZARD OF THE NORTH—A JUGGLER BEATEN AT HIS OWN TRICKS—SECOND VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES—REVEREND DOCTOR ROBERT BAIRD—CAPTAIN JUDKINS THREATENS TO PUT ME IN IRONS—VIEWS WITH REGARD TO SECTS—A WICKED WOMAN—THE SIMPSONS IN EUROPE—REMINISCENCES OF TRAVEL—SAUCE AND “SASS”—TEA TOO SWEET—A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE—ROAST DUCK—SNOW IN AUGUST—TALES OF TRAVELLERS—SIMPSON NOT TO BE TAKEN IN—HOLLANDERS IN BRUSSELS—WHERE ALL THE DUTCHMEN COME FROM—THREE YEARS IN EUROPE—WARM PERSONAL FRIENDS—DOCTOR C. S. BREWSTER—HENRY SUMNER—GEORGE SAND—LORENZO DRAPER—GEORGE P. PUTNAM—OUR LAST PERFORMANCE IN DUBLIN—DANIEL O’CONNELL—END OF OUR TOUR—DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA—ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK. W HILE I was at Aberdeen, in Scotland, I met Anderson, the “Wizard of the North.” I had known him for a long time, and we were on familiar terms. The General’s exhibitions were to close on Saturday night, and Anderson was to open in the same hall on Monday evening. He came to our exhibition, and at the close we went to the...
19 minute read
RENEWING THE LEASE OF THE MUSEUM BUILDING—TOM THUMB IN AMERICA—TOUR THROUGH THE COUNTRY—JOURNEY TO CUBA—BARNUM A CURIOSITY—RAISING TURKEYS—CEASING TO BE A TRAVELLING SHOWMAN—RETURN TO BRIDGEPORT—ADVANTAGES AND CAPABILITIES OF THAT CITY—SEARCH FOR A HOME—THE FINDING—BUILDING AND COMPLETION OF IRANISTAN—GRAND HOUSE-WARMING—BUYING THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM—OPENING THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM—CATERING FOR QUAKERS—THE TEMPERANCE PLEDGE AT THE THEATRE—PURCHASING PEALE’S PHILADELPHIA COLLECTION—MY AGRICULTURAL AND ARBORICULTURAL DOINGS—“GERSY BLEW” CHICKENS—HOW I SOLD MY POTATOES—HOW I BOUGHT OTHER PEOPLE’S POTATOES—CUTTING OFF GRAFTS—MY DEER PARK—MY GAME-KEEPER—FRANK LESLIE—PLEASURES OF HOME. O NE of my main objects in returning home at this time, was to obtain a longer lease of the premises occupied by the American Museum. My lease had still three years to run, but Mr. Olmsted, the proprietor of the building, was dead, and I was anxious to make provision in time for the perpetuity of my establishment, for I meant to make the Museum a permanent institution in the city,...
20 minute read
GRAND SCHEME—CONGRESS OF ALL NATIONS—A BOLD AND BRILLIANT ENTERPRISE—THE JENNY LIND ENGAGEMENT—MY AGENT IN EUROPE—HIS INSTRUCTIONS—CORRESPONDENCE WITH MISS LIND—BENEDICT AND BELLETTI—JOSHUA BATES—CHEVALIER WYCKOFF—THE CONTRACT SIGNED—MY RECEPTION OF THE NEWS—THE ENTIRE SUM OF MONEY FOR THE ENGAGEMENT SENT TO LONDON—MY FIRST LIND LETTER TO THE PUBLIC—A POOR PORTRAIT—MUSICAL NOTES IN WALL STREET—A FRIEND IN NEED. M ANY of my most fortunate enterprises have fairly startled me by the magnitude of their success. When my sanguine hopes predicted a steady flow of fortune, I have been inundated; when I calculated upon making a curious public pay me liberally for a meritorious article, I have often found the same public eager to deluge me with compensation. Yet, I never believed in mere luck and I always pitied the simpleton who relies on luck for his success. Luck is in no sense the foundation of my fortune; from the beginning of my career I...
23 minute read
FINAL CONCERTS IN LIVERPOOL—DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA—ARRIVAL OFF STATEN ISLAND—MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH JENNY LIND—THE TREMENDOUS THRONG AT THE WHARF—TRIUMPHAL ARCHES—“WELCOME TO AMERICA”—EXCITEMENT IN THE CITY—SERENADE AT THE IRVING HOUSE—THE PRIZE ODE—BAYARD TAYLOR THE PRIZEMAN—“BARNUM’S PARNASSUS”—“BARNUMOPSIS”—FIRST CONCERT IN CASTLE GARDEN—A NEW AGREEMENT—RECEPTION OF JENNY LIND—UNBOUNDED ENTHUSIASM—BARNUM CALLED OUT—JULIUS BENEDICT—THE SUCCESS OF THE ENTERPRISE ESTABLISHED—TWO GRAND CHARITY CONCERTS IN NEW YORK—DATE OF THE FIRST REGULAR CONCERT. A FTER the engagement with Miss Lind was consummated, she declined several liberal offers to sing in London, but, at my solicitation, gave two concerts in Liverpool, on the eve of her departure for America. My object in making this request was, to add the éclat of that side to the excitement on this side of the Atlantic, which was already nearly up to fever heat. The first of the two Liverpool concerts was given the night previous to the departure of the Saturday steamer for...
25 minute read
HEAD-WORK AND HAND-WORK—MANAGING PUBLIC OPINION—CREATING A FUROR—THE NEW YORK HERALD—JENNY LIND’S EVIL ADVISERS—JOHN JAY—MISS LIND’S CHARITIES—A POOR GIRL IN BOSTON—THE NIGHTINGALE AT IRANISTAN—RUMOR OF HER MARRIAGE TO P. T. BARNUM—THE STORY BASED ON OUR “ENGAGEMENT”—WHAT IRANISTAN DID FOR ME—AVOIDING CROWDS—IN PHILADELPHIA AND BALTIMORE—A SUBSTITUTE FOR MISS LIND—OUR ORCHESTRA—PRESIDENT FILLMORE, CLAY, FOOTE, BENTON, SCOTT, CASS, AND WEBSTER—VISIT TO MT. VERNON—CHRISTMAS PRESENTS—NEW YEAR’S EVE—WE GO TO HAVANA—PLAYING BALL—FREDERIKA BREMER—A HAPPY MONTH IN CUBA. N O one can imagine the amount of head-work and hand-work which I performed during the first four weeks after Jenny Lind’s arrival. Anticipating much of this, I had spent some time in August at the White Mountains to recruit my energies. Of course I had not been idle during the summer. I had put innumerable means and appliances into operation for the furtherance of my object, and little did the public see of the hand that indirectly pulled...
21 minute read
PROTEST AGAINST PRICES IN HAVANA—THE CUBANS SUCCUMB—JENNY LIND TAKES THE CITY BY STORM—A MAGNIFICENT TRIUMPH—COUNT PENALVER—A SPLENDID OFFER—MR. BRINCKERHOFF—BENEFIT FOR THE HOSPITALS—REFUSING TO RECEIVE THANKS—VIVALLA AND HIS DOG—HENRY BENNETT—HIS PARTIAL INSANITY—OUR VOYAGE TO NEW ORLEANS—THE EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK HERALD ON BOARD—I SAVE THE LIFE OF JAMES GORDON BENNETT—ARRIVAL AT THE CRESCENT CITY—CHEATING THE CROWD—A DUPLICATE MISS LIND—A BOY IN RAPTURES—A MAMMOTH HOG—UP THE MISSISSIPPI—AMUSEMENTS ON BOARD—IN LEAGUE WITH THE EVIL ONE—AN AMAZED MULATTO. S OON after arriving in Havana, I discovered that a strong prejudice existed against our musical enterprise. I might rather say that the Habaneros, not accustomed to the high figure which tickets had commanded in the States, were determined on forcing me to adopt their opera prices, whereas I paid one thousand dollars per night for the Tacon Opera House, and other expenses being in proportion, I was determined to receive remunerating prices, or give...
12 minute read
ARRIVAL AT ST. LOUIS—SURPRISING PROPOSITION OF MISS LIND’S SECRETARY—HOW THE MANAGER MANAGED—READINESS TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT—CONSULTATION WITH “UNCLE SOL.”—BARNUM NOT TO BE HIRED—A “JOKE”—TEMPERANCE LECTURE IN THE THEATRE—SOL. SMITH—A COMEDIAN, AUTHOR, AND LAWYER—UNIQUE DEDICATION—JENNY LIND’S CHARACTER AND CHARITIES—SHARP WORDS FROM THE WEST—SELFISH ADVISERS—MISS LIND’S GENEROUS IMPULSES—HER SIMPLE AND CHILDLIKE CHARACTER—CONFESSIONS OF A MANAGER—PRIVATE REPUTATION AND PUBLIC RENOWN—CHARACTER AS A STOCK IN TRADE—LE GRAND SMITH—MR. DOLBY—THE ANGELIC SIDE KEPT OUTSIDE—MY OWN SHARE IN THE PUBLIC BENEFITS—JUSTICE TO MISS LIND AND MYSELF. A CCORDING to agreement, the “Magnolia” waited for us at Natchez and Memphis, and we gave profitable concerts at both places. The concert at Memphis was the sixtieth in the list since Miss Lind’s arrival in America, and the first concert in St. Louis would be the sixty-first. When we reached that city, on the morning of the day when our first concert was to be given, Miss Lind’s secretary...
13 minute read
PENITENT TICKET PURCHASERS—VISIT TO THE “HERMITAGE”—“APRIL FOOL” FUN—THE MAMMOTH CAVE—SIGNOR SALVI—GEORGE D. PRENTICE—PERFORMANCE IN A PORK HOUSE—RUSE AT CINCINNATI—ANNOYANCES AT PITTSBURG—LE GRAND SMITH’S GRAND JOKE—RETURN TO NEW YORK—THE FINAL CONCERTS IN CASTLE GARDEN AND METROPOLITAN HALL—THE ADVISERS APPEAR—THE NINETY-THIRD CONCERT—MY OFFER TO CLOSE THE ENGAGEMENT—MISS LIND’S LETTER ACCEPTING MY PROPOSITION—STORY ABOUT AN “IMPROPER PLACE”—JENNY’S CONCERTS ON HER OWN ACCOUNT—HER MARRIAGE TO MR. OTTO GOLDSCHMIDT—CORDIAL RELATIONS BETWEEN MRS. LIND GOLDSCHMIDT AND MYSELF—AT HOME AGAIN—STATEMENT OF THE TOTAL RECEIPTS OF THE CONCERTS. A FTER five concerts in St. Louis, we went to Nashville, Tennessee, where we gave our sixty-sixth and sixty-seventh concerts in this country. At the first ticket auction in that city, the excitement was considerable and the bidding spirited, as was generally the case. After the auction was over, one of my men, happening in at a dry-goods store in the town, heard the proprietor say, “I’ll give five dollars...
21 minute read
ANOTHER VENTURE—“BARNUM’S GREAT ASIATIC CARAVAN, MUSEUM AND MENAGERIE”—HUNTING ELEPHANTS—GENERAL TOM THUMB—ELEPHANT PLOWING IN CONNECTICUT—CURIOUS QUESTIONS FROM ALL QUARTERS—THE PUBLIC INTEREST IN MY NOVEL FARMING—HOW MUCH AN ELEPHANT CAN REALLY “DRAW”—COMMODORE VANDERBILT—DAN DREW—SIDE SHOWS AND VARIOUS ENTERPRISES—OBSEQUIES OF NAPOLEON—THE CRYSTAL PALACE—CAMPANALOGIANS—AMERICAN INDIANS IN LONDON—AUTOMATON SPEAKER—THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON—ATTEMPT TO BUY SHAKESPEARE’S HOUSE—DISSOLVING VIEWS—THE CHINESE COLLECTION—WONDERFUL SCOTCH BOYS—SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF DOUBLE SIGHT—THE BATEMAN CHILDREN—CATHERINE HAYES—IRANISTAN ON FIRE—MY ELDEST DAUGHTER’S MARRIAGE—BENEFITS FOR THE BRIDGEPORT LIBRARY AND THE MOUNTAIN GROVE CEMETERY. W HILE I was managing the Lind concerts, in addition to the American Museum I had other business matters in operation which were more than enough to engross my entire attention and which, of course, I was compelled to commit to the hands of associates and agents. In 1849 I had projected a great travelling museum and menagerie, and, as I had neither time nor inclination to manage such a concern, I...
21 minute read
ALFRED BUNN, OF DRURY LANE THEATRE—AMUSING INTERVIEW—MR. LEVY, OF THE LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH—VACATIONS AT HOME—MY PRESIDENCY OF THE FAIRFIELD COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY—EXHIBITING A PICKPOCKET—PHILOSOPHY OF HUMBUG—A CHOP-FALLEN TICKET-SELLER—A PROMPT PAYMASTER—BARNUM IN BOSTON—A DELUDED HACK DRIVER—PHILLIPS’S FIRE ANNIHILATOR—HONORABLE ELISHA WHITTLESEY—TRIAL OF THE ANNIHILATOR IN NEW YORK—PEQUONNOCK BANK OF BRIDGEPORT—THE ILLUSTRATED NEWS—THE WORLD’S FAIR IN NEW YORK—MY PRESIDENCY OF THE ASSOCIATION—ATTEMPT TO EXCITE PUBLIC INTEREST—MONSTER JULLIEN CONCERTS—RESIGNATION OF THE CRYSTAL PALACE PRESIDENCY—FAILURE OF THE CONCERN. I N the summer, I think, of 1853, I saw it announced in the newspapers that Mr. Alfred Bunn, the great ex-manager of Drury Lane Theatre, in London, had arrived in Boston. Of course, I knew Mr. Bunn by reputation, not only from his managerial career, but from the fact that he made the first engagement with Jenny Lind to appear in London. This engagement, however, Mr. Lumley, of Her Majesty’s Theatre, induced her to break, he...
14 minute read
THE EAST BRIDGEPORT ENTERPRISE—W. H. NOBLE—PLANS FOR A NEW CITY—DR. TIMOTHY DWIGHT’S TESTIMONY—INVESTING A FORTUNE—SELLING CITY LOTS—MONEY MAKING A SECONDARY CONSIDERATION—CLOCK COMPANY IN LITCHFIELD—THE “TERRY AND BARNUM MANUFACTURING COMPANY”—THE JEROME CLOCK COMPANY—BAITING FOR BITES—FALSE REPRESENTATIONS—HOW I WAS DELUDED—WHAT I AGREED TO DO—THE COUNTER AGREEMENT—NOTES WITH BLANK DATES—THE LIMIT OF MY RESPONSIBILITY—HOW IT WAS EXCEEDED—STARTLING DISCOVERIES—A RUINED MAN—PAYING MY OWN HONEST DEBTS—BARNUM DUPED—MY FAILURE—THE BARNUM AND JEROME CLOCK BUBBLE—MORALISTS MAKING USE OF MY MISFORTUNES—WHAT PREACHERS, PAPERS, AND PEOPLE SAID ABOUT ME—DOWN IN THE DEPTHS. I NOW come to a series of events which, all things considered, constitute one of the most remarkable experiences of my life—an experience which brought me much pain and many trials; which humbled my pride and threatened me with hopeless financial ruin; and yet, nevertheless, put new blood in my veins, fresh vigor in my action, warding off all temptation to rust in the repose which affluence...
21 minute read
FRIENDS TO THE RESCUE—MONEY OFFERS REFUSED—BENEFITS DECLINED—MAGNIFICENT OFFER OF PROMINENT NEW YORK CITIZENS—WILLIAM E. BURTON—LAURA KEENE—WILLIAM NIBLO—GENERAL TOM THUMB—EDITORIAL SYMPATHY—“A WORD FOR BARNUM” IN BOSTON—LETTER FROM “MRS. PARTINGTON”—CITIZENS’ MEETING IN BRIDGEPORT—RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT AND CONDOLENCE—MY LETTER ON THE SITUATION—TENDER OF FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS—MAGNITUDE OF THE DECEPTION PRACTISED UPON ME—PROPOSITION OF COMPROMISE WITH MY CREDITORS—A TRAP LAID FOR ME IN PHILADELPHIA—THE SILVER LINING TO THE CLOUD—THE BLOW A BENEFIT TO MY FAMILY—THE REV. DR. E. H. CHAPIN—MY DAUGHTER HELEN—A LETTER WORTH TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS—OUR NEW HOME IN NEW YORK. H APPILY , there is always more wheat than there is chaff. While my enemies and a few envious persons and misguided moralists were abusing and traducing me, my very misfortunes revealed to me hosts of hitherto unknown friends who tendered to me something more than mere sympathy. Funds were offered to me in unbounded quantity for the support of my family...
12 minute read
SALE OF THE MUSEUM COLLECTION—SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEEDINGS OF MY CREDITORS—EXAMINATIONS IN COURT—BARNUM AS A BAR TENDER—PERSECUTION—THE SUMMER SEASON ON LONG ISLAND—THE MUSEUM MAN ON SHOW—CHARLES HOWELL—A GREAT NATURAL CURIOSITY—VALUE OF A HONK—PROPOSING TO BUY IT—A BLACK WHALE PAYS MY SUMMER’S BOARD—A TURN IN THE TIDE—THE WHEELER AND WILSON SEWING MACHINE COMPANY—THEIR REMOVAL TO EAST BRIDGEPORT—THE TERRY AND BARNUM CLOCK FACTORY OCCUPIED—NEW CITY PROPERTY LOOKING UP—A LOAN OF $5,000—THE CAUSE OF MY RUIN PROMISES TO BE MY REDEMPTION—SETTING SAIL FOR ENGLAND—GENERAL TOM THUMB—LITTLE CORDELIA HOWARD. I N the summer of 1855, previous to my financial troubles, feeling that I was independent and could retire from active business, I sold the American Museum collection and good will to Messrs. John Greenwood, Junior, and Henry D. Butler. They paid me double the amount the collection had originally cost, giving me notes for nearly the entire amount secured by a chattel mortgage, and hired the...
13 minute read
OLD FRIENDS IN OLD ENGLAND—ALBERT SMITH AS A SHOWMAN—HIS ASCENT OF MONT BLANC—POPULARITY OF THE ENTERTAINMENT—THE GARRICK CLUB—“PHINEAS CUTECRAFT”—THE ELEVEN THOUSAND VIRGINS OF COLOGNE—UTILIZING INCIDENTS—SUBTERRANEAN TERRORS—A PANIC—EGYPTIAN DARKNESS IN EGYPTIAN HALL—WILLIAM M. THACKERAY—HIS TWO VISITS TO AMERICA—FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH THE NOVELIST—I LOSE HIS SYMPATHY—HIS WARM REGARD FOR HIS AMERICAN FRIENDS—OTTO GOLDSCHMIDT AND JENNY LIND GOLDSCHMIDT—TENDER OF THEIR AID—THE FORGED LIND LETTER—BENEDICT AND BELLETTI—GEORGE AUGUSTUS SALA—CHARLES KEAN—EDMUND YATES—HORACE MAYHEW—GEORGE PEABODY—MR. BUCKSTONE—MY EXHIBITIONS IN ENGLAND—S. M. PETTINGILL—MR. LUMLEY. O N arriving at Liverpool, I found that my old friends, Mr. and Mrs. Lynn, of the Waterloo Hotel, had changed very little during my ten years’ absence from England. Even the servants in the hotel were mainly those whom I left there when I last went away from Liverpool—which illustrates, in a small way, how much less changeable, and more “conservative” the English people are than we are. The old head-waiter, Thomas, was...
14 minute read
FROM LONDON TO BADEN-BADEN—TROUBLE IN PARIS—STRASBOURG—SCENE IN A GERMAN CUSTOM-HOUSE—A TERRIBLE BILL—SIX CENTS WORTH OF AGONY—GAMBLING AT BADEN-BADEN—SUICIDES—GOLDEN PRICES FOR THE GENERAL—A CALL FROM THE KING OF HOLLAND—THE GERMAN SPAS—HAMBURG, EMS AND WIESBADEN—THE BLACK FOREST ORCHESTRION MAKER—AN OFFERED SACRIFICE—THE SEAT OF THE ROTHSCHILDS—DIFFICULTIES IN FRANKFORT—A POMPOUS COMMISSIONER OF POLICE—RED-TAPE—AN ALARM—HENRY J. RAYMOND—CALL ON THE COMMISSIONER—CONFIDENTIAL DISCLOSURES—HALF OF AN ENTIRE FORTUNE IN AN AMERICAN RAILWAY—ASTOUNDING REVELATIONS—DOWN THE RHINE—DEPARTURE FOR HOLLAND. A FTER a pleasant and successful season of several weeks in London and in the provinces, I took the little General into Germany, going from London to Paris and from thence to Strasbourg and Baden-Baden. I had not been in Paris since the times of King Louis Philippe, and while I noticed great improvements in the city, in the opening of the new boulevards and the erection of noble buildings, I could see also with sorrow that there was less personal...
19 minute read
THE FINEST AND FLATTEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD—SUPER-CLEANLINESS—HABITS AND CUSTOMS—“KREMIS”—THE ALBINO FAMILY—THE HAGUE—AUGUST BELMONT—JAPANESE MUSEUM—MANUFACTURED FABULOUS ANIMALS—A GENEROUS OFFER—VALUABLE PICTURES—AN ASTONISHED SUPERINTENDENT—BACK TO ENGLAND—EXHIBITIONS IN MANCHESTER—I RETURN AGAIN TO AMERICA—FUN ON THE VOYAGE—MOCK TRIALS—BARNUM AS A PROSECUTOR AND AS A PRISONER—COLD SHOULDERS IN NEW YORK—PREPARING TO MOVE INTO MY OLD HOME—CARELESS PAINTERS AND CARPENTERS—IRANISTAN BURNED TO THE GROUND—NEXT TO NO INSURANCE—SALE OF THE PROPERTY—ELIAS HOWE, JR. H OLLAND gave me more genuine satisfaction than any other foreign country I have ever visited, if I except Great Britain. Redeemed as a large portion of the whole surface of the land has been from the bottom of the sea by the wonderful dykes, which are monuments of the industry of whole generations of human beavers, Holland seems to me the most curious as well as interesting country in the world. The people, too, with their quaint costumes, their extraordinary cleanliness, their thrift,...
2 hour read
BACK ONCE MORE TO ENGLAND—TOUR THROUGH SCOTLAND AND WALES—HOW I CAME TO LECTURE—ADVICE OF MY FRIENDS—MY LECTURE—HOW TO MAKE MONEY AND HOW TO KEEP IT—WHAT THE PAPERS SAID ABOUT ME—PRAISE OF THE LONDON PRESS—LECTURING IN THE PROVINCES—PERFORMANCES AT CAMBRIDGE—CALL FOR JOICE HETH—EXTRAORDINARY FUN AT OXFORD—THE AUDIENCE AND LECTURER TAKING TURNS—A UNIVERSITY BREAKFAST—MAGNIFICENT OFFER FOR A COPYRIGHT—SUCCESS OF MY ENTERPRISE—MORE MONEY FOR THE CLOCK CREDITORS. S EEING the necessity of making more money to assist in extricating me from my financial difficulties, and leaving my affairs in the hands of Mr. James D. Johnson—my wife and youngest daughter, Pauline, boarding with my eldest daughter, Mrs. Thompson, in Bridgeport—early in 1858, I went back to England, and took Tom Thumb to all the principal places in Scotland and Wales, giving many exhibitions and making much money which was remitted, as heretofore, to my agents and assignees in America. Finding, after a while,...
14 minute read
AN ENGLISH YANKEE—MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH HIM—HIS PLANS BASED ON BARNUM’S BOOK—ADVERTISING FOR PARTNERS—HOW MY RULES MADE HIM RICH—METHOD IN MADNESS—THE “BARNUM” OF BURY—DINNER TO TOM THUMB AND COMMODORE NUTT—MY AGENT IN PARIS—MEASURING A MONSTER—HOW GIANTS AND DWARFS STRETCH AND CONTRACT—AN UNWILLING FRENCHMAN—A PERSISTENT MEASURER—A GIGANTIC HUMBUG—THE STEAM-ENGINES “BARNUM” AND “CHARITY”—WHAT “CHARITY” DID FOR “BARNUM”—SELLING THE SAME GOODS A THOUSAND TIMES—THE GREAT CAKES—SIMNEL SUNDAY—THE SANITARY COMMISSION FAIR. W HILE visiting Manchester, in 1858, I was invited by Mr. Peacock, the lessee, to deliver a lecture in “Free Trade Hall.” I gave a lecture, the title of which I now forget; but I well remember it contained numerous personal reminiscences. The next day a gentleman sent his card to my room at the hotel where I was stopping. I requested the servant to show the gentleman up at once, and he soon appeared and introduced himself. At first he seemed somewhat...
19 minute read
AT HOME—EXTINGUISHMENT OF THE CLOCK DEBTS—A RASCALLY PROPOSITION—BARNUM ON HIS FEET AGAIN—RE-PURCHASE OF THE MUSEUM—A GALA DAY—MY RECEPTION BY MY FRIENDS—THE STORY OF MY TROUBLES—HOW I WADED ASHORE—PROMISES TO THE PUBLIC—THE PUBLIC RESPONSE—MUSEUM VISITORS—THE RECEIPTS DOUBLED—HOW THE PRESS RECEIVED THE NEWS OF RESTORATION—THE SYCOPHANTS—OLD AND FAST FRIENDS—ROBERT BONNER—CONSIDERATION AND COURTESY OF CREDITORS—THE BOSTON SATURDAY EVENING GAZETTE AGAIN—ANOTHER WORD FOR BARNUM. I N 1859 I returned to the United States. During my last visit abroad I had secured many novelties for the Museum, including the Albino Family, which I engaged at Amsterdam, and Thiodon’s mechanical theatre, which I found at Southampton, beside purchasing many curiosities. These things all afforded me a liberal commission, and thus, by constant and earnest effort, I made much money, besides what I derived from the Tom Thumb exhibitions, my lectures, and other enterprises. All of this money, as well as my wife’s income and a considerable...
26 minute read
A REMARKABLE CHARACTER—OLD GRIZZLY ADAMS—THE CALIFORNIA MENAGERIE—TERRIBLY WOUNDED BY BEARS—MY UP-TOWN SHOW—EXTRAORDINARY WILL AND VIGOR—A LESSON FOR MUNCHAUSEN—THE CALIFORNIA GOLDEN PIGEONS—PIGEONS OF ALL COLORS—PROCESS OF THEIR CREATION—M. GUILLAUDEU—A NATURALIST DECEIVED—THE MOST WONDERFUL BIRDS IN THE WORLD—THE CURIOSITIES TRANSFERRED TO THE MENAGERIE—OLD ADAMS TAKEN IN—A CHANGE OF COLOR—MOTLEY THE ONLY WEAR—OLD GRIZZLY UNDECEIVED—TOUR OF THE BEAR-TAMER THROUGH THE COUNTRY—A BEAUTIFUL HUNTING SUIT—A LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLE FOR A WAGER—OLD ADAMS WINS—HIS DEATH—THE LAST JOKE ON BARNUM—THE PRINCE OF WALES VISITS THE MUSEUM—I CALL ON THE PRINCE IN BOSTON—STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS—“BEFORE AND AFTER” IN A BARBER SHOP—HOW TOM HIGGINSON “DID” BARNUM—THE MUSEUM FLOURISHING. I WAS now fairly embarked on board the good old ship American Museum, to try once more my skill as captain, and to see what fortune the voyage would bring me. Curiosities began to pour into the Museum halls, and I was eager for enterprises in the show line,...
15 minute read
ANOTHER NEW HOME—LINDENCROFT—PROGRESS OF MY PET CITY—THE CHESTNUT WOOD FIRE—HOW IT BECAME OLD HICKORY—INDUCEMENTS TO SETTLERS—MY OFFER—EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE-OWNER—WHISKEY AND TOBACCO—RISE IN REAL-ESTATE—PEMBROKE LAKE—WASHINGTON PARK—GREAT MANUFACTORIES—WHEELER AND WILSON—SCHUYLER, HARTLEY AND GRAHAM—HOTCHKISS, SON AND COMPANY—STREET NAMES—MANY THOUSAND SHADE TREES—BUSINESS IN THE NEW CITY—UNPARALLELED GROWTH AND PROSPERITY—PROBABILITIES IN THE FUTURE—SITUATION OF BRIDGEPORT—ITS ADVANTAGES AND PROSPECTS—THE SECOND, IF NOT THE FOREMOST CITY IN CONNECTICUT. F OR nearly five years my family had been knocked about, the sport of adverse fortune, without a settled home. Sometimes we boarded, and at other times we lived in a small hired house. Two of my daughters were married, and my youngest daughter, Pauline, was away at boarding school. The health of my wife was much impaired, and she especially needed a fixed residence which she could call “home.” Accordingly, in 1860, I built a pleasant house adjoining that of my daughter Caroline, in Bridgeport, and...
30 minute read
ANOTHER RE-OPENING—A CHERRY-COLORED CAT—THE CAT LET OUT OF THE BAG—MY FIRST WHALING EXPEDITION—PLANS FOR CAPTURE—SUCCESS OF THE SCHEME—TRANSPORTING LIVING WHALES BY LAND—PUBLIC EXCITEMENT—THE GREAT TANK—SALT WATER PUMPED FROM THE BAY TO THE MUSEUM—MORE WHALES—EXPEDITION TO LABRADOR—THE FIRST HIPPOPOTAMUS IN AMERICA—TROPICAL FISH—COMMODORE NUTT AND HIS FIRST “ENGAGEMENT”—THE TWO DROMIOS—PRESIDENT LINCOLN SEES COMMODORE NUTT—WADING ASHORE—A QUESTION OF LEGS—SELF-DECEPTION—THE GOLDEN ANGEL FISH—ANNA SWAN, THE NOVA SCOTIA GIANTESS—THE TALLEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD—INDIAN CHIEFS—EXPEDITION TO CYPRUS—MY AGENT IN A PASHA’S HAREM. O N the 13th of October, 1860, the American Museum was the scene of another re-opening, which was, in fact, the commencement of the fall dramatic season, the summer months having been devoted to pantomime. A grand flourish of trumpets in the way of newspaper advertisements and flaming posters drew a crowded house. Among other attractions, it was announced that Mr. Barnum would introduce a mysterious novelty never before seen in that establishment....
38 minute read
MISS LAVINIA WARREN—A CHARMING LITTLE LADY—SUPPOSED TO BE THE $30,000 NUTT IN DISGUISE—HER WARDROBE AND PRESENTS—STORY OF A RING—THE LITTLE COMMODORE IN LOVE—TOM THUMB SMITTEN—RIVALRY OF THE DWARFS—JEALOUSY OF THE GENERAL—VISIT AT BRIDGEPORT—THE GENERAL’S STYLISH TURN-OUT—MISS WARREN IMPRESSED—CALL OF THE GENERAL—A LILIPUTIAN LOVE SCENE—TOM THUMB’S INVENTORY OF HIS PROPERTY—HE PROPOSES AND IS ACCEPTED—ARRIVAL OF THE COMMODORE—HIS GRIEF—EXCITEMENT OVER THE ENGAGEMENT—THE WEDDING IN GRACE CHURCH—REVEREND JUNIUS WILLEY—A SPICY LETTER BY DOCTOR TAYLOR—GRAND RECEPTION OF MR. AND MRS. STRATTON—THE COMMODORE IN SEARCH OF A GREEN COUNTRY GIRL. I N 1862 I heard of an extraordinary dwarf girl, named Lavinia Warren, who was residing with her parents at Middleboro’, Massachusetts, and I sent an invitation to her and her parents to come and visit me at Bridgeport. They came, and I found her to be a most intelligent and refined young lady, well educated, and an accomplished, beautiful and perfectly-developed woman in miniature....
38 minute read
MY POLITICAL PRINCIPLES—REASONS FOR MY CHANGE OF PARTIES—KANSAS AND SECESSION—WIDE-AWAKES—GRAND ILLUMINATION OF LINDENCROFT—JOKE ON A DEMOCRATIC NEIGHBOR—PEACE MEETINGS—THE STEPNEY EXCITEMENT—TEARING DOWN A PEACE FLAG—A LOYAL MEETING—RECEPTION IN BRIDGEPORT—DESTRUCTION OF THE “FARMER” OFFICE—ELIAS HOWE, JR.—SAINT PETER AND SALTPETRE—DRAFT RIOTS—BURGLARS AT LINDENCROFT—MY ELECTION TO THE LEGISLATURE—BEGINNING OF MY WAR ON RAILROAD MONOPOLIES—WIRE-PULLING—THE XIV. AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION—STRIKING THE WORD “WHITE” FROM THE CONNECTICUT CONSTITUTION—MY SPEECH. I BEGAN my political life as a Democrat, and my newspaper, the Herald of Freedom , was a Jackson-Democratic journal. While always taking an active interest in political matters, I had no desire for personal preferment, and, up to a late period, steadily declined to run for office. Nevertheless, in 1852 or 1853, prominent members of the party with which I voted, urged the submission of my name to the State Convention, as a candidate for the office of Governor, and although the party was...
24 minute read
A TERRIBLE LOSS—HOW I RECEIVED THE NEWS—BURNING OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM—DETAILS OF THE DISASTER—FAITH IN HERRING’S SAFES—BAKED AND BOILED WHALES—THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE ON THE DESTRUCTION OF THE MUSEUM—A PUBLIC CALAMITY—SYMPATHY OF THE LEADING EDITORS—AMOUNT OF MY LOSS—SMALL INSURANCE—MY PROPERTY—INTENTION TO RETIRE TO PRIVATE LIFE—HORACE GREELEY ADVISES ME TO GO A-FISHING—BENEFIT TO THE MUSEUM EMPLOYEES AT THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC—MY SPEECH—WHAT THE NEW YORK SUN SAID ABOUT IT—THE NEW UP-TOWN MUSEUM—OPENING THE ESTABLISHMENT TO THE PUBLIC. O N the thirteenth day of July, 1865, I was speaking in the Connecticut Legislature, in session at Hartford, against the railroad schemes, when a telegram was handed to me from my son-in-law, S. H. Hurd, my assistant manager in New York, stating that the American Museum was in flames and that its total destruction was certain. I glanced over the despatch, folded it, laid it on my desk, and calmly continued my speech...
23 minute read
SCENES IN THE LEGISLATURE—SHARP-SHOOTING—PROPOSITIONS FOR A NEW CAPITAL OF CONNECTICUT—THE RIVALRY OF CITIES—CULMINATION OF THE RAILROAD CONTROVERSY—EXCITEMENT AMONG THE LOBBYISTS—A BILL FOR THE BENEFIT OF COMMUTERS—PEOPLE PROTECTED FROM THE PLUNDERERS—HOW SETTLERS ARE DRAWN INTO A STATE AND THEN CHEATED BY THE RAILROAD COMPANIES—EQUAL RIGHTS FOR COMMUTERS AND TRANSIENT PASSENGERS—WHAT COMMODORE VANDERBILT DID—WHAT THE NEW YORK AND NEW HAVEN RAILROAD COMPANY WANTED TO DO—EXPOSURE OF THEIR PLOT—CONSTERNATION OF THE CONSPIRATORS—MY VICTORY—AGAIN ELECTED TO THE LEGISLATURE—UNITED STATES SENATOR FERRY—EX-GOVERNOR W. A. BUCKINGHAM—THEODORE TILTON—GOVERNOR HAWLEY—FRIENDS AT LINDENCROFT—NOMINATED FOR CONGRESS AND DEFEATED. D URING my membership in the Connecticut Legislature of 1865, I made several new friends and agreeable acquaintances, and many things occurred, sometimes in the regular proceedings, and sometimes as episodes, which made the session memorable. On one occasion, a representative, who was a lawyer, introduced resolutions to reduce the number of Representatives, urging that the “House” was too large and ponderous...
15 minute read
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM LEASE—ITS VALUE—BENNETT OF THE HERALD BUYS IT FOR $200,000—HE PURCHASES THE PROPERTY—OVERESTIMATE OF ITS WORTH—MAX MARETZEK—MISS CLARA LOUISE KELLOGG’S ESTIMATE OF CERTAIN PEOPLE—THE POWER BEHIND THE HERALD THRONE—THE HERALD’S INFLUENCE—BENNETT KICKED AND COWHIDED—HIS LAWYER INSISTS UPON MY TAKING BACK THE MUSEUM LEASE—I DECLINE—BENNETT REFUSES MY ADVERTISEMENTS—INTERVIEW WITH MR. HUDSON—WAR OF THE MANAGERS UPON THE HERALD—BENNETT HUMBLED—LOSS OF THE HERALD’S PRESTIGE—MONEY—DAMAGE TO BENNETT’S ESTABLISHMENT—THE EDITOR SUED—PEACE BETWEEN THE HERALD AND THE MANAGERS. W HEN the old American Museum burned down, and while the ruins were still smoking, I had numerous applications for the purchase of the lease of the two lots, fifty-six by one hundred feet, which had still nearly eleven years to run. It will be remembered that in 1847 I came back from England, while my second lease of five years had yet three years more to run, and renewed that lease for twenty-five years from...
22 minute read
MY TOUR AT THE WEST—THE CURIOSITY EXHIBITOR HIMSELF A CURIOSITY—BUYING A FARM IN WISCONSIN—HELPING THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES—A RIDE ON A LOCOMOTIVE—PUNCTUALITY IN MY ENGAGEMENTS—TRICKS TO SECURE SEATS IN THE LADIES’ CAR—I SUDDENLY BECAME FATHER TO A YOUNG MARRIED COUPLE—MY IDENTITY DENIED—PITY AND CHARITY—REVEREND DOCTOR CHAPIN PULLS THE BELL—TEMPERANCE—HOW I BECAME A TEETOTALER—MODERATE DRINKING AND ITS DANGERS—DOCTOR CHAPIN’S LECTURE IN BRIDGEPORT—MY OWN EFFORTS IN THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE—LECTURING THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY—NEWSPAPER ARTICLES—THE STORY OF VINELAND, IN NEW JERSEY. D URING the summer of 1866, Mr. Edwin L. Brown, Corresponding Secretary of the “Associated Western Literary Societies,” opened a correspondence with me relative to delivering, in the ensuing season, my lecture on “Success in Life,” before some sixty lyceums, Young Men’s Christian Associations, and Literary Societies belonging to the union which Mr. Brown represented. The scheme embraced an extended tour through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri and Iowa, and I was...
22 minute read
A GIGANTIC AMUSEMENT COMPANY—IMMENSE ADDITIONS TO THE NEW COLLECTION—CURIOSITIES FROM EVERYWHERE—THE GORDON CUMMINGS COLLECTION FROM AFRICA—THE GORILLA—WHAT THE PAPERS SAID ABOUT THE MONSTER—MY PRIVATE VIEW OF THE ANIMAL—AMUSING INTERVIEW WITH PAUL DU CHAILLU—A SUPERB MENAGERIE—THE NEW THEATRE—PROJECT FOR A FREE NATIONAL INSTITUTION—MESSRS. E. D. MORGAN, WILLIAM C. BRYANT, HORACE GREELEY AND OTHERS FAVOR MY PLAN—PRESIDENT JOHNSON INDORSES IT—DESTRUCTION OF MY SECOND MUSEUM BY FIRE—THE ICE-CLAD RUINS—A SAD, YET SPLENDID SPECTACLE—OUT OF THE BUSINESS—FOOT RACES AT THE WHITE MOUNTAINS—HOW I WAS NOT BEATEN—OPENING OF WOOD’S MUSEUM IN NEW YORK—MY ONLY INTEREST IN THE ENTERPRISE. M Y new Museum on Broadway was liberally patronized from the start, but I felt that still more attractions were necessary in order to insure constant success. I therefore made arrangements with the renowned Van Amburgh Menagerie Company to unite their entire collection of living wild animals with the Museum. The new company was known as the...
12 minute read
POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS—UNLUCKY FRIDAY—UNFORTUNATE SATURDAY—RAINY SUNDAYS—TERRIBLE THIRTEEN—THE BRETTELLS OF LONDON—INCIDENTS OF MY WESTERN TRIP—SINGULAR FATALITY—NUMBER THIRTEEN IN EVERY HOTEL—NO ESCAPE FROM THE FRIGHTFUL FIGURE—ADVICE OF A CLERICAL FRIEND—THE THIRTEEN COLONIES—THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER OF CORINTHIANS—THIRTEEN AT MY CHRISTMAS DINNER PARTY—THIRTEEN DOLLARS AT A FAIR—TWO DISASTROUS DAYS—THE THIRTEENTH DAY IN TWO MONTHS—THIRTEEN PAGES OF MANUSCRIPT. I N the summer of 1868, a lady who happened to be at that time an inmate of my family, upon hearing me say that I supposed we must remove into our summer residence on Thursday, because our servants might not like to go on Friday, remarked: “What nonsense that is! It is astonishing that some persons are so foolish as to think there is any difference in the days. I call it rank heathenism to be so superstitious as to think one day is lucky and another unlucky”; and then, in the most innocent manner possible, she...
3 minute read
“EVERY MAN TO HIS VOCATION” AND “NATURE WILL ASSERT HERSELF”—REST BY THE WAYSIDE—A HALF-SHAVED PARTY—CONSTERNATION OF A CLERGYMAN—NATIVES IN NEW YORK—DOCTORING A CORN-DOCTOR—RELIGIOUS RAILWAYS—THE BRIGHTON BUGLE BUSINESS—CASH AND CONSCIENCE—CASTLES IN THE AIR—A DELUDED ANTIQUARIAN—GAMBLING AND POLITICS—IRISH WIT—ABOUT CONDUCTORS—DR. CHAPIN AS A PUNSTER—FOWL ATTEMPTS—A PAIR O’ DUCKS—CUTTING A SICK FRIEND—REV. RICHARD VARICK DEY—HIS CRIME AND ITS CONSEQUENCES—FORE-ORDINATION—PRACTICAL JOKING BY MY FATHER—A VALUABLE RACE-HORSE—HOW HE WAS LET AND THEN KILLED—AGONY OF THE HORSE-KILLER—THE FINAL “SELL”—FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC FRENCH—COCKNEYISM—WICKED WORDS IN EXETER HALL. A ND now as a traveller, when almost home, sits down by the wayside to rest, and meanwhile discourses to his companion about minor matters relating to the journey, or revives reminiscenses of home and foreign lands, so I stop to sum up in this chapter some of the incidents and anecdotes which seem pertinent to my story. The old adages, “Every man to his vocation,” and “Nature will assert...
16 minute read
INTEREST IN PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS—OLD PARK PROJECTS—OPPOSITION OF OLD FOGIES—THE SOUND SHORE AT BRIDGEPORT—INACCESSIBLE PROPERTY—THE EYE OF FAITH—TALKING TO THE FARMERS—REACHING THE PUBLIC THROUGH THE PAPERS—HOW THE LAND WAS SECURED FOR A GREAT PLEASURE-GROUND—GIFTS TO THE PEOPLE—OPENING OF SEA-SIDE PARK—THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GROUND BETWEEN NEW YORK AND BOSTON—MAGNIFICENT DRIVES—THE ADVANTAGES OF THE LOCATION—MUSIC FOR THE MILLION—BY THE SEA-SIDE—FUTURE OF THE PARK—A PERPETUAL BLESSING TO POSTERITY. F ROM the time when I first settled in Bridgeport and turned my attention to opening and beautifying new avenues, and doing whatever lay in my power to extend and improve that charming city, I was exceedingly anxious that public parks should be established, especially one where good drive-ways, and an opportunity for the display of the many fine equipages for which Bridgeport is celebrated, could be afforded. Mr. Noble and I began the movement by presenting to the city the beautiful ground in East Bridgeport...
17 minute read
MY PRIVATE LIFE—PLANS FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT IN BRIDGEPORT—OPENING AVENUES—PLANTING SHADE-TREES—OLD FOGIES—CONSERVATISM A CURSE TO CITIES—BENEFITING BARNUM’S PROPERTY—SALE OF LINDENCROFT—LIVING IN A FARM-HOUSE—BY THE SEA-SHORE—ANOTHER NEW HOME—WALDEMERE—HOW IT CAME TO BE BUILT—MAGIC AND MONEY—WAVEWOOD AND THE PETREL’S NEST—MY FARM—THE HOLLAND BLANKET CATTLE—MY CITY RESIDENCE—COMFORTS OF CITY LIFE—BEGGING LETTERS—MY FAMILY—RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS—MY FIFTY-NINTH BIRTHDAY—THE END OF THE RECORD. W HAT I can call, without undue display of egotism or vanity, my “public life,” may be said to have closed with my formal and final retirement from the managerial profession, when my second Museum was destroyed by fire, March 3, 1868. But he must have been a careless reader of these pages, which record the acts and aspirations of a long and industrious career, who does not see that what, in opposition to my “public life,” may be considered my “private life,” has also been largely devoted to the comfort, convenience, and permanent...
59 minute read
A NEW EXPERIENCE—“DOING NOTHING” A FAILURE—EXCITEMENT DEMANDED-VISIT OF ENGLISH FRIENDS—I SHOW THEM OUR COUNTRY—NIAGARA FALLS—WE VISIT CUBA—NEW ORLEANS—MAMMOTH CAVE—WASHINGTON—“CASTLE THUNDER”—TRIP TO CALIFORNIA—SALT LAKE CITY—I OFFER BRIGHAM YOUNG TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO “SHOW” HIM “DOWN EAST”—AM “INTERVIEWED” AT SACRAMENTO AND SAN FRANCISCO—THE CHINESE—SEA LIONS—THE GEYSERS—MARIPOSA—THE BIG TREES—INSPIRATION POINT—YOSEMITE VALLEY—THE REMARKABLE TOWN OF GREELEY, IN COLORADO—QUEBEC—SAGINAW RIVER—SARATOGA—ALICE CARY—WILD BUFFALO HUNT IN KANSAS—MY GREAT TRAVELLING SHOW—THE WINTER EXHIBITION IN NEW YORK—THE EMPIRE RINK—SUCCESS OF THE SHOW—OPINIONS OF THE PRESS—CURIOSITIES FROM CALIFORNIA—MY IMITATORS—ATTEMPTS TO DECEIVE AND SWINDLE THE PUBLIC. E VERY one knows the story of the Emperor Charles the Fifth. His ambition gratified to satiety in the conquest of kingdoms, and the firm establishment of his empire, he craved rest. He abdicated his throne, “retired from business,” content to live on his laurels in the peaceful shades of the Cloister at Yustee. The tradition is that here he forgot the world without,...
11 minute read
In sending these last pages to the printer in March, 1872, I may say that my manager, Mr. Coup, his assistants, and myself, have been busy ever since New Year’s in reorganizing our great travelling show, building new wagons and cages, and painting, gilding and repairing the others. One of the great carved, mirrored and gilded chariots, from England, used by me in 1871, is a grand affair, made telescopic, and when extended to its full height reaches an altitude of forty feet, on the top of which, in our street processions, we place a young lady, costumed to personate the Goddess of Liberty. The re-gilding of this one vehicle preparatory to opening our spring campaign cost about five thousand dollars—enough to build a nice house in the country. The wintering of my horses and wild animals, salaries of employees and expense of fitting up properly for the next season,...
25 minute read
Written up to February, 1873. A REMARKABLE CAMPAIGN. RECORD OF EVENTS—IMMENSE BUSINESS—RETROGRADING NOT MY NATURE—TREASURER’S REPORT—SURPRISED AT LAST—EXCITEMENT IN THE RURAL DISTRICTS—CAMPING OUT—“SEEING BARNUM”—AN “INCIDENT OF TRAVEL”—DOWN THE BANK—A TERRIBLE NIGHT—A TEMPERANCE CREW—CLOSE OF THE TENTING SEASON—WESTWARD HO!—FREE LECTURES—WALDEMERE—A FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLAR DOOR-YARD—VISIT OF HORACE GREELEY—TRIP TO COLORADO—MY NEW ENTERPRISE—FOURTEENTH STREET HIPPODROME—GRAND OPENING—A BRILLIANT AUDIENCE—DEPARTURE FOR THE SOUTH—NEW ORLEANS IN WINTER—NEWS OF THE CONFLAGRATION—“BUSINESS BEFORE PLEASURE”—EN ROUTE FOR HOME—SPEECH AT THE ACADEMY—SEASON OF 1873—CONCLUSION. R EADERS of the preceding pages will expect in this Appendix a brief resumé of events relating to my Great Travelling World’s Fair for the season of 1872. Connected as I have been with so many gigantic undertakings, and the subject of so many and varied experiences, it can hardly be thought strange if I have taught myself not to be surprised at anything in the way of business results. The idea of attempting to transport...