Barnum, Ballyhoo and the Big Top

October 22, 2008- February 21, 2009 

P.T. Barnum is widely recognized as one of the most brilliant showmen the world has ever seen. His career spanned almost six decades, beginning in 1835 with his display of a woman advertised as George Washington's nursemaid and ending, at the time of his death, with the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth, the largest circus of its day.

Barnum's impact on American culture is unrivalled. He introduced some of the greatest attractions ever seen, promoting the midget Tom Thumb, the Swedish songstress, Jenny Lind and the marvelous elephant Jumbo. His ability to market an attraction regardless of its nature or veracity, earned Barnum the title “Sun of the Amusement World.”