Preface: On Sunday, January 7, 2018, Rudy & I went to Cinelux Almaden Theatre and saw Michael Gracey's
The Greatest Showman (4:15-6:15 pm).
Rudy loved this musical starring Hugh Jackman as
P.T. Barnum and
gave this film a "10+". I rated it "9".
Rebecca Ferguson starred as the Swedish Nightingale,
Jenny Lind
and Michelle Williams as Barnum's
wife Charity. I was so impressed with
P.T. Barnum and wanted to read all
about him. Of all the books in my library,
only Geoffrey Grigson's
People,
A Volume of the Good, Great, Eccentric Who Illustrate the Admirable Diversity of Men (1957) had
a paragraph about him (typed below).
On January 9, went to Foothill College Library
and checked out
James W. Cook (Ed.) The Colossal P.T. Barnum Reader (2005)
(GV1811.B3.B37.2005)
and
Edward Wagenknec's Seven Daughters of the Theater (1964)
(PN2205W3) with first chapter on Jenny Lind (pp. 1-49).
Typed interesting highlights on Jenny Lind from the book on this Swedish Nightingale.
Now, I'm selecting interesting passages from Cook's book to illuminate P.T. Barnum.
Web links were made to sites with more information on this greatest showman.
The concluding paragraph details "Inaccurate Portrayals of P.T. Barnum & Jenny Lind in the Movie".
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.jpg) | My first encounter with P.T. Barnum was around 1952
when I was 11 years old in New York. It was not in a book, but Topps playing cards
Look-'n-See (issued 1952).
There are 135 cards in the set of famous people. P.T. Barnum appears as
Card #24 with elephant
and circus tent in the background. On the card's back: "P.T. Barnum rose from being a poor farm boy
to becoming the owner of the biggest circus in the world! The Barnum and Bailey Circus... known as
"The Greatest Show on Earth"... travelled all over the United States and had more freaks, animals,
and acrobats than any other circus! Even today, many years after Barnum died, his circus brings
excitement wherever it goes!" The card's bottom has a trivia question "What famous midget was shown
at Barnum's side shows?
When a red strip of cellophane (included in each pack) is placed over the orange-backed card, the answer is revealed— Tom Thumb. |
The Greatest Showman: Barnum, Phineas Taylor (1810-1891),
the greatest showman of America, who called himself frankly 'the prince of humbugs'.
Beginning in 1836 with Barnum's Grand Scientific and Musical Circus, he specialized in freaks
and oddities. Many of these were faked.
Thus a chief exhibit of Joyce Heth, a colored woman apparently 161-year-old.
Barnum claimed she had been George Washington's nurse. On her death, it was proved she could have been no
more than 70 years old. A mermaid constructed of a monkey and a large fish,
the Siamese Twins, the
Missing Link,
the Great Living Whale, and General Tom Thumb, who earned Barnum a great fortune, were more of his exhibits.
General Tom Thumb, picked up in 1844, was the midget Charles Stratton, a man in perfect miniature,
beautifully proportioned and only 25 inches high. In 1845 he was brought to Europe, first to Paris, then to London,
where he was presented several times to Queen Victoria.
In 1871 Barnum established The Greatest Show on Earth, a circus and menageries combined with some
of his older exhibits. He was known by this time all over the world, a shrewd master and pioneer of blarney
and advertising, of direct and indirect campaigns of publicity. Like others of more repute who are more
harmful, Barnum was the ancient showman and cheapjack of the fairs reshaped to play upon the urban masses.
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People,
A Volume of the Good, Great, Eccentric Who Illustrate the Admirable Diversity of Men (1957), p. 16 |
During his last British tour with the circus, Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-91) liked to brag about the enormity
of his own celebrity. Back home, he boasted, it was now unnecessary to put his name on the posters. The mere
sight of his face was all the information the public needed... The showman's most intriguing anecdote involved
a conversation with Ulysses S. Grant. It began with Barnum's speculation that the former president and Civil War
hero must be "the best known American living." But Grant quickly corrected him: "You beat me sky-high, for
wherever I went, in China, Japan, the Indies, etc, the constant inquiry was, "Do you know Barnum?" I think,
Barnum, you are the best known man in the world."
These tales of celebrity from 1890 marked a turning point in the modern history of commercial
entertainment. On one level, they documented a new type of fame— American made, mass produced, and
globally distributed. Yet they also served as powerful evidence of what Barnum had accomplished over the
previous six decades, when he created the first reserved seats; the first matinee shows; the first celebrity
marketing campaigns; the first venues with national audiences; the first three-ring spectacles; and the first
corporate models. It was Barnum, in other words, who built much of what scholars now call the "culture industry."
And by the end of the 19th century, this industry had grown to such a scale that one of its architects could
boast of being the most famous man on earth. (p. 1)
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Lower Broadway viewed from Park Row, by Derby after an 1850 drawing by August Kollner
P.T. Barnum's American Museum is on the left; the Astor House, St. Paul's Church,
and Matthew Brady's Daguerreotye Gallery are on the right. (p. 5)
| Barnum worked at the American Museum
on lower Broadway or his circus offices in Bridgeport, Connecticut...
These products circulated through much broader commercial geographies as in the case of Tom Thumb. Or they
traveled up and down the Eastern Seaboard on multicity tours (as in the case of Jenny Lind, the Swedish
opera star).
Barnum engineered two basic modes of viewership: the early hoaxes, which fostered interactive decipherment and
debate, and the later circuses, which dazzled increasingly passive, awestruck audiences (p. 4)... Although he
priced his exhibitions low enough to attract many artisans and new immigrants, people
at the bottom of the
urban market economy generally could not afford 25¢ for an American Museum ticket, let alone $3.00
to see Jenny Lind (worth about $5.50 and $70 respectively, in 2003 U.S. dollars). (p. 6)
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JENNY LIND (From Programme of Mademoiselle Jenny Lind's Concert, New York, 1850)
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Portrait of Jenny Lind, Swedish
opera star, from 1850 U.S. tour,
published by Napoleon Sarony
Library of Congress (p. 132) |
The Hall of the Castle Garden, has been selected by Mademoiselle Lind herself as the best
Concert room at present existing in New York. Considerable difficulty was caused Mr. Barnum, in arranging it for the Concert, owing
to its occupation until Monday by the Italian Company, who have been recently performing there. This, however, has been obviated
by the greatest industry in the preparations. The stage has been thrown across the orchestra, for the purpose of improving its
capabilities for the voice, and every arrangement has been made to secure the accomodation of the public.
The proceeds of the Tickets sold at auction on the Saturday, were $9,119. The number of Tickets
which produced the amount, was 1,429. On the Monday, 3,055 were sold. The proceeds of the sale amounted to $15,359;
so that it may fairly be concluded, that the proceeds of the first Concert will considerably exceed $35,000.
A plan of Seats is given at the end of the Book, with directions, by which the Ticket holders may
take their seats. To prevent confusion, the holder of Yellow Tickets will be admitted at 5 o'clock. The holders
of Red and Blue Tickets, will be admitted at [blank] o'clock. The holders of Promenade Tickets will be admitted
at 71/2 o'clock. It is respectfully requested of them, that they will take their
position as directed by the usher, and not occupy the aisles between the seats, arranged in the center of the Hall.
Sketch of the Life of Jenny Lind:
The greatest of modern singers, was born in Stockholm. Her parents filled comparatively humble position in life,
and when Jenny first came into the world nothing augured her future reputation. She was a lovely and modest child,
and from her |
earliest days was passionately fond of melody. Her first accents were almost made in music. One day,
when she was merely five or six years of age, a Swedish actress heard her singing, and was so surprised by the almost
marvelous purity
of her voice and the talent and native skill even then displayed by the child in its management, that
she spoke of it to Herr Croelius, a music master, then resident in Stockholm. He came and heard the child sing, and
instantly determined on presenting her to the Count Puke, as a candidate for admission to the musical school attached
to the Royal Theater, of which he was the manager. The Count Puke at first made some difficulties, but after hearing
her sing, was even more astonished than Herr Croelius had been, and consented to her admission. She accordingly entered
the conservatory at
this early age, and was placed under the tuition of Erasmus Berg, a profound and skillful musician. After studying under
this master for several years, the public was surprised at seeing a child appear in a vaudeville in which she had
to sing.
This child was Jenny Lind. Such was her success, that she became a public favorite, and after a short time, began to
appear in opera. At this period in her life, everything seemed to bid fair for the future, and the child looked forward
to the day in which she might hold a high position in her art. This, however, was a dream that was destined to be
dispelled by a misfortune to which she had not looked forward. It was the loss of her voice, when she was about
14 years of age. She was compelled to retire from the theater, and again practice her art alone, and in the privacy
of her own apartments. At length her voice returned to her, but it was no longer the voice which she once had, nor
had it acquired the wonderful beauty and purity which now marks it. She now managed to go to Paris, and place herself
under the tuition of Signor Garcia, who, however, at first little foreboded the future eminence which his pupil was
to obtain. And very frequently has he said: "If Lind had more voice at her disposal, nothing could prevent her from
becoming the greatest of modern singers; but as it is, she must be content with singing second to many who will not
have one half her genius." (p. 131)
Her voice, nevertheless, gradually strengthened, and she was at length summoned back to Stockholm.
Here she again entered the Theater, and speedily became again a public favorite in Sweden. But during her residence
in Paris, she had made the acquaintance of Giacomo Meyerbeer, the celebrated composer. This great man
had formed a friendship for Jenny, and over two years had elapsed, she received an
invitation from him to join the opera in Berlin. To this she consented and soon after
repaired to Berlin, in 1842 or 1843. At the commencement, she made little impression
upon the public, for her voice had not completely returned to her. One evening, however,
when she was singing in Robert le Diable, she felt that it had returned, and inspired
by the consciousness, sang the music of Alice with such a force and power, combined
with the sweetness to which the public has become accustomed, that she electrified them
and astonished Meyerbeer, who from that moment regarded her as the first of modern singers.
Everything was now changed for her. She rapidly progressed in public estimation, and her
reputation soon spread through the whole of Germany, which at present is perhaps the most
musical nation on Continental Europe. Soon after this, a musical festival was held at Bonn,
upon the Rhine, and the Queen of England, who was then on a visit to His Prussian Majesty,
attended it. Jenny Lind was engaged at the festival, and the English critics who attended it,
wrote back such warm accounts of her genius, that it was not difficult to foretell that she would
soon come to England. Accordingly, towards the end of the year, M. Belinaye come to Berlin,
and through the medium of Lord Westmoreland, was presented to Jenny Lind, whom had the
satisfaction of engaging to appear, under Mr. Lumley's management, the following season.
Her success in England was such as at once to rank her in the estimation of London as the
very first of modern singers, and this too at a season when Alboni made her first appearance
there, and Viardot Garcia had returned to the English stage in all the triumph of a continental
reputation. From this period her reputation has been unchanged. Incredible sums have been
paid for the purpose of hearing her— sums, in comparison with which the $225 paid for the
first seat which was on Saturday exposed to auction in the Castle Garden, can indeed scarcely
compare. She has sung in Vienna and in every capital of Germany with the same extraordinary
success. In Edinburgh at the two concerts in which she sang, near £2000 were cleared
above every expense by Mr. Howard Glover, who was the entrepreneur; and at her
Majesty's Theater crowds have been in attendance round the pit and gallery doors as early as
three in the afternoon on the nights on which she was to appear. She has sung before
Queen of England repeatedly in private, and has indeed appeared in all the Courts in Germany
and northern Europe, excepting that of Russia; nor has she been merely received as a singer,
but as a woman, the spotless virtue of whose life and whose extraordinary and splendid
charities equally entitle her to the admiration and love of the public. While she lives her talents
and genius will constitute the highest of her claims to public admiration, and after her death
she will be remembered by those to whom her voice has been productive of so much and such
abundant advantage. (pp. 132-133)
Obituary from THE NEW YORK TIMES:
The Great Showman Dead
BRIDGEPORT, Conn., April 7— At 6:22 o'clock tonight the long sickness of P. T. Barnum came to an end by his quietly
passing away at Marina, his residence in this city. Shortly after midnight there came an alarming change for the worse.
Drs. Hubbard and Godfrey, who were in attendance, saw at once that the change was such as to indicate that the patient
could not long survive. The weakened pulse, more difficult respiration, and lower temperature showed that the action
of the heart had become so feeble as to presage the collapse which was the beginning of the end. Mr. Barnum seemed
to realize that he could not live much longer, and spoke of his approaching end with calmness. Through the night
he suffered much pain. Mrs. Barnum remained at the bedside during the night.
One of the requests made by Mr. Barnum was that, when all hope was gone, sedatives which would make
his passage to the next world more peaceful be administered. About 4 o'clock this morning the veteran showman
spoke his last words. He was asked if he wished a drink of water, and answered, "Yes." Soon after he sank into
a lethargy. It was difficult to arouse him from this state, and on opening his eyes a faint gleam of recognition
alone indicated that he had knowledge of his surroundings, or knew those about him. All day long Mr. Barnum lay
in a semi-unconscious state. About 10 o'clock the first sedative was administered, and repeated several times
during the day.
When it became certain that the end was but a few hours distant, telegrams to relatives were sent out,
and among the sorrowing group in the sick room this evening when the final moments came were Mrs. Barnum, the
Rev. L.B. Fisher, pastor of the Universalist church of this city, of which Mr. Barnum was a member; Mrs. D.W. Thompson,
Mr. Barnum's daughter; Mrs. W.H. Buchtelle of New York, another daughter; C. Barnum Seeley, his grandson; Drs. Hubbard
and Godfrey, his physicians; C.B. Olcutt, a trained nurse from Bellevue Hospital, and W.D. Roberts, his faithful colored
valet. The scene at the deathbed was deeply pathetic. All were in tears. Although Mrs. Barnum has stood up bravely under
the strain, the closing moments were too much for her and she gave way at times. For an hour or two before his death
those at the bedside watched for some sign of recognition or a word from the dying man, but in vain. His end was peaceful
and apparently perfectly painless.
Although no arrangements have as yet been perfected for the funeral, it is known that it will take place
Friday. The Rev. Mr. Collyer of New-York, a lifelong friend of Mr. Barnum, will assist the Rev. Mr. Fisher in the services,
which will be private. In accordance with the expressed wish of the deceased he will be buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery,
where he recently had erected a massive granite monument.
As has been repeatedly published, Mr. Barnum makes provision in his will for the continuance as a permanent
institution of the great show with which his name is associated. For his wife, his daughters, and other relatives, he has
made handsome provision, but the bulk of his property goes to C. Barnum Seeley, his only grandson. Mr. Seeley lives in
New-York. He is a member of the Stock Exchange, Mr. Barnum having purchased a seat for him a short time ago.
Mr. Barnum's solicitude that no business cares should devolve upon his wife at his death had led him to
make and publish his will in 1883. He had three physicians with him at the time, who subscribed to affidavits that he
was of sound and disposing mind and memory. His estate was then valued at $10,000,000. The will named twenty-seven heirs
and was generous in charitable bequests. He valued his share in the show at $3,500,000. His executors were empowered
to renew contracts to carry on the show for the estate at the expiration of the present contract in 1899. The Children's
Aid Society was specifically named as a beneficiary of a certain percentage of each season's profits.
"I don't know anybody connected with that society," the great showman explained, "but I believe in the
society. To me there is no picture so beautiful as smiling, bright-eyed, happy children; no music so sweet as their
clear and ringing laughter. That I have had power to provide innocent amusement for the little ones, to create such
pictures, to evoke such music, is my proudest reflection. I believe this society to be the most practical Christian
institution in America. I have catered to four generations of children. I want children to remember me."
Other codicils were afterward added to the will to include the Tufts and Bridgeport institutions within
its provisions. In April, 1889, he arranged that the management of his interests in the show after his death should
devolve upon his grandson, Clinton Barnum Seeley. Mr. Barnum's latest great personal triumph was won during his visit
to England in the Fall of 1889 and Winter of 1890. The feat of carrying across the ocean his enormous show compelled
the admiration of the English people. They forgot the Jumbo incident and received him with popular enthusiasm. All
classes extended to him every possible honor, and his London season was a most wonderful and satisfying success.
No notice of Mr. Barnum would be complete without at least a passing reference to his services in the field of politics.
He was originally a Democrat, but when the war broke out was one of the most outspoken defenders of the Union, and
subsequently acted enthusiastically with the Republicans. He was four times elected to the General Assembly of Connecticut,
and made his mark by advocating the rights of individuals as against railway monopolies. He also served with credit as
Mayor of Bridgeport, a city in the improvement and beautifying of which he spent much time and money.
Such in brief has been the career of one of the remarkable men of this country.
Phineas Taylor Barnum was a good father, a faithful husband, a true friend, and an honest public servant. He was a
shrewd manager, and in his business made money when he could. From the smallest of beginnings he won notoriety,
if not fame, in two continents. His life was filled with the most striking examples of what may be accomplished by
that peculiar quality known as "Yankee push." His name will long be remembered in his native land. He was twice married,
his second wife being an English lady. He engaged in live stock enterprises with Vanderbilt, the Eastmans, and others. (pp. 233-235)
Inaccurate Portrayals of P.T. Barnum & Jenny Lind in the Movie
In the The Greatest Showman movie,
Jenny Lind was shown kissing P.T. Barnum at the end of her last performance. Photographs were published in
all the newspapers "SCANDAL" read the headlines. Barnum's wife Charity left him after reading about it.
But in real life, Jenny Lind was no homewrecking seducer. Her singing tour with Barnum was
cordial and entirely professional. Barnum's wife never left him, being happily married for 44 years
until she died (1829-1873). Jenny Lind rejected many suitors including
Felix Mendelssohn and
Hans Christian Andersen.
She married the German composer & pianist Otto Goldschmidt in 1852 for 35 years until she died
in 1887. They had three children and a happy married life.
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U.S. #4898-4905: Barnum & Bailey Circus Posters (issued May 5, 2014)
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