THE WILD BEASTS, BIRDS AND REPTILES OF THE WORLD: THE STORY OF THEIR CAPTURE. PUBLISHED BY THE WERNER COMPANY, CHICAGO. VERY GOOD CONDITION WITH MINOR COVER WEAR AND TIGHT BINDING. NO FOXING TO PAGES. LARGE HARDCOVER BOOK WITH ORIGINAL BLUE PICTORIAL CLOTH MEASURES 10″ X 8″ AND CONTAINS 514 PAGES. BOOK CONTAINS HUNDREDS OF BEAUTIFUL WOOD CUT ENGRAVINGS. SEE BELOW MORE MORE DETAILS. An amazing circus book written by the world famous P. Tells the story of how Barnum obtained these amazing animals from around the world. Barnum was a successful American promoter who founded what became the Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1871. Born on July 5, 1810, in Bethel, Connecticut, P. Barnum became a successful promoter after moving to New York City. From 1841 to 1868, he ran the Barnum American Museum, which featured the “Feejee Mermaid, ” “General Tom Thumb” and other oddities. In 1871, he launched the traveling spectacle that would eventually become the Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey Circus. After an illustrious career, Barnum died in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on April 7, 1891. Barnum was born Phineas Taylor Barnum on July 5, 1810, in Bethel, Connecticut. A natural salesman, he was peddling snacks and cherry rum to soldiers by age 12. Barnum moved to New York City as a young man and tried his hand at a variety of businesses, including newspaper publishing and running a boarding house. Barnum’s American Museum. Barnum bought Scudder’s American Museum in lower Manhattan in 1841 and reopened it as Barnum’s American Museum. There he displayed the “Feejee Mermaid” and other oddities of dubious authenticity among what eventually expanded to a collection of 850,000 exhibits. In 1842, Barnum met 4-year-old Charles Sherwood Stratton, who stood 25 inches tall and weighed 15 pounds. Sensing another potential windfall, Barnum trained the boy to sing and dance and revealed him to the public as General Tom Thumb. The massive popularity of the exhibit led to a traveling tour of Europe, which included an audience with British monarch. In July 1865, Barnum’s American Museum burned to the ground in a massive fire. The promoter soon opened another museum at a nearby location, but this one also was demolished by a fire, in March 1868. The Greatest Show on Earth. After retiring from the museum business, Barnum teamed with circus owners Dan Castello and William C. Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Hippodrome in 1871. Referring to the traveling spectacle as “The Greatest Show on Earth, ” Barnum took full ownership of the successful venture by 1875. In 1881, Barnum joined forces with fellow circus managers James A. Bailey and James L. The following year they introduced “Jumbo, ” an enormous 11 1/2-foot, 6 1/2-ton elephant from the Royal Zoological Society in London. As with many of Barnum’s previous exhibits, Jumbo was a hit with audiences, until his death in 1885. In 1887, an aging Barnum agreed to cede everyday control of the circus, which was rebranded as the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth. Although he became famous for championing the weird and wacky, one of Barnum’s most successful ventures came with the promotion of Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind in the early 1850s. Get Supersized Images & Free Image Hosting. Attention Sellers – Get Templates Image Hosting, Scheduling at Auctiva. Track Page Views With. Auctiva’s FREE Counter. The item “RARE 1894 P. T. BARNUM CIRCUS WILD ANIMALS ANTIQUE ILLUSTRATED GREATEST SHOWMAN” is in sale since Saturday, December 19, 2020. This item is in the category “Books\Antiquarian & Collectible”. The seller is “vintage_antiques_2021″ and is located in Greenville, South Carolina. This item can be shipped worldwide.