Booklet: Biographical sketches of Count and Countess Philippe Nicol
Booklet entitled Biographical sketches of Count and Countess Philippe Nicol, promoting the self-styled King and Queen of All Midgets and their New... Show moreBooklet entitled Biographical sketches of Count and Countess Philippe Nicol, promoting the self-styled King and Queen of All Midgets and their New Famous Midgets Palace in Canada. Philippe Nicole and his wife, Rose Nicole nee Dufresne, lived in Montreal. Both were little people, and their son was as well. Within the booklet is a biography of Philippe Nicol himself by an unknown writer. The biography mentions that Nicol performed in several circus in his youth, including Barnum and Bailey. It traces his marriage to Rose, and how it was Philippe decided to make his own home into an attraction that was open to tours, showing off the couple's lifestyle as little people. This venture brought the family a substantial income, as well as allowed people to see the adaptations the family had made to live their everyday lives. Photographs of Philippe and Rose, as well as their home, are contained within. The booklet features both an English biography and a French biography. They are printed opposite and backwards of each other, so that one can turn the book in one direction to read the English edition, and the other to read the French. Barnum is best known for his involvement with the circus that bore his name, but his circus ventures came about when he was in his 60s. The first show was called P.T. Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Circus. Railroads propelled the circus to success, making it easier to reach a number of locations, and the intake was significant. Barnum then opened the New York Hippodrome with similar acts. In the 1880s, he encountered competition from other circuses. A merger between Barnum's show and the Great London Show of Cooper, Bailey, and Hutchinson formed the Barnum and London Circus. Negotiations in 1887 formed the Barnum and Bailey circus. The name remained until 1919 when it became the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. It came to an end in May 2017 when the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus ceased performances after 146 years. Show less