Large photograph mounted on heavy paperboard, showing P. T. Barnum and Nancy Fish-Barnum's home Marina in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The home was... Show moreLarge photograph mounted on heavy paperboard, showing P. T. Barnum and Nancy Fish-Barnum's home Marina in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The home was designed by architects Longstaff and Hurd of Bridgeport in the Queen Anne style and was built in 1889 next to the Barnum's late 1860s mansion Waldemere, in the area of Seaside Park, facing Long Island Sound. When the new home was completed, Waldemere was taken down. Photograph by Farini Photographs, likely taken between 1889-1891. The photograph shows the dining room at Marina. On the sideboard to the left are various food service items, some of which are now in the Barnum Museum's holdings, such as the gilt silver tea service and porcelain china that P. T. Barnum acquired at an estate auction in France. The chairs are also in the museum's holdings but no longer have the tooled leather upholstery. The photograph offers a wealth of period design detail, from the parquet floor and patterned wallpaper to the painted ceiling. The presence of a telephone on the wall in the far corner is notable for the time period. The back of the photograph is black except for an imprint in gold that identifies the photography studio as "Farini Photographs. 61 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport, Conn." An unfortunate added element is the label covering a portion of the photographer's name, "Photo #6 Property of Barnum Museum." This photograph came in an off white folder. A stamp at the top reads "No., Name, Remarks" with blanks to be filled in. "7" is filled in under No. and "Dining of 'Marina'" is filled in under remarks.. Nancy Fish-Barnum sent these images the Joshua Cunliffe family, friends of hers who lived in England. The photographs transferred into the possession of another at some point, and was then obtained by an antiques dealer in Blackford Bridge, Bury, Lancashire, England. The photographs came to the attention of Barnum Museum curator Kenneth B. Holmes, who purchased them on behalf of the museum while in England for Christmas vacation in December 1970. An article about the initial discovery of the photographs were published in the Bridgeport Sunday Post on 24 January, 1971. Show less