Photograph: P.T. Barnum with beard, holding his namesake grandchild
Small photograph, called a carte de visite or CDV, showing an older P. T. Barnum holding one of his grandchildren, most likely his namesake, the... Show moreSmall photograph, called a carte de visite or CDV, showing an older P. T. Barnum holding one of his grandchildren, most likely his namesake, the son of his daughter Caroline and her husband David Thompson. The oval headshot image fades out around the edges, thus little detail of the figures can be seen. Barnum is, uncharacteristically, sporting a beard in this image. A very young child, probably about one year old, is on the right, held to the height of Barnum's face. The date of this photograph is estimated to be between August 1864 and July 1866 based on the presence of a revenue tax stamp adhered to the back. A tax on photographs was in effect only during that time period during and after the Civil War. This clue helps us narrow down, among Barnum's nine grandchildren, the one shown in this photograph. The child would have to have been born sometime between 1863 and mid- to late 1865. The only grandchild born in that timeframe was Phineas Taylor Barnum Thompson, born on April 19 or 20, 1865. Sadly, the little boy died on February 27, 1868, two months shy of his third birthday. The Barnums had a family of four daughters, with three surviving to adulthood: Caroline (b. 1833), Helen (b. 1840), and Pauline (b. 1846). Their third daughter, Frances, died in 1844 at about two years of age. The remaining Barnum daughters married and had children whom Barnum doted on and eagerly had photos taken of - and with. Show less