“My Diary or Route Book of P.T. Barnum’s Greatest Show on Earth and Great London Circus for the season of 1882.” Route books are small books that... Show more“My Diary or Route Book of P.T. Barnum’s Greatest Show on Earth and Great London Circus for the season of 1882.” Route books are small books that document the travels of the circus throughout the circus season, and include a variety of other information. They typically include venue locations and dates, and names of circus employees and their roles, as well as notes on events of the season, such as weather conditions and incidents that occurred along the way, ranging from injuries and deaths to the births of employees' children. In many ways they are like school yearbooks, and in the late 1800s they expanded and began including photographs as well. The cover of this route book features an image of Jumbo the Elephant giving rides to young circus-goers. P. T. Barnum, J. A. Bailey, and J. L. Hutchison are named as the sole proprietors of the circus. The route book was compiled by Alvaro Betancourt [Stewart] and published by the Gazette Company, Printers, Elmira, N.Y. P. T. Barnum (July 5, 1810 - April 7, 1891) is best known for his involvement with the circus that still bears his name, but his circus ventures came about when he was in his 60s, following his career as a museum proprietor. The first show was called P. T. Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Circus. The development of railroad transportation helped propel the circus to success, making it easier to reach more locations and at a further distance, as well as expand the size of the shows. The intake was significant. Barnum's next venture was opening the New York Hippodrome with similar acts. In the 1880s, he encountered much more competition from other circuses. A merger between Barnum’s show the Great London Show of Cooper, Bailey, and Hutchinson resulted in forming the Barnum and London Circus. Negotiations and a new partnership in 1887 formed the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth. The name remained until 1919 when it became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth. Ringling ended its circus shows in May 2017. Show less