Courier: P.T. Barnum's Great Traveling World's Fair for Boston, Mass., May 12, 1873

Courier for P.T. Barnum's Great Traveling World's Fair at Boston, Mass., May 12, 1873. At the top of the courier is a depiction of the circus, a crowd in the front shown entering the collection of tents that stretch out into the background. The rest of the courier features the schedule of events for the performance, along with advertising for local businesses. On the second page is an illustration of elephants and other animals performing in the circus ring, as well as an illustration of a polar bear. The third page shows illustrations of a wild inhabitant of Brazil, a rhinoceros, a talking machine (automaton), and an image of Admiral Dot (Leopold Kahn). On the back of the courier are illustrations of trick horses, a man lifting a barrel by biting down on it and using the strength of his jaw, and the female Sampson carrying a great weight and a man standing atop said weight. Couriers were a form of advertising that helped to announce the arrival of the circus, usually before it was in town. Some couriers were newspaper sized and many pages long, with extensive descriptions and illustrations of the acts that were a part of the circus. 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.