Cabinet card photograph of Charity Hallett Barnum, the first wife of P. T. Barnum, likely in her early sixties. Wearing a ruffled lace cap, she faces toward the right. Her eyes are notably light in color, and her straight, slim nose is fairly prominent. Long, tightly-formed ringlets or curls fall from the sides of her forehead to the lower cheeks. Given Charity Barnum's age and poor health, it is quite likely the curls are false; they represent the hairstyle that was popular in Charity's younger days, and suggest she was not a woman who wished to keep up with fashionable trends. The elaborate white cap was also a throwback to the custom of the early 1800s, and earlier, when married women always kept their heads covered with a cap, plain or fancy. By the 1860s, day caps were far less commonly worn by young and middle-aged women, but for older women, wearing a cap was a habit not easily put aside. Charity's medium-color silk gown features dark silk bands placed vertically from shoulders down the front. The front and neckline are trimmed with ruffles of white lace, and an oval brooch featuring a bird secures the lace near the throat. An oil portrait of Charity done circa 1847 shows her wearing the same brooch. The photograph was made by Howell, 867 and 869, Broadway, New York. Charity Barnum nee Hallett (October 28,1808 - November 19, 1873) was the first wife of Phineas Taylor Barnum. They met in Bethel, Connecticut, where she was a tailoress, and married on November 18, 1829, she aged 21, he 19. They had four daughters, three of whom lived to adulthood. Although the two were devoted to one another for many years, Charity was a quieter presence than her husband, and apparently preferred home life to travel. As her husband achieved international fame and great wealth, their differing outlooks and interests became more marked. By inclination she did not seek the limelight; in addition, she suffered from ill health for many years. She died on November 10, 1873, and was buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport, Connecticut.