Photograph: Charity Barnum (Mrs. P. T. Barnum) wearing ringlets, and crossed white collar
Cabinet card photograph of Charity Hallett Barnum in her later years, likely in her sixties. She is shown wearing a white cap with ribbon trim in... Show moreCabinet card photograph of Charity Hallett Barnum in her later years, likely in her sixties. She is shown wearing a white cap with ribbon trim in the center above her forehead, and has long curls formed in ringlets hanging at the sides of her face. Almost certainly these are false curls, given Charity's age and ill health, and the fact that the ringlets do not blend with her hair visible above her forehead. The hairstyle harkens back to Charity's younger days in the 1830s and 1840s, as does the wearing of a white cap, a custom from the early 1800s and before, when married women wore day caps, plain or fancy. By the 1860s, few young and middle-aged women chose to wear day caps, but it was a habit that older women did not easily give up. Charity's gown is a medium color silk, and is adorned with a fichu, or narrow scarf of fine linen and lace, typically crossed and then secured with a brooch. Here, the fichu has broad ends that essentially cover the bosom. A large oval brooch secures the crossed area. The brooch is likely the same one that appears in an oil portrait of Charity made in 1847; it features a bird in the center, and ornamentation all around the edge. No photographer name or studio is printed on the back of the card. The photograph dates between 1868 and the time of Charity's death in 1873. Charity Barnum nee Hallett (28 October 1808-19 November, 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. Show less