Courier: P.T. Barnum's Greatest Show on Earth and Great London Circus for Bridgeport, Connecticut

Courier for P.T. Barnum's Greatest Show on Earth and Great London Circus performing at Bridgeport, Connecticut. The cover features a portrait of P.T. Barnum on the upper left of the courier, and a scene of a great circus tent surrounded by people that reads the best way for the public to advertise. Below them is a picture of Jumbo the elephant standing over a crowd of people. The text around him reads "Jumbo was the largest elephant in the world." For a number of years after Jumbo's death in 1885, Barnum toured the elephant's hide and skeleton with the circus. On pages two and three of the courier is the program of performance, and on the back is a little column entitled Barnum Events that gives an overview of Barnum's early career. Throughout the courier are advertisements. 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.