Letter: To Nate Beers from P.T. Barnum, January 1, 1884

Letter to Nate Beers from P.T. Barnum, January 1, 1884 In this letter to Nate Beers, the cousin of P.T. Barnum's wife, Charity, Barnum wishes Nate a Happy New Year. He goes on to mention exaggerations about his white elephant by his show managers and how he owes $200,000 on Broadway and Houston St. property. Barnum also talks about how his will takes up 20 pages, although it is not as long as some say it is. P.T. Barnum wrote a large number of letters in his time, and as a public figure, received many in return. These manuscripts offer insight into his personal life via correspondence with friends and family, his business interests including the American Museum and the circus, and his personality. The various correspondents demonstrate how vast his social circle was, and the space he occupied as a public figure during his own lifetime.