Program: P.T. Barnum's Great Roman Hippodrome bill of the performance for the week ending April 3, 1875

Program for P.T. Barnum's Great Roman Hippodrome for April 3, 1875. The header features of P.T. Barnum in the middle, with the text P.T. Barnum's on the left and Great Roman Hippodrome on the right. In a center column is the bill of performances, and on the left and right of the front page are advertisements. The rest of the program mixes advertisements and descriptions of the various acts in the circus. On the final page is an advertisement as well as a depiction of the interior of the Hippodrome, with a crowd watching a scene of chariot races taking place. 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' 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.