Program: P.T. Barnum's Great Roman Hippodrome bills of performance for 1874

This grouping features a number of programs for P.T. Barnumu's Roman Hippodrome for the year 1874. The first three programmes in the group are for the weeks of November 21, November 28, and November 14 respectively. Due to their close proximity, they track the weekly changes made to the Hippodrome's schedule of events. Their overall format is similar as well. The header for each features a portrait 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. The advertisements for the 21st and 14th also feature a depiction of the interior of the Hippodrome, with a crowd watching a scene of chariot races taking place. A similar image is featured as the header for the April 27, 1874 program. A chariot race is shown, taking up about one third of the page, with the crowd watching on and the elaborate interior of the Hippodrome shown. The text P.T. Barnum's Great Roman Hippodrome is overlaid. The front page features three columns, with the program of events in the center column and advertisements flanking either side. Within are additional summaries of events and advertisements. The same image and format is used for the next program in the set, from an unknown show in 1874, as well as for the program for August 3, 1874, and the final program in the set which is also from an unknown date in 1874. 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.