Award certificate dated 1851 presented by the Fairfield County Agricultural Society to Doctor Elijah Middlebrook for Native Grape Wine. P. T. Barnum was President of the Society at that time, and as such, he signed the document. William S. Pomeroy, Secretary of the Society, also signed the certificate. Although titled "Diploma," the document did not convey a degree as we define diplomas today. Rather, it was an award won in competition at the annual country fair, which in that year was held in Bridgeport, Connecticut, located on the east side of Fairfield County. The certificate features a handsomely illustrated border with vignettes depicting various farm and domestic scenes. At the top center, a cartouche frames a picture of a man and horse plowing a field, and gives the date that the Agricultural Society's was organized, 1840. Scenes on the left hand side of the certificate include a vignette showing a mantel clock, teapot, and other household items; blacksmiths at work; and a man with two horses in a stable. On the right, a vignette shows women at work on a quilt; a scene in a barn; and cattle and pigs. The bottom corners feature quotations about agriculture, one by George Washington; the source of the other is unnamed. The center illustration at the bottom is a vignette showing hay harvesting; on either side of the cartouche are arrangements of agricultural bounty, including sheaves of grains, bunches of grapes, and many kinds of vegetables. The printer is Perkins Sun Est. [Establishment], 128 Fulton Street, N.[New] York. P. T. Barnum was elected President of the Fairfield County Agricultural Society in 1848, the same year he took up residence in his elaborate, newly built home, Iranistan. Since his American Museum was in New York City, he considered Iranistan, located on the east border of Fairfield and later to become Bridgeport, to be his "country" home. Barnum wrote that he was interested in agriculture, and he kept poultry and cows on his seventeen-acre estate. Barnum helped plan the Society's annual fair, gave talks, helped judge contests, and other work activities. Years later, when Barnum was elected the Connecticut General Assembly as a State Representative, he continued his interest by sitting on various committees that dealt with agriculture on the state level.
