Handbill: Approaching the Close. The Barnum and London Show, Madison Square Garden"

Handbill that announces Approaching the Close. The Barnum and London Show Madison Square Garden, Nearing the End of its Season on yellow paper, dated somewhere between 1881 and 1886. The front of the handbill boasts of new wild beasts, a baby elephant (possibly Baby Bridgeport, the second elephant born in the United States), and the largest menagerie since Noah's Ark advertised as IT IS TOO BIG. The illustrations on the front include an image of the circus ring at Madison Square Garden, and a rhino being captured in the wild. On the opposite side of the handbill is a reminder to the viewer that the show is NEARING THE END and boasts of the immense crowded theatre, new acts in three rings, and new "freaks of nature." Illustrated on this side of the handbill are giraffes being lead around with a bridle as one might a horse, and a large animal that appears to be a bear or a spotted big cat prone on the floor. Also present is an adult African elephant interacting with a baby elephant. 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.