Newspaper: Gleason's Drawing Room Companion featuring Barnum's Herd of Elephants at the American Museum

Newspaper: Gleason's Drawing Room Companion for June 21, 1851 featuring Barnum's Herd of Elephants at the American Museum The top of the page features Barnum's heard of elephants. There are eight Asian elephants in the illustration, including one baby. A small write up about them is underneath. The illustration at the bottom is about the burning of the Point Shirley House. Barnum's American Museum was located at the corner of Broadway and Ann Street from 1841 to 1865 until it was destroyed by a fire, and then moved to 539-541 Broadway until it too was destroyed by a fire in 1868. The displays in the museum ranged from dioramas of places such as Niagara Falls and the American plains, various animals including whales and trained seals, wax figure tableaus, performers, theatrical performances, inventions, scientific specimens, and curious artifacts. Barnum included what were then called humbugs, or hoaxes, and invited the public to decide for themselves if the displays in question were genuine or not. Gleason's Drawing Room Companion, June 21, 1851