Document: "Subscribers to 'The Life of P.T. Barnum, Written by Himself'"

Promotional flyer from 1855 announcing the soon-to-be-released autobiography of P. T. Barnum by New York City publisher J. S. Redfield. The single-fold, four-panel document was distributed in advance of the release to seek subscribers (purchasers) for The Life of P.T. Barnum, Written by Himself, at $1.25 a copy. The front page of the flyer includes spaces for the subscriber's name, residence (address), and number of copies desired. (Redfield may have timed the book's December release to coincide with the gift-giving season.) On another page the heading states, "Please preserve this till the Agent picks it up to-morrow." Presumably the books were delivered directly to the subscriber's address. The flyer includes a portion of the book's preface, a partial list of the chapters with sub-headings, and descriptions of the topics included. According to the flyer, highlights are a narrative of Jenny Lind's "Triumphal Musical Campaign," (the American concert tour organized by Barnum); stories of the showman's "Humbugs," including Joice Heth, the FeJeeMermaid, the Woolly Horse, and the Herd of Buffaloes; and Barnum's "Rules for Business and Making a Fortune." This flyer pertains to the first of Barnum's several autobiographies, the first being written when he was in his mid-40s. Later editions, titled Struggles and Triumphs, are expanded and updated with information about his circus endeavors and other career achievements, as well as periods of bad luck, and narratives of several tragedies that befell him. Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum was born on July 5, 1810 in Bethel, Connecticut. His name is primarily associated with the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth, however, Barnum's circus endeavors came later in his life, beginning in 1871. Prior to that he was the proprietor of the American Museum in New York City from 1842-1868. Among the many facets of his life and career he was a newspaper editor, promoter, investor, lecturer, author, a State Representative, Mayor of Bridgeport, city planner and real estate developer, member of the Universalist church, and a philanthropist who sought to improve conditions for "the common man." He also advocated for the end of slavery, and the cause of Temperance. His immensely successful promotions led to fame and fortune for a number of performers as well as his becoming a celebrity in his own right. In 1887 he partnered with James A. Bailey to produce the circus shows for which he is best remembered. He died on April 7, 1891, about five months after he suffered a stroke. He is buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, a park-like cemetery that he helped design in the late 1840s.