Songster entitled P.T. Barnum's Clown's Songster for the circus season of 1879. A portrait of P.T. Barnum is printed on the yellow cover of the songster. There is no title page, and the songster launches right into the lyrics. The back cover features a full length portrait of "the Clown Par Excellence" James Halloway, wearing a full jester costume. Included within are: "Sweet Mary Ann"; "Casy's Social Club"; "Sneider's Band"; "Jane Anna Killfoil"; "The Old Hat"; "I Met Her in the Garden Where the Praties Grow"; "If I was Only Long Enough, a Soldier I Would Be"; "The Things I Don't Like to See"; "The Mill's Shut Down"; "They've All Got a Mate but Me"; "Strawberries and Cream"; "Put a Headstone O'er Poor Mother's Grave"; "Apples and Pears"; "Boston Fire"; "Such a Constitution has my Brother John"; "Sweet Norah Mahone"; "Vision of my Dream"; "Flip Flap on my Ear"; "Must We Then Meet as Strangers?"; "Sir Joseph's Song"; and "The Captain's Song". Songsters were booklets of popular song lyrics meant to be carried around, usually in the pocket, and were published as sheet music was. The booklets share a name with a traveling musician called a songster, an occupation usually held by African Americans traveling and playing music during the Reconstruction era (after the Civil War). These artists had a great influence on the eventual development of the blues. 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.
