Ticket: Ticket to Barnum's American Museum

Ticket for Barnum's American Museum printed in blue ink on white paper, with hand-written script in black. The design features a scene of wild animals and palm trees, with a ribbon banner at the center top announcing the name of the museum, under which is the information, "Admit until July 1, 1866." Along the lower edge it states: "This Ticket will be Forfeited if Transferred (see other side)." The background scene includes various African animals: a giraffe on the far left, a crane or heron on the left, a hippopotamus and another aquatic animal in the center, and on the right a small wild cat and an elephant. A snake is wrapped around the palm tree on the right. Penned across the center of the ticket is the name Russell D. Biddlecam[?], Esq. and in the lower right area, the signature S. H. Hurd. Hurd, whose full name was Samuel Henry Hurd, was one of Barnum's son-in-laws. Information on the back of the ticket indicates that it was valid only for use by the person whose name appeared on the front. It also states that the ticket would allow entry to all parts of the theater in the museum, including the balcony, parquette, and orchestra seats. The term parquette typically meant the whole lower floor of the theater, or the body of seats nearest the orchestra. Barnum's American Museum was located at the corner of Broadway and Ann Street from December 1841 to July 1865 when it was destroyed by a fire; Barnum re-opened at 539-541 Broadway until that building 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, to various stuffed and live animals including whales and trained seals, wax figure tableaux, performers, theatrical performances, inventions, scientific specimens, and curious artifacts. Barnum also included what were then called humbugs, or hoaxes, to attract the public, whom he invited to decide for themselves whether the displays were genuine.