Set of route sheets for various Barnum and Bailey Circus seasons. These sheets list dates, as well as railroad lines, offering an idea of how the circuses traveled across Americau2019s railways each year. The sheet for 1892 reads Official Route of the Great Barnum and Bailey United Shows 1892 with show locations, dates, miles, and railroads listed. On the sheet for the 1910 season is a color header featuring portraits of P.T. Barnum and J.A. Bailey in decorative oval frames, a lion lounging on the top and a tiger lounging on the bottom. Reading Barnum and Bailey Greatest Show on Earth and coming from the general offices and winter quarters in Bridgeport, Connecticut, it gives the Season 1910 Official Route listing date, town, state, railroad, and miles. A personal note to the letter writer's mother is on the back. On the sheet for the 1912 season is a color header featuring portraits of P.T. Barnum and J.A. Bailey in decorative oval frames, a lion lounging on the top and a tiger lounging on the bottom. Reading Barnum and Bailey Greatest Show on Earth and coming from the general offices and winter quarters in Bridgeport, Connecticut, it gives the Official Route Season 1912 listing date, town, state, railroad, and miles in two separate columns. 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.
