Program: P.T. Barnum’s Greatest Show on Earth,…Great London Circus. Combined, 1887

The first in the set is the program for P.T. Barnum's Greatest Show on Earth united with the Great London Circus, Sanger's Royal British Menagerie, and Grand International Allies Shows, combined with Adam Forepaugh's Circus, Menagerie and Hippodrome and Trained Animal Paradox, performing at Madison Square Garden in 1887. The first part of the program is centered on the front page. Listing of events continues on the second page and third pages, with the third page also featuring a listing of the hippodrome races. The back page is entirely advertisements. Other ads are scattered throughout the program. 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.