Program: The Arena in New York City for Monday, November 18, 1872

Program entitled The Arena meant for P.T. Barnum's Roman Hippodrome in New York City for November 18, 1872. The program for The Arena features a header with a giraffe and a rhinoceros on the left hand side, and a trick horse with rider on the right. The program of events is on the front, giving a list of acts in the center column, with advertisements on other side. The inside page includes advertisements including one for P.T. Barnum's autobiography Struggles and Triumphs as well as advertisements and poems. On the third page are more advertisements and a few short stories, as well as a synopsis of Barnum's Traveling Show that tells how the present circus came to be after the destruction of Barnum's American Museum in 1869. That continues on the back of the programme, and is followed by a brief summary of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Advertisements for products and businesses are placed 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.