Jewelry: P. T. Barnum's gold ring
1848 – 1850 (Date manufactured/created)
Textile/Personal Artifact
Very large gold ring made for P. T. Barnum, ca. 1850. The elaborate, ornamental ring is made of 18-karat gold, and features an image of Barnum's first mansion in Bridgeport, Connecticut, which he built in 1847 - 1848 and called Iranistan. It is likely that the ring is contemporary to the completion of the house or was made soon after, when Barnum was enjoying the great wealth he had accumulated from the three-year European tour with his star performer "General Tom Thumb," further increased in 1850 with the unparalleled success of Jenny Lind's concert tour in America. The home is depicted within an oval shape that forms the top of the ring and the image runs parallel to the finger hole, not parallel to the ring. One side of the ring displays Barnum's adopted heraldry, depicting a shield with a man, a fist clutching arrows, a tower in water, and a bird-like figure. Beneath that is a banner with the phrase "Love God and Be Merry," Barnum's own motto. Above the banner is an eagle with its wings spread. The heraldic symbols are copied from the dinner service and silver Barnum purchased in Paris, from the estate of a Russian nobleman or prince. On the opposite side of the ring are the initials "PTB" displayed in Gothic script. The maker of the ring is unknown but undoubtedly Barnum instructed its design. Given the very large size of the ring suggests that it would have been worn over a leather glove. Barnum bequeathed the ring to one of his grandsons, and it was passed down through the family until it was bequeathed to the museum. The family referred to it as “the giant’s ring” because of its size.
Iranistan was P. T. Barnum's family home from 1848 to 1857 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, (at the time part of the town of Fairfield), located on present day Fairfield Avenue. It was designed in the Moorish revival style by Leopold Eidlitz, and was largely inspired by the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, England. It cost $100,000 and sat on seventeen acres of land. The mansion burned down in December 1857, likely from smoldering ashes of a workman's cigar or pipe.
Iranistan was P. T. Barnum's family home from 1848 to 1857 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, (at the time part of the town of Fairfield), located on present day Fairfield Avenue. It was designed in the Moorish revival style by Leopold Eidlitz, and was largely inspired by the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, England. It cost $100,000 and sat on seventeen acres of land. The mansion burned down in December 1857, likely from smoldering ashes of a workman's cigar or pipe.
Bequest of Arleen P. Seeley
2007.002.051