Print: "Interior View of Elephant Building," 1882
Unknown creator, American (created by)
P. T. Barnum (associated with)
Baby Bridgeport (associated with)
P. T. Barnum (associated with)
Baby Bridgeport (associated with)
1882 (Date manufactured/created)
96 in H
X
27.75 in W
Large color print depicting the interior of the Elephant Building at the Circus Winter Quarters in Bridgeport, Connecticut. P. T. Barnum's twenty-two elephants lived at the Winter Quarters, as did many of the other animals, from December to March, when the circus was not on tour.
The image commemorates the birth of an Asian elephant named "America," and later known as "Bridgeport" or "Baby Bridgeport," said to be the second elephant born in America. The scene shows the newborn elephant suckling at its mother's teat, while another elephant ("the father") watches. The mother elephant, named "Queen," is shown standing with her trunk caresses the baby's back. The male elephant, "Chieftain," is in an awkward pose, partly standing, his trunk is curled above his head and his mouth is wide open, suggesting he is trumpeting his pride at the birth of his offspring. Both adult elephants have one of their legs changed to a stake.
The text in a yellow rectangle along the lower edge states that the baby elephant was born on February 2, 1882, weighed 145 pounds, and was 30 inches tall and 36 inches in length. The text also describes the scene as the baby's first meal, half an hour after its birth. Other elephants are shown in the background, outside the ring, while five men, two on each side and one in the background, observe the parents and newborn.
One of the men is undoubtedly trainer George Arstingstall, who according to a newspaper article was the only human that Queen allowed to get close. Two of the other men are likely James A. Bailey, one of Barnum's partners, and H. H. Cross, the latter being the person who weighed and measured the newborn. A spotted dog, presumably a Dalmatian, is shown lying on the ground to the right of the male elephant. The printer's name is not visible but is believed to be the Strobridge Lithographing Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. The print is a chromolithograph, or color lithograph. The coloring in this poster is subtle, being mainly shades of grey and some areas of yellow, with small spots of red highlighting details.
Baby Bridgeport's birth was a source of great pride to P. T. Barnum, who lived in Bridgeport and was immediately summoned to the Winter Quarters after the baby's birth. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, lays claim to the firstborn elephant in the United States, an Asian elephant that was named Liberty, who weighed 236 pounds at birth in March 1880. Liberty was born into the Bailey, Cooper and Hutchinson circus partnership. In 1886 Baby Bridgeport died at the age of four, the cause said to be a brain tumor. Barnum paid Henry Ward of Rochester, New York, to mount the hide, and Barnum then gave the taxidermied elephant to the Bridgeport Scientific Society Ward had performed the taxidermy work on Barnum's famous African elephant Jumbo, who died in September 1885, having been struck by a train. Today the Barnum Museum owns the mounted remains of Baby Bridgeport
The Winter Quarters for the various Barnum named circuses were located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, for many years, beginning in the 1870s. Five acres of land provided storage for railroad cars, steam heated rooms for animals, wagons, tents, prop fabrication, and a stable. The Winter Quarters was both a source of pride and a boon for the local economy since it employed many people. The Winter Quarters suffered two fires: one on November 20, 1887, after which the quarters were rebuilt, and again in 1924. The complex had been essentially mothballed at that point, as Ringling Brothers circus acquired Barnum & Bailey in 1907 after Bailey's death, and in the early 1920s, after they combined the two circus operations, they moved the headquarters to Florida.
The image commemorates the birth of an Asian elephant named "America," and later known as "Bridgeport" or "Baby Bridgeport," said to be the second elephant born in America. The scene shows the newborn elephant suckling at its mother's teat, while another elephant ("the father") watches. The mother elephant, named "Queen," is shown standing with her trunk caresses the baby's back. The male elephant, "Chieftain," is in an awkward pose, partly standing, his trunk is curled above his head and his mouth is wide open, suggesting he is trumpeting his pride at the birth of his offspring. Both adult elephants have one of their legs changed to a stake.
The text in a yellow rectangle along the lower edge states that the baby elephant was born on February 2, 1882, weighed 145 pounds, and was 30 inches tall and 36 inches in length. The text also describes the scene as the baby's first meal, half an hour after its birth. Other elephants are shown in the background, outside the ring, while five men, two on each side and one in the background, observe the parents and newborn.
One of the men is undoubtedly trainer George Arstingstall, who according to a newspaper article was the only human that Queen allowed to get close. Two of the other men are likely James A. Bailey, one of Barnum's partners, and H. H. Cross, the latter being the person who weighed and measured the newborn. A spotted dog, presumably a Dalmatian, is shown lying on the ground to the right of the male elephant. The printer's name is not visible but is believed to be the Strobridge Lithographing Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. The print is a chromolithograph, or color lithograph. The coloring in this poster is subtle, being mainly shades of grey and some areas of yellow, with small spots of red highlighting details.
Baby Bridgeport's birth was a source of great pride to P. T. Barnum, who lived in Bridgeport and was immediately summoned to the Winter Quarters after the baby's birth. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, lays claim to the firstborn elephant in the United States, an Asian elephant that was named Liberty, who weighed 236 pounds at birth in March 1880. Liberty was born into the Bailey, Cooper and Hutchinson circus partnership. In 1886 Baby Bridgeport died at the age of four, the cause said to be a brain tumor. Barnum paid Henry Ward of Rochester, New York, to mount the hide, and Barnum then gave the taxidermied elephant to the Bridgeport Scientific Society Ward had performed the taxidermy work on Barnum's famous African elephant Jumbo, who died in September 1885, having been struck by a train. Today the Barnum Museum owns the mounted remains of Baby Bridgeport
The Winter Quarters for the various Barnum named circuses were located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, for many years, beginning in the 1870s. Five acres of land provided storage for railroad cars, steam heated rooms for animals, wagons, tents, prop fabrication, and a stable. The Winter Quarters was both a source of pride and a boon for the local economy since it employed many people. The Winter Quarters suffered two fires: one on November 20, 1887, after which the quarters were rebuilt, and again in 1924. The complex had been essentially mothballed at that point, as Ringling Brothers circus acquired Barnum & Bailey in 1907 after Bailey's death, and in the early 1920s, after they combined the two circus operations, they moved the headquarters to Florida.
T 2013.042.001