Ticket: Ticket to unveiling of the P. T. Barnum statue, 1893

From Barnum Museum

Unknown creator, American (created by)
P. T. Barnum (associated with)

July 4 1893 (Date manufactured/created)

Paper Documentary Artifact

2.5 in H X 4 in W

Ticket for the unveiling of the P.T. Barnum statue in Seaside Park, Bridgeport, Connecticut.  The fine script is printed in green ink on cream color card stock.  The ticket is marked on the left as non-transferable and reads "Admit bearer and family to / Grand Stand / Barnum Statue Unveiling / July 4th, 1893."  Printed at the bottom is the signature "Jn. Griffith, Sec'y."  The statue that this ticket is associated with is a monumental bronze sculpture of P.T. Barnum seated, holding a small book and pen.  It was made during Barnum's lifetime, then stored for several years with the instructions that it was to be erected after his death.  Barnum died in his home in Bridgeport, Connecticut on April 7, 1891, at age 80.  The statue was installed near his home Marina more than two years later.  

In the 1880s, P.T. Barnum commissioned sculptor Thomas Ball to create the bronze statue. Ball was well-known for his large sculptures of historical figures, which were installed in public parks and other areas of major cities like New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C.  Ball was an American artist who was born and raised in the Boston area, but he spent much of hisIt career in Italy, later in life returning to live in New Jersey.   The statue of Barnum remains today in Seaside Park, facing toward Long Island Sound.  

A Gift of the Discovery Museum, Bridgeport, Connecticut

Accession/ID Number 2003.009.011

Classifications

Related People in LC Barnum, P. T. (Phineas Taylor), 1810-1891