Physical object: Clock component, Painted glass panel from mantel clock, "View in Broadway, New York"
1835 – 1850 (Date manufactured/created)
7.75 in H
X
8 in W
Glass panel originally from a clock, showing the view of Broadway and Ann Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Barnum's American Museum building is on the left, but is identified in the image only as "MUSEUM 1810" and features none of the decorative elements (oval panels painted with wild animals, flags, and banners) for which Barnum was famous. The building's plainness suggests the picture was made before Barnum's ownership, when it was Scudder's Museum. P. T. Barnum's purchased the building in December of 1841. The title along the bottom edge, "View in Broadway, New York," does not refer to Barnum's Museum, further evidence that the image date is prior to his ownership. St. Paul's Church is at the right in shadow. The fenced area in the foreground defines the area where present day City Hall Park is located. In this south-facing view, Ann Street runs toward the left, and Broadway is the street that includes St. Paul's and a view of distant buildings, including the church spire of Grace Church where the celebrity couple Charles S. Stratton ("General Tom Thumb") and Lavinia Warren were married in 1863. Only a few horses and carriages are depicted here, though other images of Broadway in the mid-1800s show it to be a bustling center of activity, crowded with carriages, due in large part to the attraction of Barnum's Museum.
The creator and date of this piece are unknown, but it probably dates from the 1830s to early 1840s. The glass panel would have been a decorative feature in a medium-sized case clock of the type usually placed on a mantelpiece or shelf. The glass panel was inserted in the lower part of the clock's "door." (The door provided easy access to the clockworks for winding each week.) See records for 2013.001.001 and EL 1990.001.002 for examples of similar wooden case clocks with glass panels. This kind of decoration is often referred to as "reverse painting on glass" since the image is created on the back side of the glass. The main areas of color in this image are painted, but the detailed parts of the image, showing the buildings, fences, carriages, etc. were created with a transfer print adhered to the back of the glass. This time-saving method allowed the artist to simply paint the large areas, rather like a coloring book.
Barnum's American Museum was located at the corner of Broadway and Ann Street from 1841 to 1865 until it was destroyed by a fire. Barnum re-opened at 539-541 Broadway a few months later, but that building too was destroyed by a fire in 1868. The displays in the museum ranged from dioramas of places such as Niagara falls and the American plains, various animals including whales and trained seals, wax figure tableaux, performers, theatrical performances, inventions, scientific specimens, and curious artefacts. Thousands of items were displayed. Barnum also included what were then called humbugs, similar to hoaxes but done in the spirit of fun rather than as cruel jokes. Barnum promoted these heavily, and invited the public to decide for themselves if the objects in question were authentic or not. Among the most famous was his FeJee Mermaid, an ugly creature that was half monkey, half fish, and not at all what people imagined a mermaid to look like.
The creator and date of this piece are unknown, but it probably dates from the 1830s to early 1840s. The glass panel would have been a decorative feature in a medium-sized case clock of the type usually placed on a mantelpiece or shelf. The glass panel was inserted in the lower part of the clock's "door." (The door provided easy access to the clockworks for winding each week.) See records for 2013.001.001 and EL 1990.001.002 for examples of similar wooden case clocks with glass panels. This kind of decoration is often referred to as "reverse painting on glass" since the image is created on the back side of the glass. The main areas of color in this image are painted, but the detailed parts of the image, showing the buildings, fences, carriages, etc. were created with a transfer print adhered to the back of the glass. This time-saving method allowed the artist to simply paint the large areas, rather like a coloring book.
Barnum's American Museum was located at the corner of Broadway and Ann Street from 1841 to 1865 until it was destroyed by a fire. Barnum re-opened at 539-541 Broadway a few months later, but that building too was destroyed by a fire in 1868. The displays in the museum ranged from dioramas of places such as Niagara falls and the American plains, various animals including whales and trained seals, wax figure tableaux, performers, theatrical performances, inventions, scientific specimens, and curious artefacts. Thousands of items were displayed. Barnum also included what were then called humbugs, similar to hoaxes but done in the spirit of fun rather than as cruel jokes. Barnum promoted these heavily, and invited the public to decide for themselves if the objects in question were authentic or not. Among the most famous was his FeJee Mermaid, an ugly creature that was half monkey, half fish, and not at all what people imagined a mermaid to look like.
2015.009.001