Ticket: Complimentary Editor's Ticket to "P. T. Barnum's Great Roman Hippodrome"
1874 – 1875 (Date manufactured/created)
2.5 in H
X
4.5 in W
Complimentary Editor's Ticket for P. T. Barnum's Great Roman Hippodrome, printed on light tan card stock. Though undated, the ticket is from the brief period that Barnum's New York Hippodrome operated, between April 1874 and the end of 1875. The ticket features a portrait of P.T. Barnum looking toward the left. The text reads "Complimentary. / Editor's Ticket. / P. T. Barnum's / Great Roman / Hippodrome / Admit one - best seats." The printed signature of W. W. Durand follows; Durand is named as the general advertising agent. The back of the ticket is blank. As an "Editor's ticket," this was intended for use by a member of the press.
Barnum is best known today for the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth, but his circus ventures did not come about until he was in his early 60s. Prior to this time, he was the proprietor of the American Museum located in Lower Manhattan in New York City. His first circus, in the early 1870s, was called P. T. Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Circus. Barnum subsequently opened the Roman Hippodrome in New York with similar acts. In the 1880s, competition from other circuses increased. A merger between Barnum’s show and the Great London Show of Cooper, Bailey, and Hutchinson formed the circus called Barnum and London. Barnum's partnership with James A. Bailey in 1887 formed Barnum & Bailey, which continued to be managed by Bailey after Barnum's death in 1891. After Bailey's death in 1906, the Ringling Brothers bought Barnum & Bailey and operated it separately from their own circus. In 1919 the two were combined to form Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth. This circus gave its final performance on May 21, 2017.
Barnum is best known today for the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth, but his circus ventures did not come about until he was in his early 60s. Prior to this time, he was the proprietor of the American Museum located in Lower Manhattan in New York City. His first circus, in the early 1870s, was called P. T. Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Circus. Barnum subsequently opened the Roman Hippodrome in New York with similar acts. In the 1880s, competition from other circuses increased. A merger between Barnum’s show and the Great London Show of Cooper, Bailey, and Hutchinson formed the circus called Barnum and London. Barnum's partnership with James A. Bailey in 1887 formed Barnum & Bailey, which continued to be managed by Bailey after Barnum's death in 1891. After Bailey's death in 1906, the Ringling Brothers bought Barnum & Bailey and operated it separately from their own circus. In 1919 the two were combined to form Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth. This circus gave its final performance on May 21, 2017.
El 1988.022.004