Ticket: Ticket to "Barnum's Greatest Show on Earth" at Madison Square Garden, 1883
Barnum and London Shows (associated with)
Madison Square Garden (associated with)
American Bank Note Company (associated with)
Madison Square Garden (associated with)
American Bank Note Company (associated with)
1883 (Date manufactured/created)
1.5 in H
X
2.75 in W
Ticket for P.T. Barnum's Greatest Show on Earth and the Great London Circus at Madison Square Garden, printed with the admittance date of Wednesday Afternoon, April 11th, [1883]. "Madison Square Garden" appears as the title in white lettering on a black banner. Running vertically along the left side the word "BOX" is over printed in red. In the center, the seat number, 29, is printed in large orange numerals. The complex background design, similar to currency, is printed in a pale grey green. The ticket was printed by the American Bank Note Co. of New York. The reverse side is plain.
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. His first circus, in the early 1870s, was called P. T. Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Circus. Barnum subsequently opened the New York Hippodrome 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. His first circus, in the early 1870s, was called P. T. Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Circus. Barnum subsequently opened the New York Hippodrome 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.
1983.023.001