Photograph: Nancy Fish Barnum in dark color gown with embroidered and beaded details
Part of BM-MSS 002 box 3
1886 – 1889 (Date manufactured/created)
6.5 in H
X
4.25 in W
Cabinet card portrait photograph of Nancy Fish Barnum, circa mid- to late 1880s, wearing a dark color gown featuring elaborate beaded and embroidered trimmings, and a bustle-supported skirt. The profile view shows her looking toward the left, with her corseted figure shown to advantage. The gown consists of a close-fitting bodice, pointed at the front below the waistline, and with a deep V-neck and elbow-length sleeves. The sleeves are trimmed with beaded silk net, and at the elbow, pleated net or lace. The skirt features a silk net overlay with a finely detailed design worked in beads and embroidery. The back portion of the skirt is plain and appears to be silk satin; the center back possibly terminated in a short train. The gown is a display of the Barnums' wealth, as the quality of fabrics and the beading and embroidery would surely be exceptional. Mrs. Barnum wears a necklace, earrings, and bracelet, and though her hands are clasped, her rings are visible. Her hair is worn in the fashion of the 1880s, with clustered, tightly-curled bangs on the forehead, and the rest of the hair swept toward the back in elegant twists that are brought upward and secured to the head at back and sides. Although the "ideal" beauty of this period favored tall women with long-waisted figures, Mrs. Barnum was the opposite in both height, and the length of her waist to bust; she nonetheless appears confident in her role as a woman of fashion.
Photograph by Farini, 61 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport, CT. No date, likely taken in the late 1880s.
Nancy Fish Barnum (April 22, 1850 - June 23, 1927) was P.T. Barnum's second wife, an Englishwoman and the daughter of one of Barnum's close friends and business associates, John Fish. Barnum first became aware of Nancy through the letters she wrote to her father when he and her father were traveling in the middle and western part of the U.S.; he was impressed by her letters. Barnum was in Germany in November of 1873 when he learned that his wife Charity had passed away, and as he could not return in time for her funeral he went to stay with his friends in England. That was when Barnum and Nancy's interest in one another developed, despite the significant difference in their ages. They married secretly in England on February 14, 1874, and later had a public ceremony in New York City on September 15, 1874. The two were generally happy together, enjoying travel and a busy social life. Barnum passed away in 1891, leaving Nancy a 41-year-old widow. She chose not to remain in Bridgeport, and subsequently married twice more. Her second marriage in 1895 was brief, as her husband, Demetrius Callias Bey, passed away within a year. Her third husband was Baron Lucien D'Alexandry D'Orengiani, whose title would give her the rank of Baroness. She lived a life of leisure and wealth in France until her death in June 1927. Her cremated remains were buried beside her second husband, in the Protestant cemetery du Grad-Jas in Cannes, France.
Photograph by Farini, 61 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport, CT. No date, likely taken in the late 1880s.
Nancy Fish Barnum (April 22, 1850 - June 23, 1927) was P.T. Barnum's second wife, an Englishwoman and the daughter of one of Barnum's close friends and business associates, John Fish. Barnum first became aware of Nancy through the letters she wrote to her father when he and her father were traveling in the middle and western part of the U.S.; he was impressed by her letters. Barnum was in Germany in November of 1873 when he learned that his wife Charity had passed away, and as he could not return in time for her funeral he went to stay with his friends in England. That was when Barnum and Nancy's interest in one another developed, despite the significant difference in their ages. They married secretly in England on February 14, 1874, and later had a public ceremony in New York City on September 15, 1874. The two were generally happy together, enjoying travel and a busy social life. Barnum passed away in 1891, leaving Nancy a 41-year-old widow. She chose not to remain in Bridgeport, and subsequently married twice more. Her second marriage in 1895 was brief, as her husband, Demetrius Callias Bey, passed away within a year. Her third husband was Baron Lucien D'Alexandry D'Orengiani, whose title would give her the rank of Baroness. She lived a life of leisure and wealth in France until her death in June 1927. Her cremated remains were buried beside her second husband, in the Protestant cemetery du Grad-Jas in Cannes, France.
A Gift of the Discovery Museum, Bridgeport, Connecticut
2003.009.006