P.T. Barnum Accommodates a Fan, Sending Him a Note With His Autograph

Barnum’s Museum, opened in 1841, offered both strange and educational attractions and performances. Barnum filled the Museum with dioramas, panoramas, scientific instruments, modern appliances, a flea circus, a loom powered by a dog, the trunk of a tree under which Jesus’ disciples sat, a rifle range, waxworks, glass blowers, taxidermists, pretty baby contests, Ned the learned seal, people of very short and very tall stature, conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker, a menagerie of exotic animals that included whales in an aquarium, Native Americans who performed traditional songs and dances, trained bears, and performances ranging from magicians and ventriloquists to adaptations of biblical tales and Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Barnum and his museum were famous and played a part in developing American shows and entertainment.

Autograph note signed, Barnum’s Museum, New York, June 12, 1855, to Daniel Earnes, regarding what might well be an autograph request. “Yours is received and I hasten to comply with your request.”