The Greatest Showman

Have you seen it? You should! The music, the colors and the performances are exhilarating!

As great as the movie is, it is only loosely based on the life of P.T. Barnum.

The Real Life of The Greatest Showman

Phineas Taylor Barnum was born on July 5, 1810 in Bethal, Connecticut. In the movie version of his life, his father was a poor tailor. In reality, his father was a tailor, as well as an innkeeper and store keeper. His grandfather was a politician, land owner and successful business man. P.T.'s father died when he was 16 years old, but the boy who had excelled in mathematics was destined for an exciting and prosperous life.

He started his working life as a store keeper, and was involved in the first lottery mania in the U.S. He owned a general store, book auctioning trade and was a realestate speculator. When the lottery was made illegal in Connecticut, Barnum moved to New York City. I wonder if he knew how much that move would change the direction of his life.

He wasn't in the Big Apple for long before he purchaced what would become Barnum's American Museum. To be sure to draw a crowd, P.T. Barnum turned the building into its own giant advertisement. Barnum seemed to know a thing or two about advertising.

"Advertising is to a genuine article what manure is to land - it largely increases the product."

"Small doses of advertising result in nothing, obviously. It's like giving a sick person half the medicine he needs. It just causes more suffering. Give the whole dose, and the cure will be certain and decisive."

"Advertising is like learning - a little is a dangerous thing. If a man has not the pluc to keep on advertising, all the money he has already spent is lost.

Quotes by P.T. Barnum

The museum attracted attention with giant flags flying from the top of the building and giant paintings of exotic animals hung between the windows by day. Gas lamps, that could be seen from blocks away, situated around the top of the building by night. The roof top was transformed into a strolling garden where a hot air balloon sat and balloon rides were offered daily. How much curiosity was raised by a hot air balloon lifting off from the top of the American Museum every day?

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Barnum's Curiosities
Barnum faked many curiosities and attractions. He's been quoted as saying "There's a sucker born every minute." But there's no real record of him actually saying that. He did, however say,

" Many peopleare gullibul. We can expect this to continue."

Among Barnum's most famous exibits was his cast of freaks, or human curiosities.

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But one of his strangest was the Fiji Mermaid. A half fish, half monkey taxidermist's creation. Barnum paid a weekly fee to be have the piece displayed exclusively in his museum.

She's a beaut, eh?

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Phineas Taylor Barnum died on April 7, 1891 at home from a stroke. He was buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport, Connecticut. P.T. Barnum designed the cemetery himself.

Happy 218th Birthday, Phineas!

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Image altered by me on Aviary app.

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