Courier: Set of Programs for the Barnum and London Ten Shows United, 1887

Set of programs for the Barnum and London circuses. The first program is for the Barnum and London Ten Jumbo Shows United, meant for Boston commencing the week of June 20 [year?]. The front of the program features a portrait of P.T. Barnum in header. The first part of the program is centered on the front page. Listing of events continues on the second page through fourth pages. Also included on the fourth page is a listing of the hippodrome races. Other ads are scattered throughout the program. Second in the set is another program for the Barnum and London Ten Jumbo Shows United, this time intended for Brooklyn. The same portrait of P.T. Barnum is featured at the top, and the listing of the program remains started on the center of the cover page, then continued on pages two through four. The listings of races at the hippodrome are also on the fourth page. Barnum is best known for his involvement with the circus that bore his name, but his circus ventures came about when he was in his 60s. The first show was called P.T. Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Circus. Railroads propelled the circus to success, making it easier to reach a number of locations, and the intake was significant. Barnum then opened the New York Hippodrome with similar acts. In the 1880s, he encountered competition from other circuses. A merger between Barnum's show and the Great London Show of Cooper, Bailey, and Hutchinson formed the Barnum and London Circus. Negotiations in 1887 formed the Barnum and Bailey circus. The name remained until 1919 when it became the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. It came to an end in May 2017 when the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus ceased performances after 146 years.