Courier: Barnum's Wonders, an Illustrated History of the Hindoo Hairy Family and other prodigious and exclusive features

Courier for Barnum's Wonders performing at Fall River, Mass. on June 17. Promoted on the cover is an illustrated history of the Hindoo Hairy Family and other prodigious and exclusive features of the Greatest Show on Earth. The text has blue and red flourishes, and featured on the center of the cover are portrait of Maphoon and Moung-phoset, the so-called Hairy Family. On the next five pages is information and exposition of Maphoon and Moung-phoset, a mother and her son who both had hypertrichosis. The family had been forced to flee Burma in 1885 due to the third Burmese war, and began to exhibit themselves in 1886. Their history prior to coming to the west centers on their status in the court of the King of Ava, with reports on their coming from the expedition leaders John Crawfurd, Captain Henry Yule, and a number of photographers who recorded images of the family both when they lived in Burma and after they came to the west. They disappear from the historic record around 1888. Illustrations show their portraits, the two at home in Burma, mother and son before the king of Burma, and doctors examining the two. The next feature revolves around Captain Paul Boyton, whose act was heavily focused on diving. The artificial lake he used for performances is shown, taking up two full pages, as are images of Boyton in action in the water. Several pages are dedicated to the death of Jumbo the elephant including an image of him saving a baby elephant from an oncoming train. While Jumbo did no such thing when he died, Barnum promoted the story regardless. An illustration of Jumbo's stuffed hide is included, and on the back is an image of his skeleton, printed with red ink. Barnum toured Jumbo's stuffed hide and skeleton for a number of years before he donated them to Tufts University and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City respectively. 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.