Courier: P.T. Barnum's Advanced Courier for South Paris, August 1, 1871

Advanced courier for P.T. Barnum's Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Hippodrome, intended for South Paris, August 1, 1871. Couriers were a form of advertising that helped to announce the arrival of the circus, usually before it was in town. Some couriers were newspaper sized and many pages long, with extensive descriptions and illustrations of the acts that were a part of the circus. The cover of this courier features a number of animals at the top of the page, flanking the header. Those animals include rhinos, elephants, and giraffes; some of Barnum's performers appear as well. A portrait of P.T. takes up the bottom half of the page where the address to the public begins. Within the pages of the courier are descriptions of various acts, as well as primarily small, inset illustrations that sit alongside advertisements. Those illustrations include: an Asiatic elephant, a black rhino, royal Abyssinian lions, a royal Bengal tiger, a black leopard, a white polar bear, camels and dromedaries, an Asiatic yak, a horned horse of Tartary, an African eland, a vlack-vark, a sea lion, Australian kangaroos, young lady bell ringers, mechanical singing birds, a monkey violinist, a royal Egyptian mummy, a hall of armor, specimens of rare birds, an argus pheasant, Japanese joss, a horned woman and an Indian god, the caravan and menagerie, Mr. Dan Castello and his horse, William Dutton, trapeze artists Hawley and Miacco, a trick horse named Czar, African zebra, a warthog and kangaroo, the behemoth of Holy Writ, a Mexican puma, and a Brazilian jaguar. There is then a two page spread, which features P.T. Barnum's portrait in the middle surrounded by animals. The rest of the spread shows the various acts, animals, and even set up of the circus itself before advertisements take up the bulk of the remaining pages. On the back is a final note from P.T. Barnum, as well as two last illustrations: a black leopard and one of a lion. 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.