These days especially, all of us are eager to hear some good news.  It seems that P. T. Barnum was feeling much the same way through the summer and fall of 1845. 

When people think of P. T. Barnum, his extraordinary achievements in the business of popular entertainment immediately come to mind: first, the success of his American Museum in New York City, and later, the Greatest Show on Earth which traveled far and wide to impress colossal audiences.

Loyal readers, in case you have wondered whether I am way ahead of you in reading the letters in Barnum’s copybook, I can honestly say I have not been “cheating” and stay just slightly ahead.

If you’ve ever seen illustrations in a Victorian-era cookbook, or marveled at the lavish meals served in the Downtown Abbey television series, you may be curious about the fancy foods of the past. 

This week in our exploration of P. T. Barnum’s copybook letters from 1845, we’ll head back to New York City from France (virtually speaking) to revisit the discussion of a guidebook for visitors. 

Last week’s blog drew from P. T. Barnum’s letters in the 1845 copybook that discuss the plays created for Gen. Tom Thumb, and these gave us some insights into his stage routines while on tour in France. 

P.T. Barnum’s famous protegee Charles Stratton, known to the world as Gen. Tom Thumb, was quite a young child when he was first introduced to European audiences in the mid-1840s.

Have you ever tried to envision a visit to Barnum’s American Museum?  I find it is a feat of the imagination to reconcile exterior pictures of the museum with the sheer quantity and variety of artifacts

In honor of Father’s Day on June 21st, this week’s exploration of P. T. Barnum’s letters from France will focus on several that enlighten us about his role as a father of daughters, and as a father-figure to his protégé Charles Stratton, better known to the world as “Gen. Tom Thumb.”