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Story "Great Showman"- these are rose-colored glasses through which you really want to look at the world. Can be seen CEO with revolutionary ideas, who knows how to select a team well, who has chosen the right PR person. And you can wonder if he really cared about equality and freedom. So fiction versus reality. And it all started with the fact that his father was not a mendicant tailor, but kept a shop and a small hotel.
The Hugh Jackman Barnum Scam VS F. T. Barnum
Swindlers and charlatans are among the most attractive historical characters. Even more - they are the most interesting stories. Barnum's machinations in the film-musical are bypassed. They slip, but do not leave negative imprints on the character. Just think, he lied that he had ships or exaggerated the unusualness of his actors.
In fact, Phineas began his career at the age of 13. He arranged lotteries for peers, and defective goods from his father's shop served as prizes. F. T. had a unique gift for persuasion, but the business did not go well - the authorities banned lotteries. The ambitious guy was bored living in the provinces, and he went to conquer New York. He started with the maintenance of a boarding house and a partner business in trade. But all the time I was looking for my idea, “my chance”. In 1835, Phineas bought an elderly dark-skinned slave Joyce Heth from a friend for 1 thousand dollars (crazy money at that time). According to legend, the old woman was 161 years old, and she was babysitter to George Washington. Newspapers gladly picked up this sensation. Gradually, the excitement subsided. Then Barnum paid for other publications: that people do not live that long, but in fact this Het is a mechanical doll. And the audience rushed to the exhibition with renewed vigor. Now look at the doll. Soon the old woman was gone, and F. T. did not hesitate to allow an autopsy to be performed. Obviously making money on it. The results of the autopsy were published in the newspapers: "A woman in her 80s." And Barnum quietly stepped aside, taking all the earnings.
In 1841 he invested in the American Museum. At first it was a cabinet of curiosities, then a circus. During the day, curiosities were demonstrated in the room, real mixed with fake ones, and in the evening they showed experiments from a series of “entertaining physics” or trained insects. During the life of Barnum, the museum was visited by 4 million people (the population of the country then was 40 million).
PR campaign and meeting with the queen
Dealing with objections, great use of black PR, interaction with the press - it was very nice to see all this in the film. Slip, but still. And, by the way, one of the main PR people there is the character of Zac Efron. It was he who arranged for an audience with young Victoria (the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, by that time still without India).
Phineas Taylor Barnum was the pioneer of many techniques in advertising which are still in use today. You can download and read his book The Art of Making Money.
There was even a new term that characterizes his occupation - hambug, in an approximate translation meaning a mixture of the concepts of quackery, fraud and advertising. While touring with the circus around Europe, the troupe really received an audience with Queen Victoria. After all, not to see the highlight of the program - General Tom Tam, meant hopelessly falling behind fashion. President Lincoln was very interested in the General's wedding. He invited the young couple and Barnum to the White House for an audience.
A profitable promotion was the tour of the Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind. In fact, it was a show of a foreign star, organized and designed by F. T. And he was her concert manager, an impresario. She gave 93 concerts with him, and then continued to tour on her own.
Rebecca Ferguson as Jenny Lind
Family values
The message that the family is the most important thing is practically the main idea in the picture. Barnum-Jackman is faithful to his wife, everything he does is for the sake of his family. Well, except for the ugly father-in-law for the sake of himself and his own vanity.
In real, Charity Barnum died in 1873, and Phineas married a second time to one Nancy Fish. The showman had four children from his first marriage. Phineas broke up with singer Lindh peacefully and calmly, without any awkward love affairs of the diva. She was strained by his marketing - 26 paid journalists followed her on the heels. The singer became famous in America even before arriving there. F. T. launched such an advertising campaign that she was greeted like a goddess. And the reaction to her tour was called Lindh's mania.
Tolerance
Complex issue. One of the key moments in the film. At a time when the dissimilar could be offended with impunity (in fact, it was even encouraged), Barnum makes them equal. Different, but equal with the whole world.
Of course, in the nineteenth century, he could not afford this. And it is unlikely that everything would have cost only the arson of the circus. Barnum was constantly looking for "novelties". For many "freaks" and "cripples" he became a kind of savior. They got the opportunity to live and work. Some even amassed huge fortunes with it. Barnum took care of his employees in his own way. For example, when the Indian circus performer Doo-Ham-Mi died of the flu, he organized her funeral and erected a monument. He also attended to the wedding of his star General Tom Tam (Charles Stratton, 63.5 cm tall). True, he also made good money on the show “marriage of dwarfs”.
F. T. Barnum took an active participation in politics giving Special attention race and slavery in the period leading up to the American Civil War. He sponsored a production of Uncle Tom's Cabin, which had the ending changed to favor black characters.
In the debate on slavery and African-American suffrage with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the real Barnum came forward with the words: “The human soul that God created can fit in the body of a Chinese, Turk, Arab or Hottentot. And she is immortal."
The Greatest Show on Earth
Gorgeous title and final song (let's not insist, everyone has their own tastes). He organized a tour of America for the famous European singer, created almost the first American circus, went to enjoy family everyday life and live on a percentage.
In fact, F.T. managed to serve several terms in the state congress, but still returned to his circus activities. Having twice lost the building of the circus-museum in a fire, he organized “ The Greatest Show on Earth” together with V.K. Kup. The principle was the same: animals, "curiosities", unusual characters. But with a big, American, scope. In 1881 it merged with Bailey's Circus. This is how the world-famous circus was born. The Barnum and Baily Circus". In it, many of those whose names went down in history performed simultaneously in three arenas. To participate in the animal show, Barnum bought for 10 thousand dollars "the world's largest elephant", named Jumbo.
Hugh Jackman and Katie Mather, director of the Barnum Museum
Ironically, F. T. Barnum did not escape the fate of the “museum exhibit”. In the city of Bridgeport, at number 804 on Main Street, the Barnum Circus Museum is open. In it, in addition to the things and documents of Barnum himself, there are the remains of his former collections of rarities: photographs of the stars of the show and their belongings.
Impressed by history: Dasha Sukhostavets
Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum (Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum) was born July 5, 1810. Most people heard about him because of the circus named after him, but in fact, he was very important historical figure. Barnum is on the list of the 100 most influential people in American history. The list includes George Washington (#2), Benjamin Franklin (#23) and Sam Walton (#72, creator of the Wal-Mart network). Barnum got #67. Obviously, he had more merit than just creating a traveling circus.
So what did P. T. Barnum do? First, he had incredible insight. He also had a keen sense of what might pique people's interest. But his main talent, perhaps, was the ability to create and promote entertainment.
Barnum's first business was opened in May 1828. He opened a small shop that originally sold cakes, biscuits, raisins and ale. It was today's store version. Later, he added items he had purchased in New York: pocket knives, combs, and the like, as well as oyster stew and lottery tickets. Barnum soon met a man named Hack Bailey, who began to enter the store. Barnum describes him as “…a showman. He imported the first elephant ever brought to the US and made a fortune showing him. He subsequently took an active part in mobile menageries, and then very successfully managed the movement of steamers along the northern rivers. In other words, at the age of 18, Barnum got a man who made a lot of money doing what, for Barnum, eventually turned into an art.
At this point, Barnum had several failed business ventures. He opened a rural shop, but the idea failed. He tried to sell books, but most of his shares were stolen. He bought and started publishing a weekly newspaper, but was sued for libel and spent some time in prison. He sold lottery tickets on credit and was unable to repay this loan.
In 1835, Barnum moved his family to New York to start over. He writes in his autobiography "I learned that I could make money quickly and in large amounts, whenever I wished." But he came to New York essentially penniless. It is from this position that P.T. Barnum started his career as a showman. The morals of the middle of the 19th century were already very different from the ferocity of the gloomy Middle Ages, but the insufficiently educated and cultured people of that time still wanted "bread and circuses."
He started his show business with Joyce Heta, a very old black woman who claimed to be the 161-year-old ex-slave of George Washington's father. The advertisement read: Everyone who saw this extraordinary woman is satisfied with the veracity of her age calculation. The evidence of the Bowling family, who are quite respectable, is strong, but the original bill of sale of Augustine Washington, with his own handwriting, and other evidence the owner has at his disposal, will satisfy even the most incredulous.
Of course, Joyce Heth wasn't really 161 years old, but she looked like one. She was nearly paralyzed (having only one arm), completely blind, and toothless. However, she could speak, sing, and converse with people, and she knew a great deal about Washington and his family. Barnum bought Father Washington's Slave for $1,000. He showed it in New York. Since that time, Barnum's income has been about $1,500 a week. He did this by creating a huge amount of advertising: pamphlets, posters, booklets, newspaper ads that said she was "George Washington's sister." And when interest in her faded in New York, Barnum took her on a trip to cities like Providence and Boston. After she died in February 1836, Barnum continued to profit from the deception. He charged 50 cents for admission to her autopsy, and the doctors told the 1,500 onlookers that gathered that, indeed, Heta was much younger than 161 years old, she most likely died at the age of seventy-odd years ..
While showing Joyce Heth in Albany, Barnum met with a juggler named Signor Antonio, and offered to pay him $20 a week to create the show. Barnum changed his name to the more exotic-sounding "Signor Vivalla" and actively promoted him, and was soon earning more than $50 a night from his performances in theaters.
Barnum's next venture was a museum in New York. In 1841, Barnum purchased the Scudder American Museum on Broadway in New York. He exhibited "500,000 natural and man-made curiosities from every corner of the globe" and walked around the museum with a sign that said "This is the way out." The real exit was elsewhere, and visitors to the Barnum Museum had to pay another 25 cents to re-enter the museum and see the exhibit through to the end!
This museum, renamed the Barnum American Museum, has been successful for many years. Barnum added several now-legendary landmarks over the next few years, including Toddler Boy (a tiny man whose real name was Charles Stratton) and the Fiji Mermaid (which was actually the mummified upper half of a monkey's body, papier-mâché fish tail).
Barnum employed many people who were living landmarks at the time:
1. Seven Sisters Sutherland.
The sisters were able to make more money as entrepreneurs than circus attractions, but they gained initial fame on circus tours and then worked their way to wealth. The Barnum and Bailey Circus welcomed Fletcher Sutherland's daughters Sarah, Victoria, Isabella, Grace, Naomi, Mary and Dora Sutherland into a musical act that ended the show. After captivating the audience with their vocal cords, the sisters had to let their hair down by the end of their performance and curly curls brunettes fell to the floor. In total, the Sutherland sisters had over 12 meters of hair. Their father realized that the sisters would not earn too much from songs, and he used their long locks to develop and sell hair tonic. Hair tonics were good business in the 19th century when long hairstyles were in vogue. Sutherland's tonic, for example, contained the following ingredients: borax, salt, quinine, bay rum, glycerin, rose water, alcohol, and soap. With free publicity in the form of a circus giveaway, the tonic sold quickly, bringing in $90,000 in its first year on the market. The sale of the tonic allowed the Sutherland sisters to leave the circus along with their legendary manes. They squandered their fortune and lost their tonic empire, eventually collapsing around the turn of the century when short hairstyles came into vogue.
Myrtle Corbin was born in Tennessee in 1868 with four legs. Technically, the extra pair of legs belonged to Corbin's twin sister, who failed to fully develop. Between her own legs, Corbin dangled two small ones attached to her pelvis. The girl's family quickly realized Myrtle's financial potential and threw her into sideshow circuits at the age of 13. Corbin and her extra limbs wowed viewers. In contrast to the "monstrous" form, Myrtle was presented as a highly cultured and educated person, describing: "soft in disposition, like the summer sun and joyful, like a long day." The marketing worked, and Corbin was making about $450 a week at her peak. Its popularity coincided with the advent of teratology, or the study of physical anomalies. which made her famous in the medical world. Articles detailing Corbin's physical condition and her first childbirth experience in 1889 were published in medical journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, the British Medical Journal, and the American Journal of Obstetrics, which described her as belonging to a "class of mixed monsters." ".
United at the bottom of the spine, they were born into slavery in 1852. Disabled children in slave conditions were considered a useless burden, since plantation owners were not going to feed an extra mouth that could not work in the fields. But the rare case of Millie and Christina growing together has made them more valuable as a potential sideshow subject, and as a result, the twins are bought and sold several times before they are under 6 years old. Eventually, merchant Joseph Pearson Smith bought Millie-Christine and her family, and his wife taught the twins how to read, write, sing, and dance. Touring for almost 30 years, Milli-Christine showed her singing talent. Under the name "two-headed Nightingale", the twins sang in the United States and in Europe, performed in P.T. Barnum to the American Museum in New York and even to Queen Victoria. In 1882 alone, Millie-Christine earned a joint income of $25,000 while touring. It was surprising to a black woman, indeed any woman in America at that time, and is one of the reasons it is considered one of the greatest successes in sideshow history. Millie-Christine died in 1912 after Millie contracted tuberculosis.
4. Lavinia Warren, Miss Thumb Boy.
When Lavinia Warren tied the knot with the mega-popular Boy with a Thumb in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln hosted a White House wedding reception for the tiny newlyweds. The New York Times called the 80 cm bride "Beauty Queen". The joyful and heavily publicized event was the climax of the sideshow and the common American led to the adoption of the so-called "freak" as one of his own. The couple escaped from the circus tent and became a true celebrity. P.T. Barnum began exhibiting Charles Stratton, known as Thumb Boy, in England in 1843, when the little man was only 11 years old. Twenty years later, Stratton was one of the most notorious "freaks" in the world, and his wedding to Lavinia Warren was largely a PR stunt orchestrated by Barnum. Lavinia Warren herself began traveling in 1858 with a show owned by her uncle, and in 1862 she joined Barnum at the American Museum in New York. Shortly thereafter, Stratton noticed Warren and began trying to romance her, much to Barnum's delight. After the couple announced their engagement, the Barnum American Museum was besieged by crowds wanting to at least catch a glimpse of the petite bride. After Stratton's death in 1883, Warren married another little man, the actor Count Primo Magri, but the time for such shows and their stars was over.
In 1850, Barnum introduced the famous opera singer Jenny Lind, known as the "Swedish Nightingale". Despite her popularity in Europe, Lind was virtually unknown in the US and Barnum never heard her sing. But he had no doubt that she would be successful, and he was right - Lind was well received by the Americans and held 95 concerts with Barnum as a manager.
It wasn't until 1871 that Barnum founded his circus, calling it "P.T. Barnum Great Travel Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Circus." In 1872 he named it "The Greatest Show on Earth". In 1881, Barnum teamed up with James Bailey, creating what eventually became Barnum and Bailey's The Greatest Show on Earth. P.T. Barnum died in 1891 after reading his own obituary before he died.
Here's how it's told: A few weeks before he died in his sleep, on April 7, 1891, Barnum read his own obituary: The New York Sun, responding to Barnum's comment that the press says good things about people after they die, printed his lifetime front-page obituary with the headline, "The Great And Only Barnum - He Demands His Obituary Read - He's Here."
Your name.
Showman
Phineas was born in the city of Bethel ( Bethel, Connecticut, USA), where his father ran a hotel and shop. Barnum's first business was to maintain a small shop, then he was involved in the lottery, which was widespread at that time in the United States. After failing in this endeavor, he organized in 1829 the weekly newspaper The Herald of Freedom (with English- "Caller of Freedom") in the city of Danbury, Connecticut. After several libel suits filed against the newspaper and judicial trial, which ended for Barnum in prison, he moved to New York ().
Babysitter Washington
Barnum skillfully manipulated the attention of the public. After the people began to doubt the veracity of Barnum's claims, rumors appeared that this was not a living woman, but a skillfully made robot doll. The public was snapping up tickets for Barnum's performances again. When the woman died, Barnum staged a spectacle out of the autopsy, where he invited professors and medical students to prove to everyone that Joyce was not a robot. During the autopsy, it turned out that she was no more than 80 years old, but at the same time rumors spread that Barnum deftly replaced the robot doll with a human body so as not to reveal the inventor of the doll, who wished to remain anonymous.
American Museum
After a period of setbacks, he acquires the Scudder American Museum, located in New York at the intersection of Broadway and Ann Street. After a significant expansion of exhibits, renamed the Barnum American Museum, this place becomes one of the most popular exhibition complexes in the United States. Barnum achieved particular success in 1842 with the famous Lilliputian Charles Stratton ( Charles Stratton), performing under the stage name General Tom-Tam ( General Tom Thumb), as well as "mermaids from the Fiji Islands" ( fiji mermaid), which he demonstrated in collaboration with his Boston colleague Moses Kimball ( Moses Kimball). The collection also included the unique Siamese twins Chang and Eng Bunker. In 1843, Barnum hired a dancer, Doo-Ham-Mi. Do-Hum-Me), an Indian girl, the daughter of the leader of the Saka tribe.
Throughout 1844-1845 Barnum toured Europe with Stratton's performances. When visiting England, he received an invitation to Queen Victoria.
The British public was in great excitement. Not seeing General Tom Tam meant hopelessly out of fashion, and from March 20 to July 20, the little General's "apartments" in the Egyptian Hall were constantly overcrowded, and fees during this period amounted to about five hundred dollars a day, and sometimes significantly exceeded this amount. Once, in front of the windows of the exhibition on Piccadilly, they counted as many as sixty carriages of the most distinguished citizens. In all the illustrated magazines there were portraits of the little General, polkas and quadrilles were named after him, songs were sung about him.
An outstanding example of his entrepreneurial spirit was the invitation of the Swedish singer Jenny Lind ( Jenny Lind) to America with 150 concerts for $ 1,000 each, with all expenses paid by the entrepreneur. The tour began in 1850 and was a great success for both Lind and Barnum.
Barnum and Bailey Circus
Barnum retired from the stage business in 1855 but, forced to pay off his creditors in 1857, returned to his former occupation. In he began to feature the giantess Anna Sven. On July 13, 1865, a fire broke out that burned the Barnum American Museum to the ground. Barnum quickly rebuilt the museum elsewhere in New York, but that too burned down in March 1868. Finally in Brooklyn (modern area in New York), along with W.C. Cope ( William Cameron) he founded P. T. Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome»- an association of circus, menagerie and freak show, in 1872 proclaimed itself "The Greatest Show on Earth" (Eng. "The Greatest Show on Earth"
). The show had several title variations: "F. T. Barnum's Traveling World's Fair, the Great Roman Hippodrome, and the Greatest Show on Earth" and, after merging in 1881 with James Bailey (Eng. James Anthony Bailey) and James L. Hutchinson (eng. James L Hutchinson) - “P.T. Barnum's Greatest Show On Earth, And The Great London Circus, Sanger's Royal British Menagerie and The Grand International Allied Shows United", soon shortened to Barnum & London Circus(Barnum and London Circus).
Among the curiosities who performed at the circus was the Russian Fyodor Evtishchev, originally from St. Petersburg, a dog-faced boy recruited by Barnum in 1884 at the age of 16. Barnum made up a story for him, according to which the boy did not talk, but only barked and growled on stage.
After Barnum's death, the circus was eventually sold to the Ringling brothers on July 8, 1907 for $400,000.
Author and debunker
Barnum has written several books, including "The Humbugs of the World" (1865), "Struggles and Triumphs"(1869) and "The Art of Money-Getting" (1880).
Barnum published many editions of his autobiography (the first in 1854, the last in 1869). In addition to trying to sell them for profit, he simply distributed some to friends and officials along with his autographs. Such specimens are now of some value to collectors. Other publications were widely distributed and played an advertising role for potential visitors to circus performances. In each subsequent edition, Barnum added new chapters covering the time since the previous edition. Sometimes he could edit already existing chapters. His autobiography was extremely candid for that time and was considered scandalous by some. Historiographers have found very few factual errors in Barnum's autobiographies, although they criticize Barnum's intentional omission of some events, insufficient coverage of some details, biased presentation and interpretation in their favor.
The wide circulation of the autobiography was one of Barnum's most successful methods for self-promotion. The autobiography was so popular that some people found it necessary to purchase and read each new edition. Some collectors have been known to boast that they have copies of each of the editions in their library. Barnum eventually waived his copyright claims, allowing other publishers to print and sell low-cost editions. At the end of the 19th century, the number of printed North America copies of his autobiography were in second place, following the New Testament.
Often referred to as the "Prince of Humbugs", Barnum saw nothing wrong with entertainers or merchants using humbugs (humbugs, as he called it) in their work. However, he was contemptuous of making money through ordinary fraud, especially spiritism and mediums, which were widespread in those days. Inspired by the magicians Harry Houdini and James Randi, Barnum openly demonstrated the "tricks of the tradesman" used by mediums to deceive and swindle the relatives of the deceased. In his book The Humbugs of the World, he offered a $500 reward to any medium who could prove the ability to communicate with the dead without any deception.
Politician and reformer
Barnum was heavily involved in the political strife leading up to the American Civil War. As mentioned earlier, Barnum's first experience as an impresario was his slave, Joyce Heth, and in 1850 he participated in a hoax selling a potion that (in his words) was supposed to turn blacks into whites.
This period includes the organization by Barnum of a minstrel show - performances by white actors disguised as blacks. He not only organized such performances, but also sponsored the staging of the political novel by the writer Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin (). Unlike the novel, the performance (staged in the building of the American Museum) ended with a happy ending in the form of liberation from slavery of Tom and his comrades. Encouraged by the success of this performance, Barnum staged another production of Beecher Stowe.
A family
Barnum was married twice and had four children.
Throughout his life, Barnum built 4 palaces in Bridgeport (Connecticut), giving them the names: Iranistan, Lindencroft, Waldemere and Marina. Iranistan was the most outstanding: bizarre luxury, domes, turrets and openwork stucco, reminiscent of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton (England). The mansion was built in 1848 but burned down in 1857.
Barnum died on April 7, 1891 and was buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery. Mountain Grove Cemetery) in Bridgeport. A statue in his honor was erected by the water in Seaside Park in 1893, which Barnum donated to the park in 1865.
see also
The image of Phineas Barnum in the movie
- "Gangs of New York" / "Gangs of New York" (USA, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Italy;) director Martin Scorsese, in the role of Phineas Barnum - Roger Ashton-Griffiths.
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Notes
While such conversations were taking place in the reception room and in the princess's rooms, the carriage with Pierre (who was sent for) and Anna Mikhailovna (who found it necessary to go with him) drove into the courtyard of Count Bezukhoy. When the wheels of the carriage sounded softly on the straw laid under the windows, Anna Mikhailovna, turning to her companion with comforting words, convinced herself that he was sleeping in the corner of the carriage, and woke him up. Waking up, Pierre got out of the carriage after Anna Mikhailovna, and then only thought of that meeting with his dying father that awaited him. He noticed that they did not drive up to the front, but to the back entrance. While he was getting off the footboard, two men in bourgeois clothes hurriedly ran away from the entrance into the shadow of the wall. Pausing, Pierre saw in the shadow of the house on both sides several more of the same people. But neither Anna Mikhailovna, nor the footman, nor the coachman, who could not but see these people, paid no attention to them. Therefore, this is so necessary, Pierre decided with himself, and followed Anna Mikhailovna. Anna Mikhailovna with hasty steps walked up the dimly lit narrow stone stairs, calling Pierre, who was lagging behind her, who, although he did not understand why he had to go to the count at all, and still less why he had to go along the back stairs, but , judging by the confidence and haste of Anna Mikhailovna, he decided to himself that this was necessary. Halfway down the stairs they were almost knocked down by some people with buckets, who, clattering with their boots, ran towards them. These people pressed against the wall to let Pierre and Anna Mikhailovna through, and did not show the slightest surprise at the sight of them.
- Are there half princesses here? Anna Mikhailovna asked one of them...
“Here,” the footman answered in a bold, loud voice, as if everything was already possible now, “the door is on the left, mother.”
“Perhaps the count did not call me,” said Pierre, while he went out onto the platform, “I would have gone to my place.
Anna Mikhailovna stopped to catch up with Pierre.
Ah, mon ami! - she said with the same gesture as in the morning with her son, touching his hand: - croyez, que je souffre autant, que vous, mais soyez homme. [Believe me, I suffer no less than you, but be a man.]
- Right, I'll go? asked Pierre, looking affectionately through his spectacles at Anna Mikhailovna.
- Ah, mon ami, oubliez les torts qu "on a pu avoir envers vous, pensez que c" est votre pere ... peut etre a l "agonie." She sighed. - Je vous ai tout de suite aime comme mon fils. Fiez vous a moi, Pierre. Je n "oublirai pas vos interets. [Forget, my friend, what was wrong against you. Remember that this is your father... Maybe in agony. I immediately fell in love with you like a son. Trust me, Pierre. I will not forget your interests.]
Pierre did not understand; again it seemed to him even more strongly that all this must be so, and he obediently followed Anna Mikhaylovna, who had already opened the door.
The door opened into the back entrance. In the corner sat an old servant of the princesses and knitted a stocking. Pierre had never been in this half, did not even imagine the existence of such chambers. Anna Mikhailovna asked the girl who overtook them, with a decanter on a tray (calling her sweetheart and dove) about the health of the princesses and dragged Pierre further along the stone corridor. From the corridor, the first door to the left led to the living rooms of the princesses. The maid, with the decanter, in a hurry (as everything was done in a hurry at that moment in this house) did not close the door, and Pierre and Anna Mikhailovna, passing by, involuntarily looked into the room where, talking, the elder princess and Prince Vasily. Seeing the passersby, Prince Vasily made an impatient movement and leaned back; the princess jumped up and with a desperate gesture slammed the door with all her might, shutting it.
This gesture was so unlike the princess’s usual calmness, the fear expressed on the face of Prince Vasily was so unusual for his importance that Pierre, stopping, inquiringly, through his glasses, looked at his leader.
Anna Mikhailovna did not express surprise, she only smiled slightly and sighed, as if to show that she had expected all this.
- Soyez homme, mon ami, c "est moi qui veillerai a vos interets, [Be a man, my friend, I will look after your interests.] - she said in response to his look and went even faster down the corridor.
Pierre did not understand what was the matter, and even less what it meant veiller a vos interets, [observe your interests,] but he understood that all this should be so. They went down a corridor into a dimly lit hall that adjoined the count's waiting room. It was one of those cold and luxurious rooms that Pierre knew from the front porch. But even in this room, in the middle, there was an empty bathtub and water had been spilled over the carpet. To meet them on tiptoe, paying no attention to them, a servant and a clerk with a censer. They entered the reception room, familiar to Pierre, with two Italian windows, access to the winter garden, with a large bust and a full-length portrait of Catherine. All the same people, in almost the same positions, sat whispering in the waiting room. Everyone, falling silent, looked back at Anna Mikhailovna, who had come in, with her weepy, pale face, and at the fat, big Pierre, who, with lowered head, meekly followed her.
Anna Mikhailovna's face expressed the consciousness that the decisive moment had arrived; she, with the receptions of a businesslike Petersburg lady, entered the room, not letting go of Pierre, even bolder than in the morning. She felt that since she was leading the one whom she wanted to see dying, her reception was assured. With a quick glance at everyone in the room, and noticing the count's confessor, she, not only bent over, but suddenly became shorter, with a shallow amble swam up to the confessor and respectfully accepted the blessing of one, then another clergyman.
“Thank God that we had time,” she said to the clergyman, “all of us, relatives, were so afraid. This young man is the son of a count,” she added more quietly. - Terrible moment!
Having spoken these words, she approached the doctor.
“Cher docteur,” she told him, “ce jeune homme est le fils du comte ... y a t il de l "espoir? [this young man is the son of a count ... Is there any hope?]
The doctor silently, with a quick movement, raised his eyes and shoulders. Anna Mikhailovna raised her shoulders and eyes with exactly the same movement, almost closing them, sighed and moved away from the doctor to Pierre. She turned especially respectfully and tenderly sadly to Pierre.
- Ayez confiance en Sa misericorde, [Trust in His mercy,] - she said to him, showing him a sofa to sit down to wait for her, she silently went to the door at which everyone was looking, and following the barely audible sound of this door she disappeared behind her.
Pierre, deciding to obey his leader in everything, went to the sofa, which she pointed out to him. As soon as Anna Mikhaylovna disappeared, he noticed that the eyes of everyone in the room were fixed on him with more than curiosity and sympathy. He noticed that everyone was whispering, pointing at him with eyes, as if with fear and even servility. He was shown respect that had never been shown before: a lady unknown to him, who spoke with clerics, got up from her seat and invited him to sit down, the adjutant picked up the glove dropped by Pierre and gave it to him; the doctors fell silent respectfully as he passed them, and stepped aside to make room for him. Pierre wanted to first sit down in another place, so as not to embarrass the lady, he wanted to pick up his glove himself and go around the doctors, who did not even stand on the road; but he suddenly felt that it would be indecent, he felt that on this night he was a person who was obliged to perform some kind of terrible and expected by all ceremony, and that therefore he had to accept services from everyone. He silently accepted the adjutant's glove, sat down in the lady's place, placing his large hands on symmetrically exposed knees, in the naive pose of an Egyptian statue, and decided to himself that all this should be exactly like that and that he should not to get lost and not to do stupid things, one should not act according to one’s own considerations, but one must leave oneself completely to the will of those who led him.
Less than two minutes later, Prince Vasily, in his caftan with three stars, majestically, carrying his head high, entered the room. He seemed thinner in the morning; his eyes were larger than usual when he looked around the room and saw Pierre. He went up to him, took his hand (which he had never done before) and pulled it down, as if he wanted to test whether it was holding tight.
Courage, courage, mon ami. Il a demande a vous voir. C "est bien ... [Do not lose heart, do not lose heart, my friend. He wished to see you. It's good ...] - and he wanted to go.
But Pierre saw fit to ask:
- How is your health…
He hesitated, not knowing whether it was proper to call a dying man an earl; it was ashamed to call him a father.
- Il a eu encore un coup, il y a une demi heure. There was another hit. Courage, mon ami… [He had another stroke half an hour ago. Cheer up, my friend…]
Pierre was in such a state of vagueness of thought that at the word "blow" he imagined a blow from some body. He, perplexed, looked at Prince Vasily and only then realized that the disease was called a blow. Prince Vasily said a few words to Lorrain as he walked, and went through the door on tiptoe. He could not walk on tiptoe and jumped awkwardly with his whole body. The eldest princess followed him, then the clergy and clerks passed, the people (servants) also went through the door. Movement was heard behind this door, and finally, still with the same pale, but firm face in the performance of duty, Anna Mikhailovna ran out and, touching Pierre's hand, said:
– La bonte divine est inepuisable. C "est la ceremonie de l" extreme onction qui va commencer. Venez. [The mercy of God is inexhaustible. The assembly will begin now. Let's go.]
Pierre went through the door, stepping on a soft carpet, and noticed that the adjutant, and the unfamiliar lady, and some other servant - all followed him, as if now there was no need to ask permission to enter this room.
Pierre knew well this large room, divided by columns and an arch, all upholstered in Persian carpets. Part of the room behind the columns, where on one side stood a high mahogany bed, under silk curtains, and on the other, a huge icon case with images, was red and brightly lit, as churches are lit during evening services. Under the illuminated robes of the kiot stood a long Voltaire chair, and on the chair, overlaid at the top with snow-white, apparently not only crumpled pillows, covered to the waist with a bright green blanket, lay the majestic figure of his father, Count Bezukhy, familiar to Pierre, with the same gray mane of hair, reminiscent of a lion, over a broad forehead and with the same characteristically noble large wrinkles on a beautiful red-yellow face. He lay directly under the images; both of his thick, large hands were outstretched from under the covers and lay on him. In the right hand, which lay palm down, between the thumb and forefinger, a wax candle was inserted, which, bending over from behind an armchair, was held in it by an old servant. Above the chair stood the clergy in their majestic, shining robes, with long hair, with lighted candles in their hands, and slowly solemnly served. A little behind them stood two younger princesses, with a handkerchief in their hands and near their eyes, and in front of them their eldest, Katish, with an angry and resolute look, never taking his eyes off the icons for a moment, as if telling everyone that she was not responsible for herself, if will look back. Anna Mikhailovna, with meek sadness and forgiveness on her face, and an unknown lady stood at the door. Prince Vasily was standing on the other side of the door, close to the armchair, behind a carved velvet chair, which he turned back to him, and, leaning his elbows on it left hand with a candle, he crossed himself with his right, each time raising his eyes upwards, when he put his fingers to his forehead. His face expressed calm piety and devotion to the will of God. "If you don't understand these feelings, so much the worse for you," his face seemed to say.
Behind him stood an adjutant, doctors and male servants; as if in a church, men and women were separated. Everything was silent, they were baptized, only they could hear church reading, restrained, thick bass singing and in moments of silence, the rearrangement of legs and sighs. Anna Mikhailovna, with that significant look that showed that she knew what she was doing, crossed the whole room to Pierre and handed him a candle. He lit it and, entertained by his observations of those around him, began to make the sign of the cross with the same hand that held the candle.
The youngest, ruddy and humorous Princess Sophie, with a mole, looked at him. She smiled, hid her face in a handkerchief, and did not open it for a long time; but, looking at Pierre, she laughed again. She apparently felt unable to look at him without laughing, but she could not help but look at him, and in order to avoid temptations she quietly crossed behind the column. In the middle of the service, the voices of the clergy suddenly fell silent; the clergy said something to each other in a whisper; the old servant who held the earl's hand rose and addressed the ladies. Anna Mikhaylovna stepped forward and, bending over the sick man, beckoned Lorrain to her from behind with her finger. The French doctor, standing without a lit candle, leaning against a column, in that respectful pose of a foreigner, which shows that, despite the difference in faith, he understands the full importance of the rite being performed and even approves of it, with the inaudible steps of a man in all the strength of age he approached sick man, took his free hand from the green blanket with his white thin fingers and, turning away, began to feel the pulse and thought. They gave the sick man something to drink, stirred about him, then again parted to their places, and the service resumed. During this break, Pierre noticed that Prince Vasily stepped out from behind his chair and, with the same air that showed that he knew what he was doing, and that it was all the worse for others if they did not understand him, did not approach the patient. , and, passing by him, joined the eldest princess and together with her went into the depths of the bedroom, to a high bed under silk curtains. From the bed, both the prince and princess both disappeared through the back door, but before the end of the service, one by one returned to their places. Pierre paid no more attention to this circumstance than to all the others, deciding once and for all in his mind that everything that happened before him that evening was so necessary.
Phineas Taylor Barnum is a politician and reformer, the king of fraud, an entrepreneur and the greatest showman. Supporters of his incredible circus were millions of people. A person who gave the opportunity to realize themselves to special people, individuals who were born not like everyone else.
Phineas Taylor Barnum was born July 5, 1810 in Bethel, Connecticut, USA. He became widely known for his hoaxes and the founding of a circus named after him.
Barnum's first business was running a small store, and then he moved into the lottery, which was very common in the United States at the time. From the age of thirteen, Phineas arranged lottery draws for his peers, the prizes were defective goods from his father's counter. The young entrepreneur had a unique talent for persuading and manipulating people, but this business failed - subsequently the authorities banned the lottery.
Phineas Taylor Barnum
For an ambitious guy, life in the provinces began to seem boring, so in 1834 he moved to New York. Another reason for the move was lawsuits against Barnum for false information and slander, which appeared in the weekly "Herald of Freedom", organized by Phineas.
In the summer of 1835, Barnum, on the advice of a friend, bought Joyce Heth, an African-American slave, for a thousand dollars, the purpose of this purchase in Phineas was purely commercial. He planned to show the woman to those who wish for money, along the way telling the legend that Joyce is 161 years old, and she was the nanny of George Washington himself.
For several months, Barnum toured the cities of the United States with this woman, but the following year the woman died of old age. After this news, people doubted Barnum's stories, someone even said that in fact Joyce Heth was not a living woman, but an artificially created robot doll. Barnum did not miss the opportunity to capitalize on this.
He staged a spectacle at the autopsy of a woman, where he invited professors and medical students to refute the rumors. At the autopsy, it turned out that the woman was no more than eighty years old, but the public did not calm down, and other speculations immediately appeared, allegedly Barnum replaced the work with the body of this woman so as not to expose the inventor of the doll. Subsequently, Barnum had a new entrepreneurial idea. In 1841, he bought the Scudder American Museum, significantly expanded its exposition and renamed it the Barnum American Museum. After this transformation, this place became one of the most popular fairgrounds in the United States.
Artistic depiction of the museum
Barnum was especially successful in 1842 with the midget Charles Stratton, who performed under the stage name General Tom-Tam, as well as the "Mermaid from the Fiji Islands" - the mummified body of the so-called mermaid was the head of a small monkey sewn to the back of a large fish and covered with papier -mache, which gave the body the appropriate shape. His so-called exhibit collection also included the Siamese twins Chang and Eng Bunker and the dancer Doo-Ham-Mi, the daughter of the chief of the Sauk Indian tribe. During 1844-1845, Barnum toured with the star of his exposition, Charles Stratton, who enjoyed wild success with the audience. While visiting England, they were even invited to a reception by Queen Victoria. In 1862, a gigantic girl Anna Sven joined Barnum's exhibition, her height at that time was 242 centimeters.
Phineas Taylor Barnum with his wife
On July 13, 1865, Barnum's American Museum burned to the ground, after which Barnum rebuilt the museum elsewhere in New York, but he suffered the same fate three years later. Then in 1872, Phineas Barnum opens a combined show of the circus, menagerie and the so-called human zoo in Brooklyn, and gives it the name "The Greatest Show on Earth". The name of this show has changed several times, one of the most famous is Barnum and London Circus. Among the curiosities that performed at the circus was the Russian Fyodor Yevtishchev, known as the dog-faced boy because his face was covered with thick hair from birth. Barnum took the guy to work when he was 16 years old, and came up with a legend for him, according to which the young man did not talk, but only growled and barked from the stage. In 1885, Barnum teamed up with entrepreneur James Bailey, after which the show reappeared under the new name "Barnum and Bailey Circus", and the highlight of the show was the six-ton African elephant Jumbo, bought from the London Zoo.
Shot from the film "The Greatest Showman"
After Barnum's death, the circus was sold to the Ringling brothers, it existed under the name "Barnum and the Ringling Brothers Circus" until 2017, the circus had to be closed due to the demands of numerous animal rights organizations to stop performances involving trained animals. Except brilliant career showman, Barnum wrote several books, published many editions of his autobiography, took an active part in the political strife that preceded the American Civil War, joined the Republican Party and even ran for the US Congress in 1867, but to no avail.
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“Of course,” Maud added, “if I ask, my good pa will buy me a real duke with eight hundred years of ancestors for my husband, but I am most proud of the fact that my charming, magical pa once shined boots on the streets of New York.
A.I. Kuprin, “The Daughter of the Great Barnum”
Phineas didn't have much luck with his dad. Papa Philo owned a muscovite shop and a hotel with several rooms in the tiny American town of Bethel, Connecticut - this, as we will see later, was far from the ultimate dream of his son. But everything was in order with my grandfather on my mother's side - also Phineas. Grandfather was powerful - a local legislator, landowner, justice of the peace and at the same time an organizer of lotteries. However, he loved drawings not only in lotteries. “In order to play a trick on someone, grandfather went further, waited longer, worked harder and planned deeper than for anything else in the whole wide world,” the grandson would later write in his autobiography.
Once, Grandpa Phineas was sailing on some trading business on a ship. Entertainment on ships at the beginning of the XIX century, frankly, there was little. Grandfather by some miracle persuaded all the sailors before the next port to shave exactly half. He was the last to shave himself (completely) and "accidentally" dropped the only razor on the ship overboard. It is clear that upon arrival he was the only normal one.
Even during his lifetime, grandfather copied the whole island of Ivy Island - Ivy Island - to his beloved grandson. The grandson was terribly proud of the huge inheritance. Until, at the age of twelve, he saw his "wealth" - a piece of land, the main part of which was occupied by a swamp ... "I was literally crushed," Barnum recalled. “It turned out that all my relatives and neighbors fooled me for several years.” But Phineas Jr. would not have become the Great Barnum if he had not used this too - it was Ivy Island that became the pledge when he bought his first museum - Phineas presented this island to the bankers as an outstanding value.
Trying to fit into one article everything that Phineas Barnum came up with is a thankless task. It is better to simply list, remembering, marveling and admiring. Everything he loved.
Barnum's circus traveled between cities, of course, by train. The circus was "small" - only 65 carriages. They even had to specially design special couplings between the cars, so that during long journeys (and trains in the 19th century ran much more slowly than now) they could transfer animals and circus performers could move freely. But never, never did Barnum's circus enter the city by rail. Shortly before the city of destination, the train stopped, the circus unpacked and entered the city under its own power, in full dress.
Well, how did you get in? Is it possible to call this banal word what happened in each, I emphasize, city. 20 elephants, 338 horses walked along the main streets, two dozen camels were carrying the “Temple of Juno”, a herd of zebras was carrying wagons with gymnasts, lions, leopards, hyenas… counting the rest of the staff, Barnum's circus had 370 people.
If you think that the advertising campaign was limited to the arrival in the city, you think badly of Phineas Barnum. Everything was just beginning. In the morning before performances, Barnum harnessed a herd of elephants to plows - and took them out to plow the land. Residents of all the surrounding villages came to watch this free show, and many, of course, then went to the performance itself. Many resented the "mockery" of noble animals - and to this day, in the laws of the state of North Carolina, it is forbidden to plow on elephants. Remember this the next time you laugh at America's "stupid" laws - each of them was written about someone in particular. This one is about Barnum.
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“Great Barnum,” I say. "What are you so flustered about?" Like a circus magician, even now to the arena.
“Okay,” Andy replies. — Is the cart still at the porch? Wait for me, I'll be back soon.
Two hours later, Andy enters the room and places a wad of dollars on the table.
O. Henry, "The Entertainment of the Modern Village"
The popularity of the circus was unimaginable - it was not for nothing that it was officially modestly called "The Greatest Show on Earth" - the Great Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and F.T. Barnum. President Garfield called Barnum the All-American Santa Claus, and President Grant complained that no matter what country he went to, he was asked if he was from the country where Barnum's circus was?
"Circus people, 1800's"
His big top occupied the whole field. The performances went on in parallel, first on two, then on three arenas, and when he came up with a system of hanging corridors for moving artists and animals, it came to seven, SEVEN arenas at the same time!
Phineas Barnum was able to create a show out of anything and characters out of anyone. For example, on its posters, along with the names of the artists, the name of Ben Lusby was always printed. It was a circus attendant. Ordinary ticket. Who once sold 6153 tickets in 1 hour 3 minutes...
Sometimes in his museum on Broadway, visitors had to be urged on - because there was no room for new ones. Then he came up with the idea to write above the doors: "This Way to the Egress." Egress, who does not know, is the same as Exit, it's just customary to write differently. People thought that some new exhibition with an outlandish name was waiting for them there, they walked and found themselves already on the street.
Barnum was not afraid to use a wide variety of genres. And when he brought an ordinary, non-circus singer Jenny Lind from Sweden, the crowd in the huge hall was such that the pianist for this singer had to be literally passed over the heads.
The genres were more than different - Barnum was even the mayor of the city of Bridgeport in Connecticut, where a monument was erected to him. Not for circus art, no. For the opening of the city hospital, of which he was also the director.
And it all started very modestly. Phineas was tired of running a shop inherited from his father or already independently founded a newspaper - he founded The Herald of Freedom at the age of 19 in Danbury, Connecticut. In the newspaper, he allowed himself the same thing as later in show business, but the demand from the press was stricter - he was arrested and after his release he moved to New York.
Nobody thought about the abolition of slavery, so Phineas bought himself a blind and semi-paralyzed Negro slave Joyce Hett. That thousand dollars could buy a young and healthy slave, but he didn't want the slave for entertainment. Although, more precisely, it is for entertainment. Grandma Joyce was Barnum's first attraction - he made up a legend that she was 160 years old and she was the nanny of George Washington himself!
Barnum and Bailey Circus 1909
At first, of course, the people poured in, especially since Phineas forced the old woman to learn the legend by heart, but then the quick-witted people, as they say, suspected something. When the tour of America began to decline, Barnum dismissed the legend that "this scoundrel Barnum carries, of course, not an old woman, but a special robot doll" - and the people fell down again, this time to understand robotics.
You should not think that this was the end of the matter - the old woman eventually died. Barnum made a show out of this too - he invited professors and medical students for an autopsy - to ostensibly prove the authenticity of the granny. Tickets for the autopsy, of course, were sold. After the autopsy, the verdict was that the grandmother was only about eighty, which drastically reduced her chances of being a nanny under Washington, which would have turned 104 that year.
But Barnum did not lose heart - he already spread the fourth wave of rumors, according to which he himself replaced the doll with the corpse of a black woman, so as not to reveal the secret of a wonderful robot.
This, I repeat, was just the first experience in show business of an ordinary kid from Connecticut, who later created the greatest circus empire in the world.
The circus of the 19th century was very different from the present. Although it is more correct to say that it was Barnum who invented the current circus as it is. In the 19th century, most circuses were freak shows. Naturally, Barnum used this too, gradually developing and improving the performances, turning them into real full-length shows. Every handicapped person he could get through his circus went through - the superstars in his show were the Siamese twins Chang and Eng, bearded woman Annie Jones... What's the matter, remember the illustration from Soviet school textbooks of biology for the fifth grade with the caption "peasant Fyodor Evtikhiev"? Fedor Adrianovich, that bearded boy who much later became the prototype of Chewbacca from " Star Wars”, emigrated from Russia and performed in the Barnum circus from the age of 16 until his death.
Sometimes Barnum lacked a real cabinet of curiosities and used fake exhibits with great enthusiasm. The famous Fiji mermaid in the 19th century, which Barnum took on tour, is the mummy of a small monkey sewn to the tail of a large fish. The Fijian mermaid played a role in honing advertising techniques—on the eve of a city tour, Barnum would send a "reader's letter" to his main newspaper from the previous town. In addition to everyday writing, which in the 19th century enjoyed constant success, he wove into the text of the letter references to the grandiose furor with which the hometown of the “author” met the mermaid.
Even more layered was the scandal with the Cardiff giant. Once upon a time, dinosaur remains were found in upstate New York. Farmer William Newell was very upset that it was not his business, so he "found" the skeleton of a three-meter man on his farm. Of course, it was made of plaster, painted and aged, but this did not stop the farmer from taking 25 cents from those who wanted to look at the unearthed marvel. Barnum, who, as we recall, was trying to buy everything he could get his hands on, offered the farmer $50,000, incredible money for 1869. The farmer, for obvious reasons, refused. Then Barnum hired a man who copied the "bones" and began to display them, saying that he nevertheless bought them from Newell, and he, in turn, exposes a fake to save face. The case reached the court, which quite logically decided that both were fake. Do you think this prevented Barnum from making money selling already perfectly official copies of the statue?
Yes, of course he cheated. But, as he himself said, you can never not give a person what he wants - otherwise it will be a deception. In all other cases, it's just a fun swindle. That's what they called him - Prince of Humbugs.
He went along with the humbugs in the professions of entertainers and salesmen. But he could not stand swindlers - especially spiritists and mediums, which were very common at that time. In his book The Humbugs of the World, he even offered a $500 reward to any medium who could prove the ability to communicate with the dead without any deception.
A man named Charles Sherwood Stratton, with his height of 64 centimeters, would probably have had a hard time in life. But Barnum met him and came up with a name for him - General Tom Thumb (a boy with a finger from an English fairy tale). As a result, Queen Victoria herself applauded him, and the future King Edward VII would become his personal friend and even take him and Barnum on a boat. Moreover, Barnum specially sewed Napoleon's uniform for Charles-Tom in honor of the first acquaintance with the queen, so that the English queen would be pleased.
After several years of touring, General Tom-Finger will suddenly begin to grow, grow up to 85 centimeters - and Barnum, grateful for many years of service, will arrange a grand wedding for him with the same tiny Lavinia Warren. Which, of course, will also bring no less grandiose money to the treasury of the circus. Tom-Finger will also not remain in debt. Thanks to Barnum's circus career, he will make a considerable fortune for himself. And when Barnum has a period of crisis (the world of show business is uneven), he will help him out and become Phineas' business partner for a while.
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I will buy Shakespeare's house. I will set it up in my museum in New York, cover it with a glass jar, and make it into a sacred relic; and you will see crowds of Americans rush to worship him. And not only Americans - pilgrimage will begin from all over the world. I'll make them take their hats off in front of Shakespeare's house. We in America know how to appreciate what the great Shakespeare sanctified with his touch. Here you will see.
In conclusion, the second class passenger said:
“And that's what happened. Barnum did buy Shakespeare's house.
Mark Twain, Along the Equator
However, after many years, Phineas Barnum will even have to refuse the queen. This will happen already in the eighties. Barnum buys himself from the Zoological Society of London for ten thousand dollars. big elephant in the world - Jumbo, the favorite of all Britain. At the London Zoo, about a million children alone visited it - including little Winston Churchill, the future US President Theodore Roosevelt and others. The deal caused a shock. Thousands and thousands of letters to Queen Victoria and Prime Minister Gladstone, attempts to sabotage the sale through a court that—oh, that impartial British court! recognized it as legal. Queen Victoria and Barnum's friend Prince Edward of Wales write an Open Letter to the Zoological Society expressing "utter astonishment", with the Queen personally promising to pay a penalty if the deal is cancelled.
London has been gripped by Jumbo mania. The whole capital spoke only about Jumbo the elephant - Jumbo dishes were served in restaurants, ivory silk with this name came into fashion. In February 1882 Chief Editor newspaper The Daily Telegraph sent a telegram to Barnum on behalf of british nation: “Respectfully from the editor. All British children are suffering due to the elephant's departure. Hundreds of correspondents are begging us to know under what conditions you will kindly agree to return Jumbo. The king of the show's courteous response read: "My respects to the editor, the Daily Telegraph and the British nation. Fifty million American citizens are eagerly awaiting Jumbo's arrival. My unwavering forty-year practice of demonstrating the best that money can buy makes Jumbo's presence here absolutely essential."
Transportation of Jumbo to America cost Barnum twice as much as his cost - twenty thousand. However, exactly four days of showing the elephant in Madison Square Garden completely paid off the deal, bringing in thirty thousand dollars. In his first year, Jumbo alone made over $1.5 million. At the beginning of the performance, the voice of the ringmaster sounded: “The majestic monarch of a mighty race, a colossus among elephants, the largest and most famous animal in the whole world, who carried Queen Victoria on his back, royal family and over a million children straight from London's Royal Zoological Gardens... JA-AMBO!" - and General Tom-Finger rode onto the stage on an elephant, which additionally emphasized the size of the giant himself.
One of New York's most colorful traditions is the elephant parade in March, before the performances in Manhattan, although the whole circus accompanies them. But few people know that the tradition was born, in general, quite spontaneously. The newly built Brooklyn Bridge caused a lot of fears - people thought that it was not strong enough. And then the city authorities turned to Phineas Barnum, who did not refuse to help: on May 17, 1884, he led twenty elephants across the bridge, ahead of which was the huge handsome Jumbo ...
You must have heard the word 'jumbo' - this is a word in English language has long meant "giant" - down to the size of clothes or, say, hot dogs. Well, how long ago - just from the end of the 19th century, when Phineas Barnum made his elephant iconic. Walt Disney was later, moreover, his cartoon was called "Dumbo" precisely because he could not agree on royalties with the new owners of Barnum's circus.
And in general, Phineas Barnum's contribution to culture and art cannot be overestimated.
He is everywhere.
His autobiography, published in several huge editions, was second only to the New Testament in popularity.
When you hold a pack of Camel cigarettes in your hands, remember that this particular camel, whose name was Old Joe, served in Barnum's circus - they drew his “portrait” there.
It was Barnum who, in 1874, invented and held the world's first wedding for his employees Charles Colton and Mary Walsh ... in a balloon. The priest told the young people that the sun shines brighter for them than for others. Now that balloon weddings are commonplace, who remembers what Phineas Barnum came up with?
Do you know to whom today's America owes such love for tattoos and Tattoo-salons at every turn? Yep, you guessed right. It's just that it was Barnum who popularized tattooing throughout America, because in every performance he had artists tattooed from head to toe.
Psychologists call the “Barnum effect” a paradox when people perceive information at their own expense if it is communicated in a vague, general strokes. With the help of this effect, for example, newspaper horoscopes are written. After all, Barnum himself said: "We have something for everyone."
The film "The Greatest Show in the World" directed by Cecile Blount DeMille received two "Oscars", including as best movie 1952. This is not surprising, because Barnum's circus himself starred in this feature film. By the way, director Steven Spielberg himself says that he became a director only because of this film.
In December 2017, the 20th Century Fox film The Greatest Showman will be released. Hugh Jackman will play Phineas Barnum.
The musical Barnum was staged in 1980 and ran on Broadway for several decades. It begins with the aria There is a Sucker Born Ev'ry Minute - "Every minute a sucker is born." This phrase, which is attributed to Phineas Barnum, has long become an American business saying.
The music for one of the performances of Barnum's circus was written by Stravinsky, and this ballet was staged by the founder of American ballet George Balanchine - this is the famous "Elephant Ballet". And never again in history has there been a more, ahem, massive yet so graceful ballerina.
A close friend of Barnum's, Mark Twain, once published an advertisement in 1874 for the sale of passenger seats on the tail of Coy Coggi's comet. And he suggested applying for tickets to the Barnum agency,
And on the other side of the world, Alexander Kuprin, in his story “The Daughter of the Great Barnum,” described the “crazy 19th century” as follows: “Three names sounded louder than all the names in the last century: Napoleon, Edison and Barnum.” Agree, this is a rather big assessment from the classic of a completely different, non-English literature.
For almost a century, since 1919, the main circus of the world has been called the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. In history, there were other surnames in the name - these are commercial nuances, mainly owners and directors, but the main surname in this list was and is the surname of Phineas Barnum. Founder, motor and soul.
