Vintage 1897 Circus poster, retouched, restored, scratches removed, colors enhanced and matching borders added.
Title: The Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth. [Portraits of P.T. Barnum [and] J.A. Bailey Date Created/Published: New York, Cincinnati : Strobridge & Co., Lith., 1897.
Medium: 1 print (poster) : color ; 101 x 74 cm.
Reproduction Number: LC-USZC4-921 (color film copy transparency) LC-USZ62-24466 (b&w film copy neg.) LC-USZCN4-308 (color film copy neg.)
In 1875, Dan Castello and William Cameron Coup persuaded Barnum to lend his name and financial backing to the circus they had already created in Delavan, Wisconsin. It was called "P.T. Barnum's Great Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Hippodrome". The moniker "Greatest Show on Earth" was added later. Independently of Castello and Coup, James Anthony Bailey had teamed up with James E. Cooper to create the Cooper and Bailey Circus in the 1860s. The Cooper and Bailey Circus was soon Barnum's chief competitor, exhibiting "Columbia," the first baby elephant ever born in the United States. She was born in March 1880 in Philadelphia, to "Babe" and "Mandarin", and later euthanized in November 1907 for aggressiveness.[citation needed] Barnum attempted to buy the elephant, and eventually agreed to combine their shows in 1881. In 1882, the combined "Barnum & Bailey Circus" was successful with acts such as Jumbo, advertised as the world's largest elephant. Barnum died in 1891 and Bailey then purchased the circus from his widow. He continued touring the eastern United States until he took his circus to Europe. That tour started on December 27, 1897 and lasted until 1902.