Humbug: The Art of P. T. Barnum

Front Cover
University of Chicago Press, 1981 M05 15 - 337 pages
This carefully researched study of America's greatest showman, huckster, and impresario is both an inclusive analysis of the historical and cultural forces that were the conditions of P. T. Barnum's success, and, as befits its subject, a richly entertaining presentation of the outrageous man and his exploits.
 

Contents

ONE Early Years
7
TWO The American Museum
31
THREE The Operational Aesthetic
59
FOUR International Triumphs
91
FIVE The Swedish Nightingale
111
SIX Disasters Encountered
143
SEVEN Business and Politics
183
EIGHT The Man of Confidence
205
NINE The Circus
233
TEN The Compleat Showman
277
Acknowledgments
293
Bibliographic Essay
297
Notes
307
Index
331
Copyright

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About the author (1981)

Neil Harris is the Preston and Sterling Morton Professor of History and Art History Emeritus at the University of Chicago. His books include Capital Culture, The Chicagoan, The Artist in American Society, Humbug, and Cultural Excursions, all published by the University of Chicago Press.

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