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November 16, 2022 29 mins

BECOMING BARNUM: The Journey to Fame and Fortune

Tell Me Plainly What You Think  - Episode 18


This episode of Becoming Barnum discusses another uncomfortable truth about showing human beings as curiosities, as we learn directly from Barnum. This letter came up in the same November 1845 timeframe as the letter with his proposal to Catlin. Still, it warrants a separate discussion concerning the exhibition of people with genetic abnormalities. To be sure, this topic is complex and not something we would hope to be discussing. At the same time, exploring Barnum’s family and business relationships in these letters is exciting if we skip over the hard stuff on this journey to discover the man P. T. Barnum as he was in his mid-thirties, through his own words.

Learn more about PT Barnum’s Letter Copy Book here: 

https://tinyurl.com/BarnumArchive

https://tinyurl.com/Dinnerwareandtea

https://tinyurl.com/Barnumletter

https://tinyurl.com/TThumbToken

https://tinyurl.com/Sherwoodletter

https://tinyurl.com/nywonders

https://tinyurl.com/IranistanFeature

https://tinyurl.com/barnumletters

https://tinyurl.com/iranistan


Read the Blog Post this episode is based on: 

  • Tell Me Plainly What You Think

https://barnum-museum.org/tell-me-plainly-what-you-think/

  • Plans Good and Bad

https://barnum-museum.org/plans-good-and-bad/


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