Living curiosities at Barnum's museum – Antique Wall Art
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
Living curiosities at Barnum's museum comes to life in this antique engraving, reproduced from the original with every detail intact. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.
Order it framed and ready to hang, or unframed to match a frame you already love. It brings character to any room and makes a memorable gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.
Living curiosities at Barnum's museum
Order a print
Thank you. Your order went through, and a receipt is on its way by email.
Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal
Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.
Barnum's American Museum on Broadway in lower Manhattan is the setting for this wood engraving, which takes its title, "Living curiosities," from the human exhibits that drew crowds there in 1860. Harper's Weekly published it on December 15 of that year. The illustration reflects the museum's blend of natural history specimens, mechanical wonders and live performers, a formula P. T. Barnum had built since opening the institution in 1841. Displays of people with unusual appearances or talents were a major attraction for city audiences, and the engraving records how such shows were presented to middle-class readers. It is worth noticing how the image mixes entertainment with the language of scientific curiosity.
| Created / published | 1860 |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print : wood engraving. |
| Genre | Periodical illustrations 1860.Wood engravings 1860. |
| Notes | From: Harper's weekly, 1860 Dec. 15. |
| Subjects | Barnum's American Museum--Exhibitions & displays--1860. Human curiosities--1860. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 3,240 × 4,096 px · prints to 11 × 14 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-186153 |
More from the Historic Print Archive collection
Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.
![Seattle Children's Theatre [presents] Flight" a living newspaper play"](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/29/2912ab6d5b13-400.webp)
![[Front facade and floor plan for 18th century building]](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/97/97aaba01fe3b-400.webp)
