Virtual Exhibitions

Hi everyone!

My name is Jenny and I'm the education intern here at the Barnum Museum.  I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to share with you artifacts and documents that I find interesting.  Right now, I am particularly enthralled by a program and photographs from the Bridgeport High School graduation in 1889.  Now, 125 years later, we can put some evidence side by side and get a good look at how drastically everything has changed (except for maybe the hair).

Here's a sneak peak of some awesome documents we have from the BHS graduation in '89!

Hello,

I am back again. As of now, I chose some interesting topics for my characters. Mr. P.T. Barnum will be discussing advertising and the best way to sell things. He may even give tips on how to advertise. Mr. General Tom Thumb will be focusing more on his wife with his wedding being the topic for him. He wife will be introduced more, so people can get a better glimpse into her life as well. And for Mrs. Jenny Lind, she will demonstrate how to act at a ball and what to wear. She may even throw in a little music for all the Opera lovers.

                The research for information on this topics has been quite fun. I have learned some interesting things as well as seen some interesting things. For example, I was able to see Tom and Lavinia’s wedding cake giving out to the guest of the wedding. I hope as I continue, I will find more interesting things to learn.

                So I have been thinking and looking around for a pet artifact and I think I found what it may be. My first choice was the mummy which isn’t on site and it already has tons of information, the centaur already has tons of information so that was out. I have come to the conclusion that my pet artifact is….find out next week when I go into more details about it.

Don’t forget Barnum’s Birthday is coming up. He will be 204 years old. He’s such an old man. : )

Until next time.   

Hey,

I am Ashley Beal the Social Media intern for the summer of 2014. With it only being my first week (Wednesday and Thursday), I have already been hit with a lot of information. This isn’t in a bad way, but pretty much in a good way. I never knew Bridgeport, Ct had so much history. With it only being the first week, I already know that much more than before. I just want to go out and advertise like Barnum to get the city to understand how important the museum is and how rich our history really is. So far I have found countless amounts of information on Tom Thumb, P.T. Barnum and Jenny Lind, which I will use to write facebook posts about them in the following weeks to come. The themes I have chosen are pretty interesting, so I hope the rest think so as well. I think the only problem I am going to have is keeping myself on track, because I seem to find one thing and then go off on a tangent looking at something else that relates but isn’t as important. I mean who won’t, when there is countless information and the majority of it is quite interesting? The rest of the weeks will be filled with fun as well as informative tasks.

The other project I will enjoy is cataloging the items donated to the museum. It is more of a hands-on type of project and I get to engage with the items and learn more about Bridgeport as well as Tom Thumb, P.T. Barnum and Jenny Lind. Well the first week has been a blast so far, can’t wait for the rest. Stay tuned for the rest of my adventures I will encounter while interning. 

This week’s “Photo of the Week” is of the 1924 “Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows” Winter Quarters Circus Fire in Bridgeport, CT. This photograph is part of an 8-piece collection that depicts the aftermath of the circus fire. Barnum had problems with fires throughout his entire life, and his fire issues continued to plague his circus long after his death. This picture shows a Bridgeport firefighter putting out a fire in one of the circus buildings that was located in Went Field Park, the home of the Winter Quarters for over 50 years. The park housed both domestic and exotic animals, along with many performers and trainers. 

For more information, please visit:

http://www.epa.gov/region1/brownfields/success/bridgeport.html

The "Photo of the Week" highlights pictures from The Barnum Museum’s collection. These pictures are posted on our website at: www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org, along with a brief description of the person, place or thing within the picture. The "Photo of the Week" can also be found on Facebook.

This week’s “Photo of the Week” is of the “Lake Torpedo Boat Company”. The company was one of the first producers of submarines for the U.S. Navy and was founded in Bridgeport, CT in 1901 by owner Simon Lake. There was a power struggle between the “Lake Torpedo Boat Company” and it’s rival, the “Electric Boat Company” to build for the U.S. Navy. In 1924, the “Lake Torpedo Boat Company” met it’s demise due to financial difficulties and was unable to continue producing submarines.

The "Photo of the Week" highlights pictures from The Barnum Museum’s collection. These pictures are posted on our website at: www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org, along with a brief description of the person, place or thing within the picture. The "Photo of the Week" can also be found on Facebook.

This week’s “Photo of the Week” is of Charles Sherwood Stratton, otherwise known as “General Tom Thumb”. Stratton was born in Bridgeport, CT on January 4th, 1838 and was “normal sized” until he was around 6 months old, when he stopped growing. When Stratton was 18yrs old, he was measured to be 2ft 8.5in tall and only grew about half a foot before his death at the age of 45. Despite being small in stature, Stratton was one of Barnum’s biggest attractions and became a very wealthy international superstar. He owned, and raced, a yacht called the 'Maggie B' which docked in Bridgeport. Here he is pictured in his yachting costume.  

The "Photo of the Week" highlights pictures from The Barnum Museum’s collection. These pictures are posted on our website at: www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org, along with a brief description of the person, place or thing within the picture. The "Photo of the Week" can also be found on Facebook.

This week’s “Photo of the Week” is of Arthur James Caley, otherwise known as “Col. Routh Goshen”. Although there is controversy over his birth date, it is presumed to be on May 5th, 1837. Goshen travelled with Barnum and worked in Barnum’s American Museum in New York City. He was billed by P.T. Barnum to be the tallest man in the world at 7ft, 11inches and weighing over 620lbs - an obvious exaggeration. Goshen was married three times and divorced twice. He had an adopted daughter, Frances Sylvester, who travelled with him and may have even danced for Queen Victoria. Col. Routh Goshen died February 12, 1889 in Middlebush, New Jersey and was forever immortalized as the Middlebush Giant.

The "Photo of the Week" highlights pictures from The Barnum Museum’s collection. These pictures are posted on our website at: www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org, along with a brief description of the person, place or thing within the picture. The "Photo of the Week" can also be found on Facebook.

Nellie Keeler: 11 years of age, 28 inches high, weight 12 lbs.

To be seen only in the Great P.T. Barnum Show.

This week’s “Photo of the Week” is of Nellie Keeler, a.k.a. “Little Queen Mab”. Nellie was born on April 6th, 1875 in Kokomo, Indiana and in 1878 P. T. Barnum hired her as a child performer. When she started working for Barnum, she was just over 2ft tall and weighed only 11lbs. Much to everyone’s surprise however, when Nellie was around the age of 12, she had a growth spurt and by the time she was 16 she was a little over 5ft in height. In 1903, Nellie passed away at just 28 years of age from tuberculosis. 

The "Photo of the Week" highlights pictures from The Barnum Museum’s collection. These pictures are posted on our website at: www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org, along with a brief description of the person, place or thing within the picture. The "Photo of the Week" can also be found on Facebook.

This week’s “Photo of the Week” is of the “Wheeler & Wilson” storefront in downtown Bridgeport, Connecticut. The sewing machine company moved from Watertown, CT to Bridgeport in 1856 and was located at the old “Jerome Clock Company” factory. Wheeler & Wilson sewing machines were a household name and changed Bridgeport forever by making it a fashion industry capital of Connecticut. Nathaniel Wheeler, business partner with Allen B. Wilson who invented the cloth-feeding mechanism on the sewing machine, owned a large Gothic mansion in Bridgeport and was friends with P.T. Barnum.  In 1905, Wheeler & Wilson was taken over by the “Singer Corporation”, who continued to make the Wheeler & Wilson #9 model machine until around 1913.

The "Photo of the Week" highlights pictures from The Barnum Museum’s collection. These pictures are posted on our website at: www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org, along with a brief description of the person, place or thing within the picture. The "Photo of the Week" can also be found on Facebook.

This week’s “Photo of the Week” is of Buffalo Bill Cody performing his “Wild West Show” in Bridgeport, CT. The title of the post card reads “W.F. Cody, ‘Buffalo Bill’ Shooting Glass Balls at Wild West Show, Bridgeport, Conn.” The photo depicts two men riding white horses. One man is dressed in Native American attire, while the other is dressed in Cowboy attire. Buffalo Bill made a dozen trips over a span of 42 years to Bridgeport, including trips to winter his show with Barnum's circus, but it is believed that this photograph is from either his May 20th, 1907 show or his May 8th, 1912 show, due to the dating of the post card. Buffalo Bill was known worldwide and travelled throughout Europe and North America.

The "Photo of the Week" highlights pictures from The Barnum Museum’s collection. These pictures are posted on our website at: www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org, along with a brief description of the person, place or thing within the picture. The "Photo of the Week" can also be found on Facebook.