Virtual Exhibitions

Riotous - without restraint; disorderly; boisterous; dissolute; profligate

Writing - characters on the surface of some material; inscription

Phineas Taylor Barnum's work with his American Museum and, later, his circus brought family friendly educational entertainment to a city with little opportunity.  His exhibits opened people to what other countries looked like in the diorama room; his lecture hall hosted temperance speakers and abolitionist plays; and artifacts including mummies and other pieces of ancient history were in the exhibitions. When he took his museum on the road, in conjunction with his menagerie, he formed what we now call the circus. This is what his name is synonymous with! Yet throughout his most well-known career, Barnum worked to challenge the thoughts of people and expand their understanding of the world. 

Phineas Taylor Barnum's life was marked by instances of acting without restraint and he recorded the grand majority of these in his own autobiography.  Throughout his career he was a newspaperman, an author, and a politician in addition to his work as a showman.  All jobs that required a certain level of living without restraint to affect change and challenge thought. The following virtual exhibits present these lesser known, but equally as important, aspects of "the man, the myth, and the legend"!

~ Riotous Writing ~ The Herald of Freedom ~ Authorship and Attribution ~