Synopsis

Phineas T. Barnum was a master of showmanship—a huckster, certainly, but also a shrewd promoter and captivating entertainer. His American Museum presented a curious collection: relics of antiquity displayed alongside astonishing "living curiosities" like lions, snakes, bearded ladies, and conjoined twins. In 1871, he expanded his enterprise, taking the entire spectacle on a national tour by rail. Barnum pioneered the concept of a three-ring circus, and his colossal elephant, Jumbo, became a hous