#P.T. Barnum

[kismetconstellations]

"If only the banks would take joy as collateral." "They may not. But, I will."

[noxsboxofscripts]

my sister and i tried to play the greatest showman soundtrack in my car last night (me bc i watched deadpool and wolverine the other day, her bc she loves hugh which so fair), fully forgetting the heavy drums and my cars heavy bass speakers combined and we were literally shaking to the beat of the drums on the road

ngl i thought a window could explode

[chiefblossom]

HUGH JACKMAN ONNMY SCREEN I REPEAT THEY PUT HUGH JACKMAN IN AT THE SOCIAL FUNCTION

[lacking-rodents]

If your still in The Greatest Showman fandom please reblog this, I don't want to feel like I'm the only one

[er1th4cz]

Oct 12 here, so I just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUGH! 🫶❤️

[phillipcarlyle]

PT & Phillip ~ office aesthetic

[quotelr]

The noblest art is that of making others happy

P.T. Barnum

[handeaux]

Cincinnati Was Fascinated By Talking Machines Whether Good, Bad Or Bogus

Professor Faber’s amazing “talking machine” arrived in Cincinnati to great fanfare in 1872 when that contraption shared a bill at Wood’s Theater with the famous Bandmanns, Daniel and Millicent. The celebrity thespians presented “The Merchant of Venice” and “The Corsican Brothers.” The talking machine recited whatever the professor told it to.

As early as 1844, the Cincinnati Enquirer carried reports of Austrian Joseph Faber’s progress in developing a mechanical device that could replicate human speech. The original “Professor” Faber, unhappy with progress on his own invention, killed himself in 1850, but the project was taken on by his nephew, also named Joseph Faber, who perfected the device and took it on tour. The Enquirer [25 January 1872] described it in some detail:

“On looking at it you see a table, on one end of which is a key-board with a number of levers similar to the hammers of a piano leading to an upright beam. At the front of this beam you see a mask from which you hear, in tones that remind one of a child’s trumpet, the measured enunciation of words. Back of this beam stands a pair of bellows which is operated by a treadle, and furnishes the air that is required to supply the instrument.”

Faber’s device was a sort of analog speech synthesizer, an ancestor of the Vocoder and similar electronic devices of the Twentieth Century. The operator, by pumping pedals and pressing keys, generated sounds resembling human speech. The Enquirer’s reporter, imagining no “practical utility,” was nevertheless impressed with the machine’s performance.

“During the exhibition the machine was made to speak in English, German, Greek and Hebrew. It beats the Professor speaking English, and but for the example of broken English he sets would speak almost as closely as anyone. It pronounced such words as Mississippi, Cincinnati, Chicago, Philadelphia with ease and clearness. Although it speaks with a decided German accent, one has less difficulty understanding it than the average German who has been three or four years in this country.”

While touring the United States, Professor Faber impressed impresario Phineas Taylor Barnum so much that the great showman renamed the machine as The Euphonium and engaged it and its operator for six months on a contract worth $20,000. Barnum brought the newly christened Euphonium back to Cincinnati in July 1872 as a highlight of his “Great Traveling World’s Fair.” That extravaganza also featured four giraffes, sea lions, herds of trained elephants, Fiji cannibals, American Indians, various dwarves and midgets and three rings of continual circus acts. Barnum’s Fair occupied the Union Baseball Grounds for four summer days at a time when Cincinnati had no professional baseball team. Reports indicate that Barnum got his money’s worth as his show became the hottest ticket in town. Barnum did well enough that he extended Faber’s contract for at least another year. The Euphonium continued to receive star billing when Barnum’s circus returned to Cincinnati in 1873.

Professor Faber continued to exhibit his talking machine well into the 1880s, several years after a very different sort of talking machine made its debut. Thomas Edison, the Genius of Menlo Park, unveiled his phonograph in 1877 and Cincinnati shifted its attentions to the new gadget in town. The Cincinnati Commercial dispatched a reporter to Edison’s laboratory and he filed [3 April 1878] a breathless dispatch:

“I saw the talking-machine, talked to it, and it talked back. You have heard about it, of course, but the story can not be an old one for years to come, and although the phonograph is as simple as a jackknife, it excites the awe of the beholder as a telegraph wire stirs up an Indian’s superstition”

It was another year before an actual phonograph arrived in Cincinnati, almost simultaneously with an early telephone. The Enquirer [5 June 1878] announced the dawn of a new age:

“The phonograph now on exhibition at Greenwood Hall had an increased number of visitors yesterday, our most prominent citizens leading what must become a rush to witness this real wonder, which, with the telephone, marks an era in science. It is impossible to describe the sensation created by this ‘talking’ machine, which gives back to one his own very words and tones in either speaking or singing, and which, many believe, is to revolutionize many things in social and business life.”

Edison’s mind-blowing machine inspired a couple of Cincinnati con artists to offer talking machine service to the great unwashed. At a time when phonographs cost the equivalent of $500 and cylinders the equivalent of $15 per in today’s coin, the opportunity to try out this revolutionary device for one thin dime was irresistible. According to Frank Y. Grayson’s wonderful book, “Pioneers of Night Life on Vine Street,” the flim-flam men set up shop just south of the canal.

“Across the front of the dump, spread a canvas which bore these words: ‘Come In and for a Dime Hear the Most Amazing Invention of the Age – the Talking Machine Extraordinary.’”

The dupes who fell for the pitch surrendered their ten cents and were handed a rubber mouthpiece attached to a long hose. They said their piece while the operator furiously cranked a large wheel, waited a moment and – voila! – their words of wisdom emerged from a rubber bulb sprouting a tin funnel.

“News of the wonderful invention flashed up and down the good old avenue, and the come-ons fell all over themselves getting into the place. The crooks made hay while the sun shone.”

Their demise came when the local beat cop stopped by and tested his elocution. He shouted, “What am I?” into the mouthpiece, the customary pause ensued and “What am I?” emerged faintly from the funnel – followed by a sneeze. “I didn’t sneeze,” said the cop and descended into the basement where he found a fat man in shirtsleeves, managing the other end of a couple of rubber hoses.

Talking machines so excited the imagination of Cincinnati’s residents that they infested the hallucinations of our cranks. The Enquirer [21 October 1900] related the case of Mrs. F.C. Lykins of Walnut Hills, who sent letters accusing a young man residing at the Union Bethel of annoying her with his talking machine. A detective determined that there was no such resident at the Union Bethel, and no one by that name living in the area. Mrs. Lykins insisted that voices from a talking machine filled the air around her head. The detective just smiled, closed his notebook, and headed back downtown.

[tiny-librarian]

The grave of Anna Haining Bates, her husband Martin Van Buren Bates, and their infant son.

Known as the world's tallest married couple, both Anna and Martin were giants, standing close to eight feet tall each. Their son, known only as "Babe" on his marker, weighed almost 24 pounds and is the heaviest and longest newborn ever recorded.

[thatsbelievable]

[kismetconstellations]

[baubeautyandthegeek]

'Cause darling without you//All the shine of a thousand spotlights//All the stars we steal from the night sky//Will never be enough – Charity Barnum/Jenny Lind/P. T.  Barnum

A/N: Day 10 for @polyamships polyartober. Second GIF made for me by @whoreofthecottage TW: Flashing GIF.

The kiss is surrounded by flashbulbs, the moment so swift and sweet that Jenny barely wants to pull away, her eyes seeking something in Phineas’ eyes, his shock is enough she pulls back, fleeing the stage so quickly that Phineas knows he fucked up, somehow. His pace is quick even as he tries to keep up to her. Jenny bursts into the dressing room, stumbling into Charity’s arms blindly, Charity’s grip tight, sure even as she moves to smooth a hand over Jenny’s back, meeting her husband’s gaze over Jenny’s shoulder as the woman sobs into her shoulder. “I….I…” “She kissed me. Publically… I didn’t… I… I froze.” Phineas’ voice is smooth, soft, his voice tender. “I let her down, Charity…” Charity sighs then, smoothing Jenny’s hair gently, stepping back just enough to tilt her chin up, letting their lips meet slowly, sweetly, her voice soft even as she reaches for Phineas, kissing Jenny again softly. “Kiss her, Phin…” He does, deeper than before, sweetly passionate, breaking for mere seconds to revel in the surprised sound of Jenny’s soft sigh, then kissing her again, turning his focus to Charity after, the kiss just as deeply passionate. It's a day off the next day and Charity makes use of it to plan how they handle it. Charity will take Phineas’ place, the rest will come to them in the moment, they will finish the last show, their third since Charity travelled to join them, together, making it clear they are a team. The next performance, the next kiss, is welcomed with roars of approval and applause, flashbulbs echoing the time before, Charity’s laugh soft as she kisses Jenny’s knuckles before leading her from the stage, backstage. The last night, their last on tour, ends with three kisses, Phineas kisses both Jenny and Charity before Charity kisses Jenny again, the photos taken say it all. Jenny is a Barnum in all but name. Chosen. Enough. More than Enough. Always Enough.

[thearchivehermit]

Spooktober Celebration  ⵈ   🎃 ⵈ Spirit Photography

With the end of the U.S. Civil War and the rise of Spiritualism, spirit photography became a means for people to connect with lost loved ones. At least, that was goal. Fraud photographers would use double exposure (a process where one frame is placed upon another), which make a ghostly figure appear behind the person.

Key photographers: William Mumler, William Hope, David Duguid, Edward Wyllie

Believers: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mary Todd Lincoln,

Disbelievers: P.T. Barnum, William S. Marriott, Harry Houdini

[lacking-rodents]

I cannot get over how short Phillip is

He deadass has to look at Phineas like this

[quotestomorals]

The noblest art is that of making others happy

― P.T. Barnum

[phillipcarlyle]

"You should know that I am yours, body and soul. It is your smile, your laughter, that has been my guiding star. Without it, the rest is dust and ashes. I know that now..."