Col. Routh Goshen (1824-1889)
Actor in Scottish garb
Ad for Modoc Indian Oil
Another famous “Pedestrian” who walks 6,117 miles on behalf of Heidleberg College in Fairfield County, Ohio.
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Musicians
Willie & Freddie O'Brien)
Ole Bull, violinist from WI
Edwin Booth
Actor that played Hamlet in NYC 100 nights in a row
Cigar Advertising
One of three illegitimate sons of actor Junius Booth, along with his assassin brother John Wilkes, signature role as Hamlet, some say “greatest actor of his era,” ashamed on assassination but buries his brother’s body in unmarked grave in Baltimore family plot, prevents accidental death of Robert Lincoln, builds own theater in NYC, retains popularity and fortune til death.
W. N. Lake - Walker
Patent Medicine Wagon
Exceptionally strong dwarf brothers born in Ohio but made famous by P.T. Barnum as the “Wild Men of Borneo.”
Boxers with referee
Salesmen/Advertising
Born Charles Brown in Maine, he begins writing a humorous series of tales starring the illiterate rube, Artemus Ward, publishes Vanity Fair in NY which fails, then off to SF as America’s first stand-up comedian, friend of Mark Twain and a favorite of Abraham Lincoln. Dies of TB at 32.
Dr. W. J. Kingsley
KA-TON-KA Ad
Eng (on left) and Chang (born in Siam 1811) are connected by a ligament at their sternums which contains a shared liver. They are “discovered” by a British merchant in 1824 and brought to America in 1829, becoming wealthy from “freak show” tours. They settle in NC in 1839, acquire two farms and 18 slaves, and marry sisters Sarah (on left with son Albert) and Adelaide Yates (on right with son Henry) in 1843. The couples have 21 children in all. They resume touring in 1849, including a stint with P.T. Barnum, and then again after losing some of their money in the Civil War, where two of their son are in the CSA army. In 1870 Chang suffers a stroke and becomes a heavy drinker. He dies of a cerebral blod clot in 1874 and Eng follows him two hours later, presumably of “shock.” They are buried in North Carolina.
American actor most famous for his role as Rip Van Winkle.
Artemus Ward (1834-1867)
"The Greatest Pain Medicine on Earth" for 25 cents a bottle.
Circus
Photography Book
X Cancer Ad
Jumbo the elephant
Bush elephant born in Sudan, captured as a calf, eventually displayed in a London zoo before being sold to PT Barnum and becoming a featured star in his traveling circuses.
Prominent Men Outside Politics
Joseph Jefferson (1829-1905)
Chang & Eng
Advertising tobacco
Two card players
Advertising North Missouri Stock Yard
Phineas T. Barnum
Baseball Player
Tom Thumb wedding
Achieves celebrity status as “The Pedestrian” for his long distance walking tours, including a 1200 mile hike from Portland, Maine to Chicago, Illinois in 1867 and 1546 miles from New York to Minneapolis. He dies in 1927 after being struck by a taxi cab in New York City.
Cotton salesman's business card
Entertainment
Born Arthur Calley in Isle of Man, early fame as “giant” in Liverpool then across Europe, comes to US with legend as Colonel Routh Goshen, hired by PT Barnum as The Arabian Giant, claims 8 ft tall and 475 lbs (more likely 7’5”/400), said to have fought in Turkish Wars and others, tours America, performs in Jack The Giant Killer with midget Nutt. True story not known until well after his death at 64 years old.
Edward Weston (1839-1929)
James Murphy, tallest boy
Edwin Booth (1833-1893)
A Circassian woman (from the Caucasus region south of Russia) whose “moss hair” made her a celebrity in PT “Barnum’s American Museum.”
Zobeide Luto
Edwin Adams
Actor best known for light comedies
Henry Leonard
Herman Theilig, Brodhead, WI