Description:

(PHINEAS T. BARNUM) RELIC FROM THE 1865 MUSEUM FIRE
A grisly relic of the spectacular fire that engulfed Phineas T. Barnum's American Museum on July 13, 1865 which destroyed the museum and most of its exhibits a 3 1/2 x 1 x 1/2" piece of thick leathery skin with a note affixed to one side reading "Elephant's Leather July 13th 1865 Barnum's fire" Below that caption appears another note (presumably that of a subsequent owner) "Nov 21, 1939 Kavanaugh BR. 4" This relic came from a "stuffed" elephant, described by the New York Times as "the largest elephant that the civilization of the nineteenth century has yet known"After fire completely had consumed the legendary museum at the corner of Broadway and Vesey Street, Barnum vowed to rebuild, which he did, only to see his new museum burn in 1868. That was the final straw for Barnum and he retired from the museum business. He only remained in retirement for three years when he began his travelling show that became the nucleus for his circus which would eventually merge with James Bailey and then later, the Ringling Brothers. A superb and scarce relic of this lost New York institution.

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June 3, 2010 11:00 AM EDT
Stamford, CT, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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