Description
First edition, first issue of The Life of P.T. Barnum: Written By Himself, inscribed by Barnum on the front flyleaf.
Octavo, viii, [9] – 404pp, 4pp ads. Publisher’s pebbled brown cloth, title stamped in gilt on spine. Solid text block, wear at heel of spine, sunning to spine, a very good example. Frontispiece portrait of Barnum, with tissue cover. Numerous in-text woodcut illustrations. Previous ownership inscription on the front free endpaper. (Sabin 3564)
Inscribed by Barnum on the front flyleaf, presumably tipped-in at a later date: “To F A Wood ESQ / with the author’s compliments and best wishes. P.T. Barnum / May 26th 1885.”
Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891) was an American entertainer, businessman, and politician best known for founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus. A master of publicity and spectacle, he popularized hoaxes, curiosities, and grand exhibitions, including the promotion of General Tom Thumb and the Swedish singer Jenny Lind. Barnum also served as mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut, engaged in philanthropy. He authored several books, including The Life of P.T. Barnum, Written by Himself (1855), an autobiography detailing his experiences, Struggles and Triumphs: Forty Years’ Recollections of P.T. Barnum (1869), and The Art of Money Getting (1880), offering business advice. His legacy remains influential in entertainment and marketing.
