

For more than fifty years, Phineas T. Barnum embodied all that was grand and fraudulent in American mass culture. Over the course of a life that spanned the nineteenth century (1810-91), he inflicted himself upon a surprisingly willing public in a variety of guises, from newspaper...

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. Meet the greatest entertainer of the 19th Century... In 1834, desperate to create a better life for his family, small-time Connecticut businessman P. T...


This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely...

"I believe hugely in advertising and blowing my own trumpet, beating the gongs, drums, to attract attention to a show," Phineas Taylor Barnum wrote to a publisher in 1860. "I don't believe in 'duping the public, ' but I believe in first attracting and then pleasing...

Autobiography of the showman. Stylized page-for-page to match the 1855 print edition.


This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely...







This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely...

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely...


Life of P.T. Barnum is an autobiography written by the legendary showman and entrepreneur himself. The book tells the story of Barnum's life and career, from his humble beginnings as a storekeeper to his founding of the Barnum & Bailey Circus. The book also includes Barnum's...

Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 - April 7, 1891) was an American showman, politician, and businessman remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871-2017).Although Barnum was also an author, publisher, philanthropist, and for...



This book, "The Life of P.T. Barnum Written by Himself", by Phineas Taylor Barnum, is a replication of a book originally published before 1855. It has been restored by human beings, page by page, so that you may enjoy it in a form as close to the original as possible.


This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely...