P.T. Barnum’s Magnificent Museum Fire

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The fire that destroyed P.T. Barnum’s American Museum on July 13, 1865 was a luxuriantly surreal and tragic event, one described beautifully in a contemporary New York Times piece, which we share in this episode verbatim. Doomed whales in enormous tanks, fleeing snakes, sideshow celebrities, and melting wax mannequins are all part of this fantastic tale.



The episode also includes details on Bone and Sickle’s new format for 2023 (more and shorter shows) a morbid bit of poetry from Mrs. Karswell () as well as a snippet of a 1920s recording of German soprano Frieda Hempel () recreating a performance by Jenny Lind, “The Swedish Nightingale,” promoted by Barnum on immensely successful international tours.

Contemporary accounts imagined Barnum’s menagerie rampaging through the flames