Phineas T. Barnum

If you paid a visit to New York City in the mid-1800s, you definitely had to stroll down Broadway to Ann Street and visit Barnum's American Museum.

The five-story emporium of curiosities operated by the great showman Phineas T. Barnum wasn't like any museum today. Once you paid your 25-cent admission, you might see jugglers, wild animals, a scientific lecture, or even a performance by General Tom Thumb. There were famous hoaxes, such as the Fiji Mermaid, and people who were, in those indelicate times, referred to as the "freak show."

Barnum's great museum is long gone, but in a gallery of vintage images you can enjoy the career of the beloved Prince of Humbug.

Image: Phineas T. Barnum and one of his star performers, Commodore Nutt, courtesy of the New York Public Library Digital Collections.