1810 newspaper with a large early front page illustrated CIRCUS AD featuring a fierce TIGER - inv # 7I-324

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SEE PHOTO(s) - COMPLETE ORIGINAL NEWSPAPER, the NY Spectator dated Oct 27, 1810. This original newspaper contains a 4" x 2.5" illustrated front page ad for a circus / display museum (JOHN SCUDDER) from 213 years ago. The ad features a fierce looking tiger, and this is the earliest large illustrated circus ad I have seen on the front page of an American newspaper.

John Scudder's museum was the precurser to the P T BARNUM AMERICAN MUSEUM in NY City and this ad marks the BEGINNING of the illustrated CIRCUS ADS in the US

Scudder's American Museum was a museum located in New York City from 1810 to 1841, when it was purchased by P.T. Barnum and transformed into the very successful Barnum's American Museum.

The roots of the museum date back to 1791, when the "American Museum" was founded by John Pintard "under the patronage of the Tammany Society." It was located at 57 King Street, with Pintard serving as secretary and Gardner Baker (more of a showman between the two) as keeper. The museum was moved to a building at the intersection of Pearl and Broad streets by 1794 called the "Exchange". It occupied a thirty-by-sixty foot room with a high ceiling, and later opened a second room including a menagerie.

It was called "Baker's American Museum" after Baker took control of it from the Tammany Society in 1795. Relying now only on ticket sales to finance operations, he raised admission prices and kept attempting to add new curiosities to draw visitors. After Baker died in 1798, and his widow died in 1800, the collection was purchased by William I. Waldron.[3] It then came into the hands of painter Edward Savage, who opened the "Columbian Gallery of Painting and City Museum" in 1802, and hired John Scudder to oversee the museum collection.

John Scudder, an amateur taxidermist, opened the American Museum in New York City at 21 Chatham Street.  Catering to mostly wealthy gentlemen, the museum offered science lectures and natural history exhibits after opening.  Economic hardship and the War of 1812, however, caused Scudder to redesign his museum.  Strolling musicians and “lilliputians” brought new excitement and new visitors to the American Museum. The population of New York City passed 120,000, more than doubling its inhabitants in just twenty years  Many of these citizens,  immigrants, lived in tight quarters with one another, giving rise to tenements and the need for people to seek entertainment outside of the home. Now run by Dr. John Scudder Jr., the museum is so successful that it moves into a new grand building at Broadway and Ann Streets in 1830.

In July 1841 it was decided to sell the Museum. After a good deal of dickering John Heath, a merchant appointed by the City Surrogate to wind up the Scudder Estate, struck the famous bargain by which P.T. Barnum acquired the American Museum as a going concern for the sum of $12,000.

Very good condition. This listing includes the complete entire original newspaper, NOT just a clipping or a page of it. STEPHEN A. GOLDMAN HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS stands behind all of the items that we sell with a no questions asked, money back guarantee. Every item we sell is an original newspaper printed on the date indicated at the beginning of its description. U.S. buyers pay priority mail postage which includes waterproof plastic and a heavy cardboard flat to protect the purchased item from damage in the mail. Upon request by the buyer, we can ship by USPS Media Mail to reduce postage cost; however, please be aware that USPS Media Mail can be very slow in its time of transit to the buyer. International postage is quoted when we are informed as to where the package is to be sent. We do combine postage (to reduce postage costs) for multiple purchases sent in the same package. We list thousands of rare newspapers with dates from 1570 through 2004 on Ebay each week. This is truly SIX CENTURIES OF HISTORY that YOU CAN OWN!

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