Barnum & Bailey 1898 Program (From Chris Berry)

BB 1898 Front Cover, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. For those who might not have been around to remember it...after the season of 1897 ended in Philadelphia on October 9, James Bailey loaded the show on a ship and left for England where it went on a brief hiatus at Stoke-on-Trent. Less than three months later - on December 27, 1897 Great Britian was treated to its first look at "The Greatest Show on Earth" as the show opened indoors at London's Olympia arena. For almost the entire year of 1898 (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) the show played throughout England - with two dates booked in Scotland (Jun 27-July 16 in Glasgow, and July 18-23 in Edinburgh). On November 12 1898 Barnum & Bailey briefly went into winter quarters for about six weeks, returning to the Olympia on "Boxing Day" - December 26, 1898 (see program). This show toured England until late summer of 1899 when it moved in to Scotland at Galashiels on August 29. Throughout the month of September, and into early October, Barnum & Bailey had a string of one-nighters in Scotland along with a six-day stand in Edinburgh and five days in Glasgow. The show returned to England on October 7 and continued a route of mostly one-nighters until going into quarters at Stoke-on-Trent November 10. For the season of 1900 Barnum & Bailey found itself in Germany and Austria...opening in Hamburg on April 15...but that is another story! -Chris Berry