1868 Shannon View of Broadway and Ann Street (Barnum Museum), New York City
View Corner of Ann St. and Broadway. (Former Site of Barnum Museum).
Nice view of the site of the former Barnum's American Museum in New York City.
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Nice view of the site of the former Barnum's American Museum in New York City.
This is a nice 1868 view of the corner of Ann Street and Broadway in New York City, the former site of the Barnum Museum, by Shannon and Rogers. The view features the building that replaced P.T. Barnum’s American Museum, which burned to the ground in 1865. The Barnum’s American Museum opened in 1841 in lower Manhattan and was a significant part of urban culture. With a combination of entertaining, educational and almost ostentatious displays, from the Fejee Mermaid to General Tom Thumb, it was a combination of a zoo, museum, lecture hall, theater and freak show. The museum also promoted educational ends. In 1865, in what would be one of the most spectacular fires New York has ever witnessed, the American Museum burned to the ground. Witnesses saw animals jumping from the buildings and two whales were reported to have boiled alive in their tanks. P.T. Barnum eventually turned to the circus, for which he remains well known to this day.This view was prepared for inclusion in the 1868 edition of Joseph Shannon's Manual of The Corporation of the City of New York.
Cartographers
Joseph Shannon (fl. c. 1850 - 1869) produced a series of New York City almanacs and fact books entitled Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York. Shannon's Manual is very similar to the more common manual issued by David T. (Thomas) Valentine (1801 - 1869). The production of this annual manual was the responsibility of the Clerk of the Common Council of the City of New York, a position held at different times by both Shannon and Valentine. The manual included facts about the City of New York, City Council information, history, and reported on the progress of public works such as Central Park. Further Details...
William C. Rogers (fl. c. 1860 - 1873) was a New York based lithographer active in the mid to late 19th century. His is best known for his engravings issued in conjunction with Joseph Shannon's Manual of the Corporation fo the City of New York. Rogers issued several maps of New York City in the 1860s and 1870s. Further Details...
Source
Shannon, J., Shannon's Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York, (1868 edition).
Condition
Very good. Minor staining on margins.
References
New York Public Library, Art and Picture Collection, b17094222.