Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1864-07-08
Barnum's Advertising Experience

The American Museum ] bought twen-
ty-five years ago, because the owner had
died, be having made fortune because
there was no other museum there. He
had been dead two years. His daughter
did not advertise. 1t was losing money
People would look at the sign "American
Museum" call it fine building and pass
on. They would look at monument
with about the same idea of going into
it. The expenses were forty dollars and
it didn't pay that. Finding there was
really great collection of curiosities that
only needed the public should know of to
secure patronage, bought it, and every
quarter of dollar could take in there
l laid out in advertising. Immediately
took the money to the newspaper offices
got out handbills, and the people came in
wonderfully, and the quarters accumula-
ted so fast l scarcely could imagine how
to lay them out in advertising.
After exhauSting my ingenuity in the
way of handbils and placards and adver-
tisements, | thought / had advertised
enough when spent $500 day in that
way. Bonner of the New York Ledger
said led him in advertising. He has
beaten me and everybody else out ol
sight. He has expended at one time, in
five different daily papers of the United
States, $4,000 in each paper, making
| $4,000 in each days advertising, with
three lines repeated, and taking four pa,
ges at once. He says the more be ad-
vertises the more he makes. l was ad-
vertising to a great extent, and then ask
ed what else could do. got band OF
music--the most horrid music you ever
heaTd-and / advertised had hired two
bands of music; one played two hours
and the other two hours, and that they
played all the evening for nothing. But
| don't suppose anybody went there to
hear the music; they paid quarter to
get in where they could not hear it. 1t
was worth more than that to get away
from the music. When person adver-
tises to give you something for nothing,
you will get cheated.
You can never please dead head
1t is harder to please dead head than to
please those who pay for admission
There was qniIe a number Of windows,
aud l asked what it would cost to put a
large oil painting between each of these,
representing animals and birds. So ma
ny hundred dollars, and SO many weeks.
got him to take Cuvier's illustrated
works, and to copy the picture of every
animal or bird that ever we're created
He came and told me the job was finish
ed. l looked at it and was satisfied
There were some animals there that
would have puzzled CuYier. However,
we got thirty men, who worked all night
to put them up. When people came
down Broadway, next day, they didn't
know what it was. Some thought all the
animals had broke loose in the night
Some paid their quarters and rushed in
to see how it looked.
When the first Fourth of July came
after | spent so many thousands of dol
lars in arresting the public attention,
many people, who had said before II will
go there when get time, came, and by
about twelve O'Clock found myself in
the fifth story, the house being crammed
to suffocation; and although l have felt
all sorts of sensations, don't remember
ever feeling so humble, such a decided
goneness, as did when ed out of
that fifth story window and saw from
three to five thousand persons waiting
there with quarter of dollar in their
pockets, who could not get in. You can
fancy my feelings on that occasion. In
perfect despair, seeing the money / had
to lose, | rushed to my carpenter and got
him to cut through the partition and put
up temporary flight of stairs in Ann
street to let them out in that way. BY
that means we saved two hundred per-
sons. But there was a great loss. In
the following March the Irish population
said they were coming there in large
numbers on "St. Patrick's Day in the
morning" | gave orders to have the
egress ready, endeavoring to save all the
quarters this day.
An old lady with some small children
with her was the first to come, and at l2
o'clock it was iammed to suffocation, but
there were several thousands outside. /
told the Irish lady she could take her
'dear little creatures" away from the dan
ger through the new door. "Sure an
I'm not going out" said she. 81 brought
my dinner, and IN going TO stay all day."
| discovered to my dismay that all had
brought their dinners. Several Thousand
were waiting in despair. / ran to the
painter and got him to paint the word
egreSS on the new flight of stairs. They
came round in that direction, and seeing
the word egress painted there, said,
"Sure an that is an animal we have not
seen." For the purpose Of seeing him
| they went down stairs and were thus