Tweet-a-week: Barnum's American Museum

Behold the unusual, the strange, the wondrous, educational, and surely exciting and fun realm of Barnum's American Museum! By no means did it reflect the sort of museums that we see today -- in addition to exhibits of wax scenes, strange oddities/specimens, and live "freak shows", the museum had its own lecture hall and space for performers such as acrobats, jugglers, and magicians for acts. It was a very popular attraction in New York and became a hot-spot for the time it stood before it fell to a fire.

Whitman not only interviewed the man behind the museum, Phineas T. Barnum before, but he at least frequented the place from time to time either living, visiting or working there. Museums were places to learn interesting things about life's mysteries and strangeness, and the American Museum was full of unusual things that may have been interesting and inspiring. While the museum may not have had the reputation of having definitely true displays (it seemed to have catered more toward entertainment and urban culture, though it did yield some things to education), the museum garnered curiosity and interest for unexplained phenomena, something that Whitman may have found to be exciting to behold. In particular, it is said that the museum had some exhibits where one could approach and touch things (as mentioned in Barney's text, one attraction allowed people to "touch the [bearded lady's] beard"). To be able to fully embrace and understand these strange things, Whitman may have felt close to the museum in that he was allowed to get the full experience of live specimens or anything there -- to fully experience for himself the strange creations of the universe that is offered to the public here at Barnum's American Museum. "Song of Myself" is all about engaging with nature, after all.

Barney, Brett. "Walt Whitman: Nineteenth-century Popular Culture." DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Faculty Publications, UNL Librarie, 02 Apr 2006. Web. 9 Feb 2012. <http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1117&context=libraryscience>.


"The Greatest Attraction in New York City: The American Museum, Phineas Barnum's famed establishment in New York City.." About.com - 19th Century History. n. page. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. <http://history1800s.about.com/od/americanoriginals/ig/Images-of-Phineas-T--Barnum/Barnum-s-American-Museum.htm>.