Library:Humbug
| Humbug: The Art of P. T. Barnum | |
|---|---|
| Author | Neil Harris |
| First published | 1973 |
| ISBN | — |
| Role | Analysis |
| Domains | History Business, Finance & Scams |
| Tactics | Fabrication Imposture |
Humbug: The Art of P. T. Barnum is a 1973 book by Neil Harris.
Summary
Historian Neil Harris examines P. T. Barnum, the 19th-century showman whose exhibits included Joice Heth, an enslaved woman he falsely billed as George Washington's 161-year-old nurse, and the "Feejee Mermaid," a monkey's torso sewn to a fish tail.
Harris argues that Barnum's audiences often enjoyed being fooled and debating how the trick was done.
Key points
- The operational aesthetic. Harris's term for the public's fascination with how a hoax or machine works.
- Self-promotion. Barnum sometimes planted anonymous letters accusing his own exhibits of being fake to stir controversy and sell tickets.
- Cruelty behind the show. The exploitation of people such as Joice Heth shows the human cost behind entertaining humbug.
Relevance to Bullshitopedia
Barnum is a forerunner of modern attention-driven media. Harris shows how controversy over whether something is real can itself be a marketing strategy.
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- Fraud: An American History from Barnum to Madoff
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