Beschreibung:

2pp, 4.75 x 8", 11 May 1857, London. Addressed to "Jo" in Liverpool. In the letter Barnum is congratulating him on his "great success." He goes on to give Jo financial advice on what to do with this unexpected wealth: But speaking from my own experience I beg of you not to engage in other speculations, nor invest your money in unsafe or risky places merely in the hope of getting larer interest. Invest in good bonds & mortgages or government stocks. It will pay best in the end. Don't build palaces or houses, but let your money quietly and surely return you continual and safe interst and all will be well. He goes on to say that he has nearly straightened out his financial difficulties in America. Barnum's early career was characterizd by a string of failed businesses and lawsuits. He did not realize real success until he began his career as a showman. Nearly every one of his ventures was risky, but he made them successful - mostly. When Barnum retired in 1855, he did have creditors to pay. He apparently did settle with them in 1857. But retirement did not seem to suit P.T., for it was not long before he went back to his old career. By the 1870s he had a successful traveling museum-circus-freak show, which merged with other shows and went through a number of variations before merging with Bailey, becoming "Barnum and Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth," then just the "Barnum and Bailey Circus." Condition: Expected folds, back page toned on outer folds, someone has penciled "1857" on front (Barnum wrote "May 11/57"), else VG+.