Dime museum
Encyclopedia
Dime museums were institutions that were briefly popular at the end of the 19th century in the United States
. Designed as centers for entertainment and moral education for the working class (lowbrow
), the museums were distinctly different from upper-middle class' cultural events (highbrow
). In urban centers like New York City
, where many immigrants settled, dime museums were popular and cheap entertainment
. The social trend reached its peak during the Progressive era
(ca. 1890–1920).
P.T. Barnum founded the first Dime Museum in 1841, called the "American Museum
". P.T. Barnum and Charles Willson Peale
introduced the so-called "Edutainement
" which was a moralistic education realized through sensational freakshows, theater and circus performances, and many other means of entertainment. The "American Museum" burned down in 1865.
For many years in the basement of an arcade in Times Square
in New York City, Hubert's Museum featured acts such as sword swallower Lady Estelene, Congo The Jungle Creep, a flea circus
, a half-man half-woman, and magicians such as Earl "Presto" Johnson.
Later, in Times Square, mouse pitchman Tommy Laird opened a dime museum that featured Tisha Booty "the Human Pin Cushion, and several magicians including Tommy Laird, Lou Lancaster
, Criss Capehart, Dorothy Dietrich
, Magician Dick Brooks, and others.
In Baltimore, Maryland, the American Dime Museum
operated for eight years before closing permanently and auctioning off its exhibits in late February 2007.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Designed as centers for entertainment and moral education for the working class (lowbrow
Low culture
Low culture is a term for some forms of popular culture. Its opposite is high culture. It has been said by culture theorists that both high culture and low culture are subcultures....
), the museums were distinctly different from upper-middle class' cultural events (highbrow
Highbrow
Used colloquially as a noun or adjective, highbrow is synonymous with intellectual; as an adjective, it also means elite, and generally carries a connotation of high culture. The word draws its metonymy from the pseudoscience of phrenology, and was originally simply a physical descriptor...
). In urban centers like New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where many immigrants settled, dime museums were popular and cheap entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
. The social trend reached its peak during the Progressive era
Progressive Era
The Progressive Era in the United States was a period of social activism and political reform that flourished from the 1890s to the 1920s. One main goal of the Progressive movement was purification of government, as Progressives tried to eliminate corruption by exposing and undercutting political...
(ca. 1890–1920).
P.T. Barnum founded the first Dime Museum in 1841, called the "American Museum
Barnum's American Museum
Barnum's American Museum was located at the corner of Broadway and Ann Street in New York City, USA, from 1841 to 1865. The museum was owned by famous showman P.T. Barnum and his partner and original owner, John Scudder. Prior to their partnership, the museum was known as Scudder's American...
". P.T. Barnum and Charles Willson Peale
Charles Willson Peale
Charles Willson Peale was an American painter, soldier and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolution, as well as establishing one of the first museums....
introduced the so-called "Edutainement
Edutainment
Edutainment is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse.-Overview:...
" which was a moralistic education realized through sensational freakshows, theater and circus performances, and many other means of entertainment. The "American Museum" burned down in 1865.
For many years in the basement of an arcade in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
in New York City, Hubert's Museum featured acts such as sword swallower Lady Estelene, Congo The Jungle Creep, a flea circus
Flea circus
A flea circus refers to a circus sideshow attraction in which fleas are attached to miniature carts and other items, and encouraged to perform circus acts within a small housing...
, a half-man half-woman, and magicians such as Earl "Presto" Johnson.
Later, in Times Square, mouse pitchman Tommy Laird opened a dime museum that featured Tisha Booty "the Human Pin Cushion, and several magicians including Tommy Laird, Lou Lancaster
Lou Lancaster
Lou Lancaster was an American magician and author.His 1984 book Tricks Of The Trade: A Professional Looks at Commercial Closeup Magic OCLC 12995877 [edited by Phyllis Guggenheim; photos by Lancaster & Guggenheim] explained many techniques of close-up magic, and he appeared in several instructional...
, Criss Capehart, Dorothy Dietrich
Dorothy Dietrich
Dorothy Dietrich is an American stage magician and escapologist, and the first and only woman to have performed the bullet catch in mouth. She was also the first woman to perform a straitjacket escape while suspended hundreds of feet in the air from a burning rope Dorothy Dietrich is an American...
, Magician Dick Brooks, and others.
In Baltimore, Maryland, the American Dime Museum
American Dime Museum
The American Dime Museum was co-founded in Baltimore, Maryland, by artist and antique dealer Richard Horne and James Taylor , writer and publisher of sideshow journal Shocked and Amazed! Opening Nov. 1, 1999, the museum recreated, in spirit, the dime museums which saw their heyday in the 19th and...
operated for eight years before closing permanently and auctioning off its exhibits in late February 2007.
External links
- American Dime Museum, reportage from the Baltimore museum on its last day of existence