Hum-Bug (P. T. Barnum), from the Comic Natural History of the Human Race

Art Historical Context

In 1851, American illustrator Henry Louis Stephens, in collaboration with lithographers Rosenthal and Samuel Robinson, created *Hum-Bug (P. T. Barnum)* as part of the satirical series *Comic Natural History the Human Race*. This lithograph with watercolor and gum depicts the famed showman Phineas Taylor Barnum as a grotesque insect-like figure, its oversized head and buggy features exaggerating his reputation as a master of hoaxes and spectacle. Printed on a modest sheet measuring 13½ x 8⅞ inches, the work captures the era's booming culture of caricature, where public figures were lampooned through zoomorphic humor—here, likening Barnum to a "humbug," a term for fraud that he famously embraced. Lithography, enhanced by watercolor for vibrant hues and gum arabic for glossy depth, allowed affordable mass production of such biting prints, making satire accessible to a wide audience. This medium was ideal for the detailed, whimsical insect motifs that dominate the series, blending scientific illustration styles with comic exaggeration. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, *Hum-Bug* reflects mid-19th-century America's fascination with celebrity, deception, and natural history parody. It reminds visitors of Barnum's cultural impact—from his American Museum hoaxes to the circus legacy—while showcasing how art poked fun at the era's entrepreneurial excesses.

About the Artist

Henry Louis Stephens|Rosenthal|Samuel Robinson (American|American|American) · 1800 |1824 |1840 –1900 |1882 |1900

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1824–1882 Bayonne, New Jersey|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania