The peerless prodigies of P.T. Barnum

"New York City, 1857. Nicholas Meyer is crafty, ambitious, and unencumbered by nostalgia. Though he has the singular distinction of working with photographer Mathew Brady, he is enchanted by the professional misfits and illusionists at P.T. Barnum's American Museum. Spurred on by mentors and rivals, bearded ladies and talking automatons, Nicholas will confront the emerging possibilities of robotics, show-business and advertising. This graphic novel explores the technological imagination of the 19th century from the vantage of two influential entrepreneurs. Readers encounter an alternate universe that once existed: a bygone world of gaslight and sideshows to be sure, but also a forward-looking society shot through with experimental media, profit-oriented entertainments for the masses, and grandiose visions of the future. Written by media historian Jillian Lerner and illustrated by Marc Olivent, The Peerless Prodigies of P.T. Barnum recollects how identities were made and ideas were hawked in a pre-electronic age" -- p. [4] of cover.