P.T. Barnum — "The public is not capable of distinguishing between a genuine article and a spur…"
The public is not capable of distinguishing between a genuine article and a spurious one.
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More from P.T. Barnum
"I am a firm believer in the power of curiosity."
"The world is full of wonders, and it's my job to show them."
"Many people are gullible, and we can expect this to continue."
"The great art of money-getting consists in knowing how to attract the public."
"I am a showman by profession... and all the gilding shall show, and all the tinsel shall glitter."
About P.T. Barnum (1810-1891)
American showman and Barnum & Bailey Circus co-founder, whose autobiography popularized Gilded Age commercial spectacle. Closely associated with James Anthony Bailey (his circus business partner). For an intellectual contrast, see Mark Twain, American author and Gilded Age satirist — Twain's The Gilded Age (1873, with Charles Dudley Warner) named the entire era of corrupt commercial spectacle Barnum embodied — Twain's later writing repeatedly attacked Barnum-style hucksterism as the era's moral disease.
Details
Reported statement, a more direct expression of his views on public gullibility
Date: c. 1860s-1880s
GeneralVerification
Unverifiable
Found in 1 providers: grok
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