WASHINGTON’S NURSEMAID (AND BARNUM’S FIRST HUMBUG)

HETH, ...

HETH, Joice (c. 1756 – 1836). Joice Heth, Nurse to Gen. George Washington. N.p., H.d. 1835. Two-sided letterpress bill advertising a Boston appearance by Heth, “Age of 161 Years!” Joice Heth, in actuality an African-American slave woman who was neither 161 years old nor the first President’s nursemaid, was famously exhibited by P. T. Barnum in New York in 1835 in what history has proven was his first foray into show business. Framed to 12 ¼ x 9 ¼”, verso and recto both matted and glazed. Creases, small tears, toning and discoloration. Not examined out of frame. Exemplars, p. 128. Jay’s Journal, p. 191.