Empire of Culture: U.S. Entertainers and the Making of the Pacific Circuit, 1850-1890 by Matthew W. Wittmann A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (American Culture) in The University of Michigan 2010 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor James W. Cook, Jr., Chair Professor Philip J. Deloria Associate Professor Damon I. Salesa Associate Professor Amy K. Stillman © Matthew W. Wittmann 2010 For my grandfathers, Vernon Henry Smith (1918-2008) and Narvin Otto Wittmann (1919-2009) ii Acknowledgements I could not have finished this project without the guidance and support of many different people and institutions and it is my special privilege to thank them here. First and foremost, the vibrant intellectual community that is the Program in American Culture made Michigan a wonderful place to work and to learn. Although there are many that merit mention, I would like to thank Kristin Hass, Matt Lassiter, and Paul Anderson in particular for their acumen and advice. My fellow graduate students were a lively and supportive group, especially Dean Saranillio, Charles Gentry, Tyler Cornelius, Rachel Peterson, and Afia Ofori-Mensa. Perhaps most importantly, Marlene Moore was always there to offer a combination of direction and encouragement that was invaluable. Before I arrived at the University of Michigan, I had the pleasure of attending the University of Colorado, where David Gross, Susan Kent, Mark Pittinger, Tom Zeiler, and Scott Miller all shaped my development as a historian. It was also in Boulder that I first took a course with Phil Deloria and it was that experience that made me want to become a cultural historian. Phil is an exemplary scholar and over the last decade he has been and an engaging and magnanimous adviser. During the dissertation process, I was fortunate to receive support from a variety of institutions. My research started in Worcester as a Kate B. and Hall J. Peterson Fellow at the American Antiquarian Society, where Caroline Sloat, Meg Bocian, and Richard Wightman Fox offered both practical assistance and good company. As a W.M. Keck iii Foundation and Mayers Fellow, I had an opportunity to explore the rich collections at the Huntington Library and I would like to express my gratitude to Peter Blodgett, Juan Gomez, Anne Stadler, and Elliot Gorn for making my time there so productive and enjoyable. Rick Watson commendably facilitated my research while I was on fellowship at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas. Two fellowships at the University of Michigan, one from the Global Ethnic Literatures Seminar and the other from the Sweetland Writing Center, provided timely support. With regards to the former, I would like to thank the other participants in the seminar and its director Tobin Siebers. At Sweetland, Louis Cicciarelli was an agreeable adviser who did much to improve my writing and general disposition about the dissertation. Most significantly, I received a Fulbright Award to New Zealand in 2006-2007. My experience abroad had a transformative effect on this project and really my life in general and for that I will be forever indebted to the Fulbright Program and the many wonderful people that it introduced me to. At Fulbright New Zealand, I would like to thank Mele Wendt, Andy Mitchell, and Kara Wood. While in Wellington, the Pacific Studies Programme at Victoria University hosted me and my thanks go to April Henderson, Diana Felagai, Graeme Whimp, and Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop for making me feel so welcome. Teresia Teaiwa is a wonderful scholar and was a genial mentor from whom I learned much. Kia ora to Alice Te Punga Somerville for being both a teacher and a friend. The staff at the National Library was invariably helpful and among the many scholars in New Zealand who shared their knowledge, I would like to thank Michael Brown, Chris Bourke, Peter Downes, Adrienne Simpson, and David Carnegie. Finally, fellow Fulbrighter Adrienne Wiley was a constant source of good cheer. iv Throughout this process, I have been assisted by a variety of scholars both within and without the academy. Through a combination of their scholarship and encouragement of my own, Paul Kramer, Rip Lhamon, and Janet Davis shaped this dissertation in significant ways. Richard Waterhouse and Mark St. Leon were generous with their time and in sharing their knowledge about popular entertainment in Australia. A big thank you is owed to Mike Caveney for allowing me to peruse his wonderful magic collection. I am also grateful to William Slout, Fred Dahlinger, and the late Stuart Thayer for charitably sharing their research and insights into circus history. Chinua Thelwell and James Revell Carr are two younger scholars that were helpfully working in a similar vein. The largest debt that I have incurred in the course of this dissertation is to my committee. Phil Deloria asked the probing questions and constantly pushed me to think more rigorously about the big picture. Amy Stillman was invariably encouraging and provided sharp commentary throughout. Though acerbic at times, Damon Salesa challenged me to think more critically about what I wrote and undoubtedly did much to improve it. Jay Cook judiciously guided this work from start to finish, provided unwavering support, and invested countless hours discussing and critiquing the dissertation as it progressed. Jay is a model scholar, teacher, and adviser and I owe him my deepest and sincerest thanks for everything that he has done for me. The final work on this was completed at the Bard Graduate Center and my thanks go to Nina Stritzler-Levine and Ken Ames for their patience and the postdoctoral fellowship that helped me finish. But of course dissertations are never solely about scholarship and for their mix of assistance, distraction, friendship, and fun, I want to thank Megan Biddinger, Urmila Venkatesh, Ethan Konnett, Dave Belding, Sarah Gerk, v Bob Rich, Charlotte Trautman, Ezequiel Berdichevsky, Stacey Kartub, John Darnielle, Eric Rekeda, and Matt Ides. Lastly, I want to thank my family for the comfort and support they offered throughout the process. My sister Kelly and her husband Rick have been so good to me and the two new additions to the family that came along in the course of this project, Ella and Will, were a much needed source of levity and I love them very much. While the dedication is to my grandfathers, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my loving grandmothers, Audrey Smith and Verna Wittmann. And finally, none of this would have been possible without the love and support of my parents, Bill and Marilyn. Mom and Dad, I am finally done, and I cannot thank you enough for everything that you have done over the years to help make it happen. vi Contents Dedication............................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgments..............................................................................................................iii Chapter One.........................................................................................................................1 Introduction: The U.S. Culture Industry and the Pacific World Chapter Two.......................................................................................................................23 Pioneering the Pacific Circuit, 1850-1859 Chapter Three.....................................................................................................................92 Colonialism’s Popular Culture: U.S. Entertainers and Hawai’i, 1848-1863 Chapter Four....................................................................................................................132 Around the World with the General Tom Thumb Company Chapter Five.....................................................................................................................191 James Bailey, Harry Kellar, and the Ascendance of Pacific Circuit, 1873-1883 Chapter Six.......................................................................................................................231 The “Big Black Boom” in Maoriland: African-American Entertainers and Colonial New Zealand Chapter Seven..................................................................................................................288 Conclusion Bibliography....................................................................................................................296 vii Chapter One Introduction: The U.S. Culture Industry and the Pacific World In the summer of 1853, New York City hosted its own version of the famous Crystal Palace Exhibition, which was the progenitor and model for the series of grand World’s Fairs staged during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The exhibition was a matter of national pride for the still relatively young nation, one intended to demonstrate the progress of American industry and culture to the world.1 As the exhibition was coming together, the New York Clipper newspaper editorialized that: “It has been suggested, and the suggestion meets with general favor, that arrangements be entered into with Barnum, to get his consent to have himself placed over the principal entrance to the Crystal Palace, as the greatest specimen of American manufacture to be found in this country.”2 Although perhaps in jest, the idea that Barnum, or more particularly the brand of commercial popular culture he personified, was the singular contribution of the United States