uncle

I love the 'second take' expression on the tall guy.

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Curiouser and curiouser!, and we'd love to have this added to the group! you are also welcome to join the group if you wish :-)

PaperPal -- Please click on the "Invite this photo to..." link below the comment box, and we'll accept it. Glad the image suits.

This photo is mislabeled. I don't know the identity of the gentleman on the left, but he's definitely not P.T. Barnum.

The photographer's comment engraved on the negative is that Jack Barrett was with "Barnum," meaning "Barnum's show" which is Barnum & Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth. Barnum was long dead, but people still refer to the show by his name. No idea who the man on the left is. The right side of the negative indicates that Jack Barrett was 28 inches high. Cannot tell if it identifies the other man. The photograph almost certainly was taken at Madison Square Garden, where the B&B show opened every Spring. A check with Circus World Museum's index would reveal what years Barrett was with that show.

So is this the original Uncle Sam?

www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q100233651

From the "Convention Tickets" sign, I'm guessing this is the 1916 Republican Convention.

Isn't that Rand Paul dressed as Uncle Sam to the right of the elephant?

This is flippin' fantastic!!!!

—From The New York Times, June 9, 1916 The elephant mascot, Chin-Chin, is a four and a half foot tall midget [dwarf] elephant. Weighing 350 pounds it was brought to Chicago from New York to head the Sherman outdoor parades. The baby elephant wearing a blanket with the inscription “Sherman G.O.P., a United Party” spent the night in the Sherman headquarters on the second floor of the Congress Hotel. On orders of the hotel manager, the elephant was taken to the baggage room (as they check trunks there).  

People are so invested in divisive politics that they are tagging this fun, historical image with ridiculous, hateful tags. Sad.