Barnum & Bailey in Europe
Before he left, Bailey fortified another circus he owned, Forepaugh-Sells, in order to defend his territory against the encroachment of the Ringlings. It didn't work. In 1900, the Ringlings completed a lucrative tour of every region in the country; including the once-forbidden Eastern seaboard. By the time Barnum & Bailey returned to the States in 1903, the Ringling Brothers Circus had established itself as the supreme circus in America.
Undaunted, Bailey resolutely planned to once again outdo the Ringlings. For his 1903 tour, Bailey went all out. Everything was outsized. He added cars to the train, girth to the tents, and the cast of the Barnum & Bailey opening spectacle alone numbered 1,250 persons. He also placed an order for some of the most expensive and remarkable circus wagons ever built.