Goshen toured with P.T. Barnum, who in true “Greatest Show on Earth” fashion billed him as “The Arabian Giant,” made up all kinds of stories of his exploits, and gave his stats as being anywhere from 7 feet, 11 inches tall to 8 feet tall and 475 to 620 pounds. The Franklin Township Library said in a photo caption note that he eventually left Barnum’s show because the tinkering with his stats led to challenges that he didn’t enjoy defending.

After his retirement in the 1880s, he settled in Middlebush, New Jersey, and gained the nickname the Middlebush Giant. His true origins were kept secret from the public during his performance years in the United States and were obscured by the many apocryphal biographies that were created to publicize him.  Just before he died, it seems Goshen made a deathbed confession to his pastor, a Rev. J.L. Le Fevre that his name was really Arthur Crowley and that he was born on the Isle of Man 60-70 years before.

The “Colonel” lacks any semblance of subtlety in this image, decked out in full fictional uniform and regalia.  The image is mounted to a typical card with a double gold border.  The edges are sharp, with some minor wear noted along the top edge of the card and near a very subtle crease. The reverse shows minor surface dirt and handling marks, and features a penciled notation reading “Col. R. Goshen / Age 28 / w (weight) = 475 / h (height) = 7, 11”.  The upper right corner of the reverse side shows miniscule rolling along the top edge.  Overall measurements are 2.4” x 4”.

A very neat photograph of a fixture of Civil War era pop culture.  A fun and interesting addition to any period image collection.   [cm] [ph:L]

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