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Jenny Lind A Nightingale Christmas

Images by (Charleston sketch) Morphart Creation & courtesy of (3) Wikimedia Commons; images courtesy of (The second Deluge & Panorama of Humbug) Library of congress & (Barnum & Poster) Wikimedia Commons; images by (illustrations-2) Lucy Mylin & courtesy of (Charleston Hotel) Library of Congress & (New Charleston Theater) South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina; images courtesy of (Token, portrait, glass bottles print, & paper doll set) Wikimedia Commons & (Tobacco Pouch) Library of Congress; images courtesy of (lithograph) Library of Congress & (Etching) Private Collection; images courtesy of (prize song poster, “greeting to america” sheet music) Library of Congress, (“The Herdsman’s song”sheet music) Johns Hopkins, Sheridan Libraries, Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection, & (the couple & Goldschmidt family) wikimedia commons

Photography Image credits belowPhotos 22Issue December 2024
An 1848 daguerreotype of the European superstar by noted English photographer William Edward Kilburn, known for his portraits of the British Royal family.A September 1850 daguerreotype of the famed Swedish soprano, who, it is said, inspired Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Snow Queen,” on which the popular film Frozen was based.Making Headlines: The Illustrated London News reported Jenny Lind’s departure from Liverpool aboard the paddle ship Atlantic in August 1850.A caricature of the hoopla occasioned by Lind’s arrival in New York City in September 1850; while the singer had sold out all three of her concerts in Charleston and captured the hearts of its residents, she received a much more genteel welcome in the Holy City, a welcome reprieve from the throngs of fans that crowded her in other American cities.Charles. G. Rosenberg, a member of Lind’s press corps, wrote a book about the American tour, noting that Charleston was “so different in its character from any city in the States which we had hitherto visited.”A Star Is Born: When P.T. Barnum of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus fame (above) learned of Lind’s unique talent, he saw an opportunity to introduce the “Swedish Nightingale” to North America. She agreed to the tour but required an advance of $187,500—about $6 million today.Artists of the day created parodies of Barnum’s publicity campaigns for her concerts, which earned him sold-out shows and enormous profits.Jenny Lind A Nightingale ChristmasLind hosted a Christmas party in her room at the Charleston Hotel (above). While the grand building had survived fires, the Civil War, and the 1886 earthquake, by 1959 it was in serious disrepair and demolished.The 1,200-seat New Charleston Theater.Her visage could be seen on most everything, including bronze tokens for her American tour.Sweden continues to honor Lind’s legacy, issuing this 50 kronor banknote in 2002 and a “Women’s Year” stamp (left) in 1975.A circa-1845 painting of Jenny Lind at the piano by J.L. Asher; during her US tour, pianos were made in a similar style and named for her.Jenny Lind A Nightingale ChristmasAll manner of housewares were created, from glass bottles and cast-iron vanity mirrors to the then-popular spool-style beds, which are still referred to as “Jenny Lind beds.Pouches of tobacco (above) and boxes and bands of Cuban cigars.A circa-1960 advertising print for Old Crow Kentucky bourbon, featuring Henry Clay toasting LindA circa-1850 Jenny Lind paper doll set with a wardrobe full of performance costumes, including the red dress for the opera “Die Hugenitten” (“The Huguenots”)An etching of Charleston in 1850 (above); Lind tour press corps journalist Rosenberg wrote that in Charleston, the singer was able to stroll to the Battery, unlike other American cities where crowds “would have dogged every step she took.”A lithograph of Lind with her first accompanist Giovanni Belletti and composer/conductor Jules Benedict.Poet Bayard Taylor penned the lyrics for “Greeting to America,” the $200-prize-winning song for Lind’s debut concert in the US. A highlight of her American shows was “The Herdsman’s Song,” also called “echo songs,” which showed off her vocal range.In 1852, Lind married her second accompanist, Otto Goldschmidt. The couple (above with two of their three children) lived in Germany and England. She died in 1887 at age 67, bequeathing much of her wealth to help educate the poor.

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Relive the Magic: When Jenny Lind Serenaded Charleston in 1850
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