Subasta Bidspirit | BARNUM P. T.: (1810-1891) Barnum

BARNUM P. T.: (1810-1891) Barnum on ´ the greatest invention of the age´ and resting after the ´ Lind enterprise´ - BARNUM P. T.: (1810-1891) American showman. A good A.L.S., P. T. Barnum , two pages (separate leaves), 8vo, Iranistan, Bridgeport (Connecticut), 7th August 1851, to ´Friend Roberts´ , marked Confidential . Barnum writes, in full, ´I feel deeply interested (though not pecuniarily to the amount of a farthing) in the introduction of the ”Fire Annihilator” into this country. From what I have read & heard from eye-witnesses I am convinced it is the greatest invention of the age. If you will ”post up” yourself and your readers on the subject you will greatly subserve the cause of humanity & I think the subject will prove interesting. I have been laying off here in quiet since the termination of the Lind enterprise and I have fully determined to rest tranquil the rest of my life unless I get starved into active business again. Call on me as you come this way´ . A letter of fine content. Some very light, extremely minor age wear, VG Jenny Lind (1820-1887) Swedish opera singer. Barnum had approached Lind in 1849 with a proposal to tour throughout the United States, giving 150 concerts in eighteen months. Realising that it would yield large sums for charity, particularly the endowment of free schools in her native Sweden, Lind demanded a fixed fee of $1,000 per concert, and in January 1850 Barnum agreed. The concert tour was extraordinarily popular, however by early 1851, Lind had become uncomfortable with Barnum's relentless marketing of the tour, and she invoked a contractual right to sever her ties with him. They parted amicably, Barnum having netted an estimated $500,000. Provenance: The present lot is accompanied by the original invoice issued by Paul C. Richards of Massachusetts, dated 10th October 1985.