[Geo. P. Rowell & Co's American Newspaper Directory, containing Accurate lists of all the newspapers and periodicals published in the United States and Territories, and the Dominion of Canada, and British Colonies of North America; together with a description of the towns and cities in which they are published, 1870] Page: 81
872 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
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THE MEN WHO ADVERTISE.
Museum he was made to appear eleven years of age, and was placarded as
the smallest dwarf ever known. The exhibition was very successfill in
America, and a year or two after Tom was taken to Eng.lalnd. where all the
arts of advertising were bro)lught into requisition. A brief engagement was
made with the Princess's 'Theatre, the General was invited into the houses of
Baron Rothschild and others of the nobility, and the Queen gave a private
interview. The money coined in England was very great, arnd subsequently
as profitable tours were taken in France and Germany.
As we descend later in time, we tind accounts of the Jenny Lind excitement.
Nothing similar to it had ever been known before, and it will probably
never happen again. The enthusiasm was tremendous. Seats soll for
prices for which a house might be obtained, the pleasure of the people who
attended was ulllounded, and the golden stream of wealth flowed unceasingly
into the treasury of Barnum. Her faime was great before she arrived here,
but the impressario had forestalled public opinion; the press was filled for
months previous with descriptions of Jenny, her goodness, her benevolence,
and the unaffected simplicity of her manners, and the qualities of her voice,
one of the most sympathetic and flexible ever known, were expatiated upon
by the editors, who seemed to have gone mad. Pictures were to be found in
every shop window, and every apprentice and shop-girl knew all the particulars
of the career of the Swedish nightingale. Advertisements were inserted
everywhere, and nothing was left nnattempted to cause a general intoxication
of the public mind. For weeks after her arrival in America the excitement
was unabated. Ter rooms were thronged by visitors, including
the magnates of the land in both Church and State. The carriages of the
wealthiest citizens could be seen in front of her hotel at nearly all hours of
the day, and it was with some difficulty that Barnum prevented the "fashionables"
from monopolizing her altogether, and thus, as he believed, sadly
marring his interests by cutting her off fiom the warm sympathies she had
awakened among the masses. Presents of all sorts were showered upon her.
Milliners, mantua-makers, and shopkeepers vied with each other in calling her
attention to their wares, of which they sent her many valuable specimens, delighted
if, in return, they could receive her autograph acknowledgment.
Songs, quadrilles, and polkas were dedicated to her, and poets sung in her
praise. We had Jenny Lind gloves, Jenny Lind bonnets, Jenny Lind riding
hats, Jenny Lind shawls, mantillas, robes, chairs, sofas, pianos-in fact, everything
was Jenny Lind. Her movements were constantly watched, and the
moment her carriage appeared at the door it was surrounded by multitudes,
eager to catch a glimpse of the Swedish nightingale.
This was the luckiest hit of Barnum's genius. Three-quarters of a million
of dollars were received by the troupe, and the profits were probably not
less than a quarter of a million for Barnum, and Jenny's were one hundred
and seventy-six thousand. It was all obtained in ninety-five concerts, and
shows conclusively the eagerness of the American public to hear the songstress.
Among other undertakings of Barnum were plowing by elephants in
Connecticut, the Crystal Palace of New York, Phillips's Annihilator, and the
Illustrated Neios. In fact, he was engaged in so many enterprises that it is
681
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Geo. P. Rowell & Co. [Geo. P. Rowell & Co's American Newspaper Directory, containing Accurate lists of all the newspapers and periodicals published in the United States and Territories, and the Dominion of Canada, and British Colonies of North America; together with a description of the towns and cities in which they are published, 1870], book, 1870; New York. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc9264/m1/79/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .