Print: "Castle-Garden, New York, 1852"
1852 (Date manufactured/created)
7.25 in H
X
14.25 in W
Print showing Castle Garden in New York City soon after Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind's year-long tour of North America, which began in New York City; Lind gave her first two concerts at Castle Garden.
The print, taken from a book, is essentially black and white but has a pale grey-green background that gives a sense of dimension and brightness. The landscape view shows the fortress-like building (which began as a fort during the War of 1812) and the walkway leading to its entrance from a ticket office building at the right. The top of the building is a monitor story with windows all around, and on top of that flies an extremely large American flag. Many people stroll the grounds, the ladies wearing the fashionable full-skirted gowns, well-covered with their shawls, capes, and deep bonnets, while the gentleman are attired in suits and tall top hats. Several children are included in the scene, and one boy is shown rolling a hoop. Several young trees grace the grounds, suggesting a park-like setting. In the background a number of vessels can be seen on the water including sailing ships, and a steamboat with masts for sails.
Although the print makes no reference to Jenny Lind or her performances, the site undoubtedly became well-known as a result of her concerts there, and a print such as this would be a desirable item to many people. At the bottom left an inscription reads, "Drawn from Nature by G. Hayward, 120 Water Street, N.Y." and continuing at the right, "for D. T. Valentine's Manual, 1852." "Valentine's Manuals," published between 1841 and 1870, were properly titled Manual of the Common Council of the City of New York. They contained government information, election results, statistics about various institutions in the city, and financial summaries. They also contained maps, woodcuts and lithograph prints such as this one, which people often removed for framing. They are considered the first illustrated histories of New York City. In 1855, three years after this print was published, Castle Garden became an immigrant processing center, and it served in that capacity until 1890. (Ellis Island's immigration center opened in 1892.) Today, Castle Garden is known as Castle Clinton National Monument and is in Battery Park, New York City.
Jenny Lind (October 6, 1820 - November 2, 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, popularly known as The Swedish Nightingale. The exceptional quality of her voice was recognized when she was young, and she received training at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Sweden, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. She reached high acclaim in Europe, and was especially popular with English audiences prior being engaged by P. T. Barnum to give a concert tour in North America in 1850-1851. Lind, previously unknown in the US, was heavily promoted by Barnum, creating an insatiable demand for concert tickets and the innumerable consumer products that were manufactured with her name or general likeness. "Lindmania" took hold of the popular imagination and continued for decades though Lind's time in America was relatively short. While in America, Lind married her accompanist, Otto Goldschmidt. The couple later settled in England and raised three children. Lind became a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music in London. She is buried at the Great Malvern Cemetery in Malvern, Worcestershire, England.
The print, taken from a book, is essentially black and white but has a pale grey-green background that gives a sense of dimension and brightness. The landscape view shows the fortress-like building (which began as a fort during the War of 1812) and the walkway leading to its entrance from a ticket office building at the right. The top of the building is a monitor story with windows all around, and on top of that flies an extremely large American flag. Many people stroll the grounds, the ladies wearing the fashionable full-skirted gowns, well-covered with their shawls, capes, and deep bonnets, while the gentleman are attired in suits and tall top hats. Several children are included in the scene, and one boy is shown rolling a hoop. Several young trees grace the grounds, suggesting a park-like setting. In the background a number of vessels can be seen on the water including sailing ships, and a steamboat with masts for sails.
Although the print makes no reference to Jenny Lind or her performances, the site undoubtedly became well-known as a result of her concerts there, and a print such as this would be a desirable item to many people. At the bottom left an inscription reads, "Drawn from Nature by G. Hayward, 120 Water Street, N.Y." and continuing at the right, "for D. T. Valentine's Manual, 1852." "Valentine's Manuals," published between 1841 and 1870, were properly titled Manual of the Common Council of the City of New York. They contained government information, election results, statistics about various institutions in the city, and financial summaries. They also contained maps, woodcuts and lithograph prints such as this one, which people often removed for framing. They are considered the first illustrated histories of New York City. In 1855, three years after this print was published, Castle Garden became an immigrant processing center, and it served in that capacity until 1890. (Ellis Island's immigration center opened in 1892.) Today, Castle Garden is known as Castle Clinton National Monument and is in Battery Park, New York City.
Jenny Lind (October 6, 1820 - November 2, 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, popularly known as The Swedish Nightingale. The exceptional quality of her voice was recognized when she was young, and she received training at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Sweden, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. She reached high acclaim in Europe, and was especially popular with English audiences prior being engaged by P. T. Barnum to give a concert tour in North America in 1850-1851. Lind, previously unknown in the US, was heavily promoted by Barnum, creating an insatiable demand for concert tickets and the innumerable consumer products that were manufactured with her name or general likeness. "Lindmania" took hold of the popular imagination and continued for decades though Lind's time in America was relatively short. While in America, Lind married her accompanist, Otto Goldschmidt. The couple later settled in England and raised three children. Lind became a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music in London. She is buried at the Great Malvern Cemetery in Malvern, Worcestershire, England.
2012.010.001