Jenny Lind / Swedish Polkas / Litho Title / London 1847

Offered here is THE SWEDISH POLKAS for the Pianoforte dedicated to Mlle. JENNY LIND.  Composed by Antoine Wallerstein.  Printed only by Messrs. Robert Cocks & Co.   The reference guide to sheet music (Neighbour and Tyson) dates this music to 1847. The lithographed image states "On stone by R. P. C."

Johanna Maria Lind (October 6, 1820 – November 2, 1887), better known as Jenny Lind, was a Swedish opera singer, often known as the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she is known for her performances in soprano roles in Sweden and the rest of Europe, and for an extraordinarily popular concert tour of America beginning in 1850. She was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music from 1840.

Lind became famous after her performance in Der Freischütz in Sweden in 1838. After this, she was in great demand throughout Sweden and the rest of Europe for a decade. After three acclaimed seasons in London, she was invited to America by P. T. Barnum, where she gave 93 large-scale concerts. She earned $250,000 from these concerts. She returned to Europe, where she became a philanthropist, and, for some years, a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music.

By 1849, when Lind was in the midst of her third triumphant London season, P. T. Barnum had become aware of her success and the large audiences she attracted. Earlier in 1845 and 1846 Barnum had toured Europe with his first great attraction, General Tom Thumb. Although he had never heard Lind sing, Barnum knew that concert halls sold out wherever she sang and that she was known for her virtue and charity as well as for her voice. In October 1849, Barnum hired an Englishman, John Wilton, to locate Lind and make her an offer.

Lind wanted to fund new schools in Sweden, and Barnum's offer would allow her to earn a great deal of money. After checking Barnum's credit with a London bank, on January 9, 1850, Lind accepted Barnum's offer of $1,000 a night (plus expenses) for up to 150 concerts in the United States. Lind insisted on the services of Julius Benedict, a German conductor, composer and pianist with whom she had worked in England, and of Italian baritone Giovanni Belletti as assisting artist, since solo recitals were still unknown to American audiences. Benedict's fee was $25,000 and Belletti's $12,500. All told, Barnum had committed to $187,500 (plus expenses) to bring Lind and her musical troupe to America.

Few Americans had ever heard of Lind, and Barnum's first press release set the tone of the promotion. "A visit from such a woman who regards her artistic powers as a gift from Heaven and who helps the afflicted and distressed will be a blessing to America." Her biographical pamphlet and photograph proclaimed: "It is her intrinsic worth of heart and delicacy of mind that produces Jenny's vocal potency." Barnum heavily promoted her record of giving frequent benefit concerts for hospitals and orphanages. Before Lind had even left England, Barnum had made her a household name in America. In August 1850, before Lind left England, Barnum arranged for her to give two farewell concerts in Liverpool. A critic engaged by Barnum to cover the concert wrote of the enthusiasm of the Liverpool audience and its grief at Lind's imminent departure. This review was widely circulated in English, European and American newspapers a week before Lind arrived in New York on September 1, 1850. Over 40,000 people greeted her arrival, trying to get a glimpse of the star.

Barnum and Lind renegotiated their contract on September 3, 1850, giving Lind the original $1,000 per concert agreed to, plus the remainder of each concert's profits after Barnum's $5,500 concert management fee was paid. Lind was represented by her lawyer John Jay. Lind gave 93 concerts in America for Barnum, earning over $250,000, while Barnum netted at least $500,000. Lind gave the majority of her U.S. concert earnings to charities, including $1,000 to help build a church in Chicago.

Lind's first two American performances were given as charity concerts in New York City on September 11 and 13, 1850 at the Castle Garden Theater, with thousands attending and collecting an astonishing $10,141 and $14,200. The first "Regular Concert" was given on September 17, 1850.

In September 1850, Lind gave $5,000 to her Swedish friend, Poly Von Schneidau, to purchase a new camera for his Chicago studio – a camera later used to create one of the earliest images of Abraham Lincoln. On September 14, 1850, Von Schneidau took the first American daguerrotype of Lind at the New York Mathew Brady Studio. His photo of Lind is in the Library of Congress Collection.

In Washington, DC during the 1850 tour, Lind was the first performer in the newly renovated National Theater.  The "New National Hall" was enlarged to seat 3,400 people for her arrival. The entire police force was called out to keep order in the crowd clamoring for tickets. Congress was adjourned, and the Supreme Court justices attended.

N.B. Condition:  The music is in very good condition with minor foxing and a rough left margin (from being removed from an album at some point).  The two sheets (4 pages) measure 13 1/2 x 9 3/4 inches, and there is the signature of a previous (19th-century) owner in faded ink in the upper right corner.  Accompanying this music is a free companion piece, also by Antoine Wallerstein, dedicated to Monsieur Coulon (a famous dance teacher), entitled "Souvenir Champetre: Deux Polkas et Redowa.  Published by Wessel & Co. "Importers & Publishers of German Music." ( It is of interest in large part because of the catalogue of "German" music available in London in the 1840s.  It consists of 3 sheets and is missing a half-inch bottom left corner that does not affect the music or print in any way.)

Please see Other Items for further materials on opera, dance, music, and ballet.