Fiery ALS from the Swedish Nightingale!

Jenny Lind

The illegitimate and unwanted daughter of a struggling schoolmistress, Lind became “the most idolized woman of her time, and the first woman ever to be memorialized in Westminster Abbey,” (Jenny Lind: The Swedish Nightingale, Shultz). She began performing at age 10, earning her first important role in 1838 and, by 20, she was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. In 1844, she began to perform throughout Germany and Austria, earning the respect and admiration of Robert Schumann, Hector Berlioz and Felix Mendelssohn and the moniker “the Swedish Nightingale.” Lind and Mendelssohn maintained a close relationship – the composer even attended Lind’s London debut. His unfinished opera Lorelei was written for her.

In 1850, Lind sailed to the United States for a celebrated concert tour managed and heavily promoted by American showman Phineas T. Barnum, who successfully whipped the American public into a mania even before her arrival. Over the course of her tour, after 93 performances, Lind tired of Barnum’s relentless commercialism and in June 1851, the two parted ways with Lind self-managing the rest of her American tour which lasted until May 1852.

Lind later settled in London with her husband and accompanist, Otto Goldschmidt, a German composer, pianist and student of Mendelssohn. In 1883, Lind became a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music.

Our testy letter is written to an unknown correspondent in French, not Lind’s native tongue, and has some grammatical errors and missing accent marks. Written on all four sides of a folded sheet. Folded with some dust staining and wear and in fine condition.