September 22, 2011
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/22/2011
Newspaper, Harper's Weekly, New York.16pp., complete issue, disbound, February 10,1866, minor foxing, VG. From an interior page a wood-cut engraving "Blind Tom - The Celebrated Negro Pianist," 5" x 6," together with a column article of his biography. Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins (1849-1908) was an African American autistic savant and musical prodigy on the piano. The last child in a large slave family, he soon developed a fascination with sound, becoming a magnet for it. This first Afro-American superstar composed his first piece of music The Rainstorm at the age of 5 and was soon performing on the concert circuit throughout the Southern states for his owner General Bethune and the Bethune family. His most famed musical work was The Battle of Manassas, a virtuosic work for piano and vocal sound effects that recreated an early Confederate victory during the American Civil War. It remained the centerpiece of his repertoire throughout his long performing life. And, despite the war ending and slavery being abolished, Tom remained indentured to his master and thereafter was judged non compos mentis in a legal battle to gain custody of the lucrative performer. He never gained his true freedom or the financial fruits of his astonishing performance career.
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