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This media is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Artist
Unidentified Artist
Copy after
Samuel Root, 1819 - 1889 (Photographer)
Marcus Aurelius Root, 1808 - 1888
Sitter
Jenny Lind, 6 Oct 1821 - 2 Nov 1887
Date
c. 1850
Type
Photograph
Medium
Sixth-plate daguerreotype
Dimensions
Image/Sight: 7.1 × 5.9 cm (2 13/16 × 2 5/16")
Mat (brass): 8.2 × 7 cm (3 1/4 × 2 3/4")
Case open: 9.4 × 16.8 × 2.1 cm (3 11/16 × 6 5/8 × 13/16")
Case closed: 9.4 × 8.5 × 2.4 cm (3 11/16 × 3 3/8 × 15/16")
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Irene Cooper Hustvedt and Ysabel Cooper Pine
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
S/NPG.79.37
Exhibition Label
Born Stockholm, Sweden
Long a favorite in the opera houses of Europe, soprano Jenny Lind created a sensation when showman and impresario P. T. Barnum brought her to the United States in 1850 for a series of concert engagements. Whipped into a frenzy of expectation by Barnum’s masterful publicity campaign, the nation readily succumbed to “Lindomania.” Enthusiastic crowds mobbed the “Swedish Nightingale” at every stop throughout her tour, and concertgoers vied for tickets to her enormously popular performances.
P. T. Barnum fanned the flames of “Lindomania” by staging highly publicized auctions at which eager bidders fought for tickets to Jenny Lind’s performances. In Philadelphia, daguerreotypist Marcus A. Root bid the princely sum of $625 to secure a concert ticket. His outlay may also have earned him the opportunity for a portrait session with the acclaimed singer, for a daguerreotype of Lind by “M. A. & S. Root” was among those produced during Lind’s tour. In response to popular demand, daguerreotype copies—such as this version of the Root brothers’ original—enjoyed wide circulation.
Nacida en Estocolmo, Suecia
Favorita de largo arraigo en las salas de ópera europeas, la soprano Jenny Lind causó sensación en Estados Unidos cuando el artista y empresario P. T. Barnum la trajo al país en 1850 para una serie de conciertos. Enardecida por la magistral campaña publicitaria de Barnum, la nación sucumbió rápidamente a la “lindomanía”. Entusiastas multitudes asediaban al “ruiseñor sueco” en cada parada de su gira y los melómanos se disputaban los boletos para sus codiciadas presentaciones.
Para avivar la llama de la “lindomanía”, P. T. Barnum preparó subastas muy publicitadas donde los ansiosos postores se peleaban los boletos para las presentaciones de Jenny Lind. En Philadelphia, el daguerrotipista Marcus A. Root ofreció la espléndida suma de $625 por un boleto. Su derroche debe haberle ganado la oportunidad de una sesión fotográfica con la aclamada cantante, pues entre los daguerrotipos de Lind producidos durante su gira había uno de “M. A. & S. Root”. Para satisfacer la demanda popular, copias daguerrotípicas (como esta versión del original de los hermanos Root) gozaron de amplia distribución.
