2020-07 2 sessions
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/23/2020
CDV showing a young Tom seated while holding the sheet music for The Rain Storm. W.L. Germon: Philadelphia, n.d., ca 1868. The Rain Storm, Tom's first musical composition, was reportedly written when he was only 5 years old. The sheet appears to be the 1865 publication. Music historian James Monroe Trotter (1842-1892) wrote in Music and Some Highly Musical People (1882), "Listen to his own Rain Storm and...you will look with wonder upon this musical musician, and marvel that the piano forte can imitate so closely the sounds made by the angry elements." Notably, Trotter also averred that Blind Tom was "unquestionably and conspicuously the most wonderful musician the world has ever known." Two small spots of discoloration, some toning to card edges. Imprint on recto and verso. Very scarce. The story of Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins (1849-1908) is one of beauty and tragedy intertwined. He is described by many today as an autistic savant and was presumed to be mentally deficient in his lifetime, described by many contemporaries as nothing more than a human parrot. Such discussions often overshadow his artistic achievement. He demonstrated a preternatural skill in playing the piano, was able to memorize long passages both music and speech, and possessed an uncanny ability to recreate almost any sound he heard. Belying his supposed "idiocy," he wrote and published music and continuously toured throughout the United States, including the western frontier, as well as internationally most of his life. Born into slavery in Georgia, he was purchased as a young child with his parents by General James Neil Bethune (1803-1895). Blind at birth, Tom's musical talent was recognized early and Bethune leased Tom to a Barnum-style spectacle producer at the tender age of 8. He performed as often as four times a day earning his master over $100,000 a year. In 1860, he visited Congress and played for President James Buchanan, possibly the first featured performance by an African American at the White House. He almost certainly earned more than any other pianist of the day, though it is the tragic reality that his earnings went to neither him nor his family. Despite the outcome of the Civil War, Tom by any practical measure never seems to have gained his own freedom. Declared non compos mentis, General Bethune applied for Tom's guardianship and continued to exploit his labor. In 1875, Bethune transferred management of Tom to his son John. After John's death, Tom was at the center of a fierce custody battle. In the proceedings, he is often written about as though he was property, rather than a person. Even in 1895, when Bethune was on his deathbed, the New York Times headline read, "The Owner of 'Blind Tom' Ill." Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins (1849-1908) was an African American musical prodigy on the piano. He had numerous original compositions published and had a lengthy and largely successful performing career throughout the United States. During the 19th century, he was one of the best-known American performing pianists. Although he lived and died before autism was described, he is now regarded as an autistic savant.
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