Lot 77

Gorgeous cdv of Isabella Hinckley, one of the first Americans to win critical recognition as a serious operatic singer. Performing in a series of Italian operas staged in New York and Brooklyn in 1861 and 1862, Hinckley was acclaimed for her stirring renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Hail Columbia”—both of which had been patriotically inserted in the librettos. Hinckley often sang the part of the page in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, a role that President-elect Abraham Lincoln saw her perform at New York’s Academy of Music on February 20, 1861. There is a variant of this cdv of her in the same dress in the Boston Library that is part of the Philp Hale collection. The image has beautiful tones and contrast with a couple of spots as seen. The darker ones left of the column might be in the original negative. By Silsbee, Case and Co., Boston.

 Opening bid – $45