A talented young woman, possibly the most highly regarded musician of her generation, descends upon the city of New Orleans. Her concert tickets sell for exorbitant amounts, people travel from all over the region to attend, and locals clamor to get a glimpse of her. A mania for all things related to the star sweeps the city. Merchandise with her face and name, mostly unauthorized by her, is sold in shops far and wide. Everyone gets in on the craze, and the economic impact on the city is measured in the millions of dollars.
Jenny Lind, ca. 1850, oil painting by George Peter Alexander Healy. HNOC, 1979.23
While this description certainly sounds like it could apply to Taylor Swift’s visit to New Orleans as a part of her Eras Tour, it actually references a much earlier star: the incomparable opera and concert singer Jenny Lind. The “Swedish Nightingale” graced New Orleans back in 1851 to huge anticipation and acclaim, drawing parallels with today’s tour juggernaut (Taylor’s Version).
The City Put Its Best Foot Forward
Jackson Square as it would have appeared when Lind visited the city, 1853, by David B. Gulick. HNOC, 1958.43.6
Just as city officials have worked to make the whole place shimmer for Taylor’s visit, the elite of New Orleans made sure the city impressed Jenny Lind. When Lind stepped off the steamboat on the Mississippi, she was greeted by a brand-new Jackson Square, recently renamed for the victorious Battle of New Orleans general. Completing the picturesque backdrop were a grand, newly-built cathedral, freshly-renovated Cabildo and Presbytère buildings, and the just-completed Pontalba apartment buildings. Several thousand city residents turned out to greet her, creating what the Daily Crescent described as “a very lively and animated scene.”
Lind’s accommodations within the Upper Pontalba Building were “furnished with uniform neatness and elegance.” Her quarters opened onto a balcony with French-imported iron railings, over which she waved her handkerchief to adoring fans. Her hostess, the Baroness de Pontalba, ensured that she wanted for nothing, even bringing in a Parisian chef to prepare her meals. Having no Superdome to fill, Lind performed at the elegant St. Charles Theatre, where many of the finest performers of the era also played. Lind originally planned to give twelve concerts while she was in town; in the end, she held 13.
She Brought a Flood of Fans
The Second Deluge: First Appearance of Jenny Lind in America, 1850, by W. Schaus. Courtesy of the Library of Congress, 2018647818
Huge throngs descended upon every city Jenny visited, and her time in New Orleans played out similarly. Crowds came from as far as Kentucky, Mississippi, and Alabama, and spare tenements were put to use as extra hotel space. With these visitors came pickpockets, swindlers, and increased police presence. Traffic had to be rerouted, with St. Charles Avenue being turned into a one-way street on the nights of her concerts to control the flow of carriage traffic.
Locals welcomed the visitors and the economic boon that they brought. The Daily Crescent described it as “a golden harvest” for the merchants, and one spokesman said he would be happy to have a Jenny Lind in the city every winter.
Her Merchandise was Everywhere
This souvenir program was one of the few “official” pieces of Jenny Lind merchandise available, but unofficial products using her name and image abounded.
Concert program, 1851. HNOC, 86-2319-RL
Swifties who don’t have tickets to see Taylor live can still get official merch, but that was not the case for fans of the 19th-century star. Most of the merchandise bearing Lind’s name and image had no official connection to her at all. Jenny Lind shirts, ties, handkerchiefs, opera hoods, and perfumes all made an appearance in the city. Sculpted busts, engravings, and daguerreotypes of her were widely available. One enterprising butcher in the Poydras Market even advertised Jenny Lind sausages! None of these products were endorsed by the singer, but any association, however tenuous, proved profitable. A writer for the Commercial Bulletin estimated—perhaps exaggeratedly—that “a million or two” had been “promiscuously expended” by Lind’s admirers.
The City Showed Its Appreciation
Portrait of Jenny Lind by Gaston de Pontalba, courtesy of Bernard de Pontalba, LI-000351.1
The mayor has announced that Taylor Swift will be receiving a ceremonial key to the city while she’s in town. That is a thank-you not only for the economic impact of her visit, but also out of admiration for her philanthropy. Swift has made multimillion dollar donations to food banks at each stop of her tour.
Likewise, Jenny Lind was arguably as famous for her sweet demeanor and charity as she was for her voice. Lind used much of the money she earned performing to endow free schools in her native Sweden, but she also made sizable donations in the cities she visited. In New Orleans she made significant contributions to many organizations, including several orphanages, such as the Society for the Relief of Indigent Widows and the Firemen’s Charitable Association. These organizations in turn made sure to show their gratitude. Some 50 residents of the Catholic Girls’ Orphan Asylum visited Lind to deliver a flower bouquet. And when 2,500 firemen, resplendent in their dress uniforms, passed by her gallery in their annual parade, they lifted their hats and bowed as Lind waved her handkerchief and bowed to them.
Her Time in New Orleans was an Unmitigated Success
The quality of Lind’s voice was such that even the experienced critics of the New Orleans concert scene struggled to describe it, but after 13 sold-out performances, everyone seemed to agree that her time in New Orleans had been as successful artistically as it had been economically.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has received overwhelmingly positive critical reviews and is currently the highest-grossing tour of all time. The full extent of its economic and cultural impact on New Orleans isn’t known yet, but one thing’s for sure: if history is any indicator, her reception by the city will be truly memorable.
About the Historic New Orleans Collection
Founded in 1966, the Historic New Orleans Collection is a museum, research center, and publisher dedicated to the stewardship of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South. Follow HNOC on Facebook and Instagram.
