?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500
(MUSIC.) BETHUNE, THOMAS "BLIND TOM." Tom, The Blind Negro Boy Pianist, Only 10 Years Old. "The Oliver Gallop." Engraved sheet music, five pages, large 4to; some wear at the spine (but tight); stains to top and bottom. Boston: Ditson, 1860
rare piece of early music by blind tom. The title "The Oliver Gallop" was named for Tom's owner, Perry H. Oliver. Thomas "Blind Tom" Bethune was born on May 25, 1849 with a condition that doctors today would diagnose as "autistic savant"--one of only 100 recorded cases in medical history. Tom's father Domingo Wiggins, a field slave, and his mother Charity Greene were purchased at auction by James Bethune of Columbus, Georgia. Tom, a sickly looking infant was thrown in at no extra cost. From infancy, Tom displayed an uncommon talent for music, and by the age of six was entertaining people on the plantation. By eight, Tom was publicly presented throughout the state by Colonel James. Soon after, Bethune hired Tom out to Perry Oliver, a tobacco planter who promoted him around the country. In 1864, Bethune convinced Tom's natural parents to appoint him Tom's legal guardian. In the end, Bethune and others made a fortune from the talents of Blind Tom, who though well fed and clothed never enjoyed the benefits of his earnings.
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