“The Distinguished Lily-Consumer of England, Oscar Wilde, Reached New York – An Interview With the Utterly Utter Young Man” – 1882 newspaper headline
Did you know that Oscar Wilde’s famous quip “I have nothing to declare but my genius” was spoken upon his arrival in New York City? Or that most of the surviving photos of Wilde were taken right in Union Square? In 1882, before he had written his famous plays (or much of anything but a few poems), Oscar Wilde was already a self-made celebrity. He toured North American lecturing on Aestheticism, visiting cities, towns, and even a remote frontier mining camp, but ultimately spent more time in New York than in any other North American city.
Join us as we explore Gilded Age New York City and the people and places Wilde visited. Our distinguished tour guide John Cooper has spent decades researching Oscar Wilde with particular focus on his time in New York City. Mr. Cooper is a long-standing member of the Oscar Wilde Society in London, a prominent member of the Oscar Wilde Society of America, the Business Manager of the Victorian Society In America, the moderator of the Oscar Wilde Internet discussion group at Yahoo, and a contributor to Oscholars, the Oscar Wilde academic journal.
TICKETS: $15 cash only. Meet at 1:00 p.m. sharp on the northeast corner of Madison Square Park at 26th Street and Madison Avenue. Limited to 20 participants, with priority given to those who previously RSVPd with Samuel Sobek. All others will be first-come, first served.
