589 - Oscar Wilde Signature, Dated to His 1882 Albany Lecture During His American Tour

Oscar Wilde Signature, Dated to His 1882 Albany Lecture During His American Tour Desirable ink signature, "Oscar Wilde, Jany, 27, '82,” on an off-white 4.25 x 2.5 folded sheet. In very good to fine condition, with scattered light stains, a missing upper left corner, and a horizontal fold passing between the first and last names of the signature, touching the extreme edge of the latter. Wilde signed this sheet on January 27, 1882, the same day he delivered his lecture 'The English Renaissance' at Music Hall in Albany, New York, less than a month after arriving in America for his lecture tour. The Albany Evening Journal reported an audience of about 200, with Wilde appearing on stage unattended, dressed in a black dress coat, double-breasted white vest, white silk necktie, black knee breeches, black silk stockings, and patent leather pumps. After the lecture, the Albany Argus found Wilde seated at a desk writing autographs for a number of young women, raising the possibility that this explicitly dated signature originated during his documented autograph signing that evening.