Famous singer in SF 1910 photocollage

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$350.00

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A wonderful photocollage, 6 x 7 3/4 inch gelatin silver print on heavy paper.

This has no photographer's ID, only a pen inscription on the verso with the number "17816" and "Madame Tetrazzini Singing at Lotta's Fountain - Christmas Eve 1910 San Francisco."

Louisa Tetrazzini was a great Italian-born opera singer, who made her American debut in San Francisco in 1905. She had some problem getting permission to sing in New York. According to Wikipedia: "After some legal difficulties in New York that blocked her from performing, she held a press conference and declared, "I will sing in San Francisco if I have to sing there in the streets, for I know the streets of San Francisco are free." This line became famous. She won her legal case, and her agent announced she would sing in the streets of San Francisco. On a crystal clear Christmas Eve in 1910, at the corner of Market and Kearney near Lotta's Fountain, Tetrazzini climbed a stage platform in a sparkling white gown, surrounded by a throng of an estimated two to three-hundred thousand San Franciscans, and serenaded the city she loved."

This is possibly an actual photograph of that event, but there is something about the lighting and the background that makes me think this has been artfully constructed from several photographic images. Despite the lack of imprint, this appears to be a genuine vintage photograph. There's just a slight sense of handling.