I have nothing to declare except my genius. -- Oscar Wilde On this day in 1881 Oscar Wilde embarked for America and a year-long lecture tour on such topics as The House Beautiful and The Decorative Arts. He may or may not have told passengers that the roaring ocean does not roar, or told a customs agent that I have nothing to declare except my genius, but the captain did apparently express his regret at not having Wilde lashed to the bowsprit on the windward side. Thousands flocked to see and hear him, and many so took to heart his proclaimed mission to make this artistic movement the basis for a new civilization that craft societies and museum patronage blossomed in his wake. Letters home had Wilde crowing that he was a bigger hit than Dickens, the personal adulation necessitating three secretaries: One writes my autographs all day for my admirers, the other receives the flowers that are left really every ten minutes. A third whose hair resembles mine is obliged to send off locks of his own hair to the myriad maidens of the city, and so is rapidly becoming bald.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 17:24:20 +0000
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