{"product_id":"25684-jones-matilda-sissieretta-joyner-rare-autograph-signature","title":"Jones, Matilda Sissieretta Joyner. (ca. 1868-1933) Rare Autograph Signature","description":"\u003cp\u003eRare autograph signature of the famed opera singer on a card printed \"The signature of\" and inscribed by her in manuscript \"M. Sissieretta Jones, 'Black Patti,' Providence, R.I.\". No apparent wear, matted and framed with a modern portrait print of Jones  wearing a full chest of medals she earned on her West Indies, Central America and South America tours. We are aware of only one other example of Jones's signature having appeared on the market in at least 20 years and she is certainly among the rarest of all opera autographs. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eCard, 2¼ x 4½; framed overall to 8.75 x 13.75 inches; 22.5 x 35 cm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJones was the greatest African American opera singer of her time, \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003ewith a repertoire that included grand opera, light opera, and popular music. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eTrained at the Providence Academy of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music, Jones made her New York City debut in 1888 at Steinway Hall, and four years later she performed at the White House for President Benjamin Harrison. She sang for four consecutive presidents and the British royal family, and was met with international success.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eIn 1892, she sang in New York’s Madison Square Garden for the Grand African Jubilee. A newspaper review of the performance compared her to famous Italian opera singer Adelina Patti, and dubbed her the “Black Patti,” a reference that Jones disliked. Jones sang in solo recitals, or with such groups such as the Patrick Gilmore band and the Fisk Jubilee Singers and at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In 1894, Jones worked with Antonín Dvořák, who was then the director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York. His interest in musical nationalism, an important component of his work in his native Czech lands, clearly led to his exploration of American Indian and African American music, since he counted Jones and the bass-baritone Harry T. Burleigh among his students in New York. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eThe highest-paid African American performer of her time, later in her career she founded the \u003cem\u003eBlack Patti Troubadours\u003c\/em\u003e (later renamed the \u003cem\u003eBlack Patti Musical Comedy Company\u003c\/em\u003e), a musical and acrobatic act made up of 40 jugglers, comedians, dancers and a chorus of 40 trained singers. She remained the star of the \u003cem\u003eFamous Troubadours\u003c\/em\u003e for around two decades, from 1896 to 1916. Besides the United States and the West Indies, Jones toured in South America, Australia, India, southern Africa, and Europe. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Schubertiade Music and Arts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":62738800705695,"sku":"25684","price":3000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0512\/4826\/7423\/files\/SissierettaJonesAS25684a.jpg?v=1774728444","url":"https:\/\/www.schubertiademusic.com\/products\/25684-jones-matilda-sissieretta-joyner-rare-autograph-signature","provider":"Schubertiade Music and Arts","version":"1.0","type":"link"}