W. Ralph Emerson’s Lecture Circuit

W. Ralph Emerson’s Lecture Circuit

W. Ralph Emerson realized the potential to profit from his skills as a public speaker, and in 1869 he wrote to have his name added to list of speakers promoted by James Redpath’s Boston Lyceum Bureau. Representing Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Julia Ward Howe, Mark Twain, and others, Redpath began his service the previous year, and Emerson was eager to market his speaking talents as well: “My subjects are ‘American Traits’, ‘The Coming Age and the Coming Man’, and ‘Popular Art’” he wrote.