On May 22, 1897, The New York Times published a brief item about Paul Laurence Dunbar, who was in England for a recital tour and to find an English publisher for his book Lyrics of Lowly Life.
May our English cousins appreciate Dunbar's clever verses, and as he is to lecture we trust he will be successful. To understand the dialect is not, however, so easy, but, then, Mr. Dunbar in his speech is precise and elegant, and so the contrast between the recital of his dialect verse and his ordinary talk will be the more effective.
"Books and Authors." The New York Times (New York, New York). May 22, 1897. Page 14.
At the time, Queen Victoria was the ruler of England, and she was the longest-reigning monarch in British history. During Paul's trip, Victoria's 60th anniversary on the throne was celebrated with a Diamond Jubilee. Dignitaries from around the world came to London, and the attention of the English people was focused on the festival. On the same day the notice about Paul appeared in The New York Times, there were several items about the Jubilee in The Times of London.
The program for the celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in Windsor includes the entertaining of 5,000 children in the private grounds of Windsor Castle, when the Queen and the Royal Family will be present.
The detachment of mounted police from Cyprus who will participate in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and join in the competitions at the Agricultural Hall arrived at Euston from Liverpool yesterday.
The steamship Britannia, which arrived at Plymouth last night from Bombay, had on board the representatives of the native States of India who are to form part of the guard of honor of the Queen on the occasion of the Jubilee celebration.
"The Queen's Reign." The Times (London, England). May 22, 1897. Page 14.
Paul's manager, Edith Pond, was unable to book enough engagements to make the tour profitable. Paul expressed his discouragement in letters to his fiancée Alice Ruth Moore and to the American literary critic William Dean Howells.
Mr. Paul Laurence Dunbar is reading in public in this country under the auspices of Miss Pond, the daughter of Major Pond, the American entrepreneur. Miss Pond had some doubts as to how the venture would turn out, for when engaging Mr. Dunbar she asked him if he could swim. He said he could. "Because," she added grimly, "we may have to swim back."
"Notes and News." The Onlooker (London, England). March 20, 1897. Page 332.
The papers are right. I am not making a fortune. I am having a pretty fair time, however. The Jubilee is killing everything.
Paul Laurence Dunbar to Alice Ruth Moore, June 10, 1897. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 5).
In the matter of reading here, I have done very little. The season was not open when we arrived here and little was to be done except in clubs and at hotel smoking concerts, a sort of work which I despised. I was put in upon programs between dancing girls from the vaudeville and clowns from the varieties. At one place I went on at midnight when half or three fourths of the men were drunk. Miss Pond cooly informed me that in such cases as this I was to tell vulgar stories!
Paul Laurence Dunbar to William Dean Howells, April 26, 1897. Howells family papers, Houghton Library, Harvard University. MS Am 1784 (133).