An American Tradition: The Lecture Circuit

While reading the final pages of Russell Conwell's autobiography today, I realized he had "representation" for his touring (which included giving his famous "Acres of Diamonds" speech at Athenaeum Hall): Conwell entered James Redpath's Lyceum Lecture Bureau. Here's a passage on Redpath and the wider phenomenon, drawn from a contemporary "speakers' bureau" web site owned by PDA Entertainment Group, http://www.speakerspca.com/about-us.html:

An American Tradition
		Even back in the 1800’s the lecture and entertainment circuit was alive in America. In churches and halls from the Alleghenies to the Rockies, people hungry for information paid its dimes and dollars for an evening’s entertainment. Often the society into which they grouped themselves was called a "lyceum". In 1831 the American Lyceum Association, now called the International Platform Association, was founded to institute a chain of societies for weekly lectures and debates. The system flourished for years and the original lyceum format established the groundwork for our present day circuit. Daniel Webster was the country’s leading speaker in the 1830’s and was the founder and first president of the American Lyceum Association. The first lecture bureau and entertainment agency was started in 1867 when James Redpath heard Charles Dickens discuss the hardships of lecturing in America. He decided to do something about the novelist's complaint and founded Redpath's Lyceum Bureau, which not only made life easier for itinerant lecturers and entertainers, but also organized programs for winter entertainment in all the larger cities. From the beginning, James Redpath's lyceum bureau was a success and he represented such people as Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Charles Dickens.
		In 1906, Keith Vawter originated the idea of bringing summer culture and entertainment to the small towns and rural areas. He combined culture and comedy on the same platform in a traveling tent. Vawter married the respectability of the Lyceum to the spangles of the stage, naming his presentation "Chautauqua" after the cultural institution permanently established on Lake Chautauqua, New York. The "Chautauqua Circuit" separated the pulpit from the platform and substituted footlights for the religious dimness of the Sunday schoolroom. Once launched, it became a might influence on America’s entertainment, education, politics and culture. The Chautauqua ten programs were quire varied but the lecture was the program's backbone. Topping the list of orators were William Jennings Bryan, Robert M. La Folette and Calvin Coolidge. The serious portions of a program were tactfully leavened by performers, magicians, impersonators and puppeteers. Our web site is a tribute to the modern day lecture platform. To us, the birth date of the "Chautauqua Circuit" also symbolizes the birth of the modern lecture bureau and the entertainment agency, the first organized booking agency to arrange appearances by dignitaries and performing artists throughout the country. PDA is pleased to continue the proud tradition of Daniel Webster, the American Lyceum Association, Redpath’s Lyceum Bureau and the "Chautauqua Circuit".