‘Blind Tom’ abroad: race, disability, and transatlantic representations of Thomas Wiggins

Congenitally blind with cognitive disabilities that led to his diagnosis as an ‘idiotic genius’, nineteenth-century African-American musical prodigy Thomas ‘Blind Tom’ Wiggins was nonetheless one of the most popular performers of his age. This article examines the ways that Wiggins’ identity was constructed and mediated through transatlantic eyes through his introduction to British readers by American writer Rebecca Harding Davis and the publicity materials created from his 1866–1867 European tour. This article expands the geographical focus of Blind Tom scholarship, considering him as a transatlantic phenomenon positioned between boundaries based on his race, citizenship, disability, and talent.