The incredible night Oscar Wilde charmed gun-toting miners in Leadville, Colorado

Oscar Wilde’s Unlikely Triumph Among Leadville’s Silver Miners

In April 1882, Oscar Wilde came to Leadville, Colorado with his velvet coat and knee breeches to talk about art. The Irish writer spoke to rough silver miners at the Tabor Opera House while sick from the high altitude.

After his talk, the miners took him down to Tabor’s Matchless Mine in a shaky bucket for a whiskey banquet.

Wilde not only drank them all under the table but also found the now-famous saloon sign: “PLEASE DO NOT SHOOT THE PIANIST. HE IS DOING HIS BEST.”

The miners loved him so much they named a silver lode “The Oscar.”

The historic Tabor Opera House still stands today, waiting for you to walk where this unlikely friendship formed.

The Flamboyant Irishman Set Sail for American Fame

Oscar Wilde left Liverpool on Christmas Eve 1881 on the S.S. Arizona and landed in New York on January 3, 1882.

He came to America to promote Gilbert & Sullivan’s show “Patience” and share his ideas about art through talks.

The young Irishman gave his first lecture on January 9 at New York’s Chickering Hall about “The English Renaissance.”

American newspapers quickly became curious about the 27-year-old art lover, making fun of and praising his odd look and artistic ideas.

His Coast-to-Coast Tour Won Over Skeptical Americans

Wilde spoke at 141 places across North America during his 11-month trip.

By February, he smartly changed his topic to “The Decorative Arts” to connect better with American crowds. East Coast cities gave mixed reviews, with newspapers joking about his sunflower and lily symbols.

Despite the jokes, more people wanted to see him, and he filled rooms everywhere he went with his long hair and velvet knee pants.

Wilde Braved Rocky Mountain Passes to Reach Mining Country

Heading west in early April 1882, Wilde spoke in Denver on April 12 at the “Grand” Tabor Opera House. The next day he took a train through dangerous mountain paths to Leadville, Colorado.

Wilde called Leadville “the richest city in the world” for good reason – the busy silver town sat 10,152 feet high with 35,000 people living there.

The trip tested the city art lover before he faced the toughest crowd of his tour.

Silver Made Leadville as Rich and Dangerous as Any Frontier Town

More than 60 bars and brothels lined Leadville’s State Street in 1882, with men carrying guns openly downtown. The town had as many people as Denver, thanks to silver mines making $80,000 each month.

Horace Tabor became super rich by backing lucky miners and built the opera house in 1879 to show off the town’s wealth.

This Wild West boomtown was America at its most raw and rich, very different from Wilde’s fancy European life.

Miners Packed the Opera House to See the Velvet-Clad Dandy

On April 13, 1882, Wilde took the stage at Leadville’s Tabor Opera House to talk about “The Decorative Arts. ” They fixed up the theater with nice dishes, vases, and artwork to make it look fancy.

Rough miners and store owners filled the seats, curious about this strange visitor from across the ocean.

Wilde later said the miners “were polished and refined compared to the people I met in larger cities in the East” – a surprise from the fancy Irishman.

Altitude Sickness Couldn’t Stop His Stylish Performance

Wilde had trouble with the thin air at 10,000+ feet but kept going with his talk. He wore “a fancy black velvet suit, knee pants and black stockings, a Byron collar and diamonds on his shirt.”

The miners sat with guns on their laps as Wilde spoke in a flat voice about “Using the Aesthetic Theory for Outside and Inside House Decoration.”

His long hair and odd outfit amazed the tough workers who rarely saw such a sight in their mountain town.

Tough Miners Invited Him Down for an Underground Feast

After his talk, miners asked Wilde to join them for dinner at Horace Tabor’s Matchless Mine.

Wilde changed into “a slouch hat, corduroy coat, and tight pants,” but mine boss Charles Pishon gave him a rubber suit made for a very tall man.

They lowered the writer “down in a shaky bucket where it was impossible to look good” into the silver mine. This unusual dinner spot showed how the miners wanted to share their world with the foreign visitor.

Whiskey Flowed Freely But Wilde Stayed Steady

The underground dinner was simple, as Wilde later joked: “The first course was whisky, the second course was whiskey and the third course was whiskey!”

Stories claim “The miners got dizzy, but Wilde stayed cool and left showing no tiredness or drunkenness. ” Some tales say Wilde had to run the lift to get everyone out after they drank too much.

The writer proved he could handle his liquor better than men who worked with picks and shovels all day.

A Saloon Sign Caught His Eye as Perfect Art Criticism

Wilde stopped at the Silver Dollar Saloon across from the opera house during his stay. There he saw a sign above the piano warning customers: “Please do not shoot the pianist.

He is doing his best. ” The clever Irishman called this “the only sensible method of art criticism” he found in America.

The sign captured the frontier town’s mix of violence and humor, becoming one of Wilde’s favorite American stories that he shared for years after.

They Named a Silver Lode “The Oscar” in His Honor

Mayor David H. Dougan invited Wilde back to the Matchless Mine the next day to name a new silver lode “The Oscar.”

This honor usually went to famous visitors as a sign of respect from the mining community. Wilde drove a silver spike into the new lode, creating a lasting link between his name and Leadville’s mining history.

The gesture showed how fully the miners had accepted the unusual visitor despite his fancy clothes and artistic talk.

The Aesthete Proved He Could Outdrink America’s Toughest Men

Years later, Leadville miners remembered Wilde fondly as someone who “can drink any of us under the table and afterwards carry us home two at a time.”

Wilde praised the miners’ practical fashion sense, saying their “wide-brimmed hats” and cloaks were “the most beautiful piece of drapery ever invented.”

His Leadville adventure became a highlight of his American tour, showing his ability to connect across social classes.

The unlikely friendship between the aesthetic poet and rough miners became part of Colorado’s colorful history.

Visiting Tabor Opera House, Colorado

You can visit the Tabor Opera House at 308 Harrison Ave in Leadville to see where Oscar Wilde charmed silver miners with his art lecture in 1882.

Guided tours run Friday through Sunday from Memorial Day weekend through September for $15, with discounts for students and seniors. The 50-minute tours start every hour and include the Tabor museum with memorabilia.

Private tours are available by appointment at 719-486-8409.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• Ancient Puebloans and the 250-year golden age that rivaled the Aztecs
• Silverton, Colorado: the American town that Spanish Flu hit harder than anywhere else
• How 300 Tibetan guerrillas ended up in Colorado’s mountains with CIA instructors