original rare mid-nineteenth century antique american iron--pontiled medium sapphire "jeny lind" portrait quart calabash flask most likely manufactured by ravenna glass works, ravenna, oh. the deeply embossed glass features the portrait of swedish opera sensation, jenny lind, who's public image was heavily merchandised, resulting in a huge variation of glassworks with her portrait (and especially reproductions in the 20th century). this particular flask is identified as variation g-104. the vibrant blue is rare and sought after, with deeper striations in the ribbing all around the body. the bottle is finished with an applied round lip that has some slop-over. one side features the bust of jenny lind surrounded by a laurel wreath, and the other features an unidentified glassworks house with down-turning smoke floating from the chimney. crudities typical of its age and date of manufacture include stretch marks along the neck, and several bubbles in the body. the base has a large iron pontil mark with red residue. there are a couple of significant fissures on the inside of the bottle, which extend around the body and through the image of the glassworks house. the bottle is otherwise completely intact. lind was an opera singer who trained and toured europe from a young age, attracting a number of well-known admirers and becoming known as 'the swedish nightingale". her devotion and generosity to charitable causes was also a key aspect of her career and greatly enhanced her international popularity. in september 1850, she accepted a proposal to tour the united states with showman p.t. barnum. barnum's advance publicity made her a celebrity even before she arrived, and she received a wild reception of 40,000 people on arriving in new york harbor. tickets for some of her concerts were in such demand that barnum sold them by auction. the american press dubbed public enthusiasm for her "lind mania". barnum fueled public fascination with the singer by orchestrating events and negotiating lind-endorsed products (including jenny lind songs, clothes, chairs, and pianos). barnum promoted lind’s character--her modesty, benevolence, and selflessness--as much as her artistry. one scholar contends that because of barnum’s promotion, lind became "the standard for measuring not just sopranos, or even women artists, but women" throughout the 1850s. by early 1851 lind had become uncomfortable with barnum's relentless marketing of the tour, and she invoked a contractual right to sever her ties with him; they parted amicably. she continued the tour for nearly a year, under her own management, until may 1852.