‘An extraordinary marvel’ at Lake George in 1897

Blind five-year-old pianist Laura White Hammond, “an extraordinary marvel,” raised money for her medical treatment one note at a time at Lake George in the summer of 1897.

“She plays only with the ball of the thumb on the right hand,” The Lake George Mirror reported on June 12, 1897.

Friends of the child’s family had organized a concert by the child at The Carpenter House, with proceeds deposited in a bank account for her benefit.

Additional concerts were being scheduled at various hotels around Lake George.

“The object of the entertainments in the future will be to add to this fund, so that when the season is over, her parents will be able to place her in a sanitarium for treatment, where it is hoped the vision of the little artist may be restored. No admission fee will be charged, but after each performance a collection will be taken up.”