Central Lyceum Bureau of Harrisburg stock certificate circa 1906 (Pennsylvania)

Nice perched eagle vignette at the top left of this cert. Unissued and not cancelled - punch holes at bottom. Dated 19__ but circa 1906 from company records. Measures approximately 11 x 8.5 inches.   

Established 1906. the Central Lyceum Bureau of Harrisburg was a professional lecture agency that booked speakers for the 19th-century American lyceum circuit. Operating out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the bureau arranged for prominent and notable speakers to travel to towns to deliver lectures, debates, and other performances.

The bureau acted as a talent agency for the lyceum movement, which was a national adult education and entertainment initiative. It coordinated with local lyceum committees to secure speakers and entertainers for events across the country. An advertisement in the April 1908 issue of Gettysburg College's newspaper advises groups to contact the Central Lyceum Bureau before booking "Lyceum Talent". The advertisement lists John S. Arnold as the manager and provides the bureau's address as 213 Walnut Street in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The lyceum movement began in 1826 and was a grassroots effort to spread knowledge and improve moral and civic life. Early lyceums relied on local speakers, but as the movement grew, commercial bureaus emerged to meet the demand for professional lecturers.

The "lyceum circuit" was a traveling route for speakers, which included notable figures like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, and Susan B. Anthony. These bureaus commercialized the movement, helping it grow into a lucrative and popular form of public entertainment and adult education in the mid-to-late 19th century.

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