208

George A. Smith.

Letter cutting off Wilford Woodruff's free tickets to the Salt Lake Theatre.

Salt Lake City, UT, 20 October 1874
Letter Signed as Trustee in Trust to Wilford Woodruff. One page, 8 x 5 inches; folds, faint dampstaining, two chips in upper margin; encapsulated in mylar.

  • Notes: "Dear Bro., you will please take notice that the theatre tickets you have been in the habit of receiving will be discontinued from this date." 

    The Salt Lake Theatre opened in 1862 with Church funding, under the immediate direction of Brigham Young, who declared "The people must have amusement as well as religion." It was intended to generate additional revenue for other building projects. By 1873, attendance and profits were down. Here, Brigham Young's First Counselor George Albert Smith (1817-1875), a first cousin of Joseph Smith, acts in his role as the Trustee in Trust, heading the Church's financial operations. He cuts off free tickets for the venerable Wilford Woodruff--presumably as part of a larger effort to correct the theater's finances, rather than as any kind of punishment.  

    Provenance: collection of Larry Faria.
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