Tim: The Story of Timothy H. O’Sullivan as a Young Apprentice at Mathew Brady’s Studio by Daniel A. Sheridan

Willy Wonka meets Gangs of New York and Let the Great World Spin The Story Begins on September 11th, 1850… Based on the life of Timothy O’Sullivan, Tim is a ten-year-old boy from sleepy Staten Island who is told he must apprentice at Mathew Brady’s daguerreotype studio in 1850. Tim takes the ferry over to York with his father and rides the omnibus up Broadway to Fulton Street. Across from Brady’s Gallery is Barnum’s American Museum filled with all its relics and wondrous curiosities. As Tim ventures inside, he takes us back into New York’s forgotten past and the history of photography. The story begins on September 11th, 1850, with Jenny Lind’s premiere concert at Castle Garden near Battery Park — a night that would be remembered for years to come, as the night when the Swedish Nightingale first sang in New York. All the city is infatuated with Jenny Lind. Great crowds surround her wherever she goes. She is the most sought-after celebrity by all the Broadway photographers, except that her manager, none other than P.T. Barnum himself, will not grant Brady access to Jenny Lind. But Brady shall not be thwarted, not with his observant young assistant, Tim…