A handsome head-and-shoulders original photograph signed and inscribed in black ink: To Prof. Hammond with kindest regards and souvenir of our artistic collaborations, from John McCormack.

The famed Irish tenor John McCormack commanded a wide repertoire of operatic roles and popular songs. He gave his first important operatic performance in 1907 at Covent Garden in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana, becoming the theater's youngest principal tenor. He was particularly renowned for his breath control, singing 64 notes of Mozart's "Il mio tesoro" (from Don Giovanni) in one breath.