
The Crustene Ranch Party, Texas (1941)
Crustene Ranch Party, Texas Radio Show Cowboys, Blackface 1941
Crustene Ranch Party, Texas Radio Show Cowboys, Blackface 1941
Original professional group photo of “Schepp’s Minstrel Revue” which included blackface performers, featuring Grover Scheppelman (d. 2-27-1938) of Louisville KY. Grover is the gentleman in the center of the photo. 8″x10″ Silver Gelatin Photo by: Schumacher, Nashville TN (Possibly pre 1920) Grover also toured with Al G. Field Minstrels, and Lasses White Allstar Minstrels during […]
Rube Band Minstrels, Chatfield, Minnesota. July 4, 1911.
It provides the history of minstrel shows, the ubiquitous nineteenth-century pop culture phenomenon which combined song, dance, and comic sketches based on racist stereotypes. This history of minstrelsy in 19th-century America, written by the son of a well-known black-face performer, is lavishly illustrated with images of playbills, cartoons and minstrelsy troupes, along with portraits and […]
Blackface is a racist form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows.
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the “happy-go-lucky darky on the plantation” or the “dandified coon”. In 1848, blackface […]
Fred Astair in blackface as “Bojangles of Harlem” in “Swingtime”, 1936.
The Minstrel Encyclopedia, publisher advertising flyer. By Walter H. Baker Co. Printed in 1921, Hamilton Place, Boston.
A 1930’s ticket to the “Regular Fellows Minstrel Benefit of Ninth Street U. B. Church at the Hamilton High School Auditorium.” This was Hamilton, Ohio’s second high school, built at N. Sixth and Dayton Streets, operating from 1915 until 1959.
7th Annual Minstrel Show Program. Will Rogers Auditorium, Fort Worth, Texas. April 16, 1954
Rosendale, NY. Fair St. Club Minstrels Show, 1942.
Blackface minstrel poster for Wm. H. West’s Big Musical Jubilee. The caption at the bottom reads: “The Uncertainty Of A Sure Thing”.
Carroll Johnson, Tom Lewis, George B. Mack and Edward Howard.
1937 Comedic Duo Molasses ‘n’ January Black-Face Comedians.
”Theatrical performance featuring a bearded actor and a young black man portrayed by a white actor” 1900’s
A young black man portrayed by a white actor.” 1900’s
Elks of New Orleans, 1921, selling pralines to raise money; check marks identify 1) H.D. Johnson and 2) Mike Culligan Harry D. Johnson Photograph Collection Biography: Harry D. Johnson
Negro Maskers. St. Joseph’s Night, 1940 — Unmasked Indians “Making Music.” Photogapher: Robert Tallant
Even by minstrel show standards, Cotton Watts was far more extreme and offensive than most blackface comedians of his time. This clip includes the classic “Lion Tamer” bit and an excellent dance routine in “slap shoes.” This is a clip from “Yes Sir, Mr. Bones” (1951). Read about the history of blackface and minstrel shows […]
Ches Davis and Emmett Miller. “Yes Sir, Mr. Bones” (1951).