FAMOUS GEORGIA MINSTRELS DOUBLE SIDED TENT SHOW BILL –EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS – STAMPED FOR HUGHES ARKANSAS

FAMOUS GEORGIA MINSTRELS DOUBLE SIDED TENT SHOW BILL –EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS – STAMPED FOR HUGHES ARKANSAS

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$125.00

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Item Code: 1309-647

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This is a printed herald, or advertising bill, for the Famous Georgia Minstrels, an all-Black traveling tent show that toured the rural South in the early 20th century. It is printed in black on salmon-colored paper, with a different design on each side.

The front announces "Famous Georgia Minstrels / The Only Attraction of Its Kind / A Big Gala Holiday / Two Hours of Dream, Mirth, Music and Comedy." The line "Everything New But the Name!" hints at the long life of the Georgia Minstrels name, which many different companies used for decades. Two woodcut illustrations fill the center. The first shows the show's large canvas tent with an American flag and a "Main Entrance" marquee, captioned "New Waterproof Canvas." The second shows the full company seated in the traditional minstrel semicircle with a dancer performing on a round platform at center. The performers are drawn in blackface makeup, a convention that Black minstrel troupes were expected to follow during this period. The text reads in part: "Mr. Nailor has expended a fortune in making this the Most Elaborate Show ever presented by an all Colored Company. The Best known Comedians, The Sweetest Singers, The Greatest Dancers, of the race are all here, gathered together under one head." Further lines advertise a "Show of Shows," "A Beautiful Chorus," "Singers and Dancers of National Reputation," "Vaudeville Acts Supreme," a "Grand Free Parade Daily," and the "Famous Georgia Minstrel Band," with "Night Performance Only – Rain or Shine."

The reverse is laid out horizontally in bold black wood type. It advertises the troupe's "Big Tent Theatre" and promises "A Sparkling Musical Melange," "The Funniest Show of the Year," and "An All-Star Company" with "Startling Novel Features." The center reads: "Don't Miss the Most Famous Colored Organization Ever Offered in One Single Theatrical Enterprise." A small woodcut of the tent carries the words "In the Big Waterproof Tent," along with "Watch for the Grand Free Parade at Noon" and "Nothing Objectionable Tolerated." The left panel has a woodcut of comic figures in slapstick poses, captioned "Fun Makers," drawn as caricatures in the style common to minstrel advertising of the period.

The front was left blank at the bottom so a local date could be added. It is rubber-stamped in purple "HUGHES ARK / TO NITE," for Hughes in St. Francis County, Arkansas. It carries the imprint of the Neal Walters Poster Co., Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a show printer that produced stock bills for tent shows, carnivals and circuses. A period pencil note at lower right reads "Colored Show About 1920."

Black-owned and Black-performed minstrel companies were among the largest employers of Black entertainers in this era. They launched the careers of many musicians, comedians and blues singers, even as they worked within the racist conventions demanded by white audiences and managers. Paper like this was meant to be thrown away after the show came through town, and survivors with a specific town stamp are scarce.

Condition: Good. The herald was folded for distribution and shows several fold lines, with short separations along some folds. There is light chipping to the edges and a small loss at the lower right corner of the front. The paper is evenly toned, with light soiling and handling wear consistent with age. The text and woodcuts on both sides remain bold and fully legible.

Dimensions: Approx. 9 1/2 in. x 23 1/2 in.   [cm][ph:L]

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