?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
(MUSIC--MINSTRELSY.) Primrose and West, America'a Greatest Ologists. Lithographic poster 20 x 26 inches; paper evenly toned, framed [together with] Yours Truly, Primrose and West, a 16 page, folio, brochure with songs from Primrose and West's shows. New York: Carleston, Cavanagh & Co, circa 1897
a rare poster and songbook from america's first mixed race minstrel company. George Primrose (1852-1919) and "Billy" West (1853-1902) were the headliners in this mammoth troupe, sometimes called "The Forty Whites and Thirty Blacks." The Troupe was immensely popular, and famous for the "Cakewalk," a strutting dance. Early minstrels consisted of a minimum of fifteen men on stage in "Part One," arranged in semi-circle shaking tambourines as the curtain rose. In the center stood an elegantly attired "Interlocutor," while down stage, at each end were the gaudily dressed comedians, "Mr. Bones," and "Mr. Tambo." The quick repartee between the two traditionally made a fool of Mr. Interlocutor, whose duty it was to absorb their impudent punch lines to the delight of the audience." (Black Magic, page 27).
