Comments on: Cakewalk postcards at auction http://myauctionfinds.com/2009/11/24/cakewalk-postcards-at-auction/ Uncovering Relics of Our Past Tue, 15 May 2012 02:23:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: sherry http://myauctionfinds.com/2009/11/24/cakewalk-postcards-at-auction/comment-page-1/#comment-33691 sherry Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:00:21 +0000 http://auctionfinds.weareblackwomen.com/?p=1219#comment-33691 Hi. This is great info about the postcards. I'll also pass it along to my auction buddy Janet. Good provenance. Sherry Hi. This is great info about the postcards. I’ll also pass it along to my auction buddy Janet. Good provenance.

Sherry

]]> By: Cakewalk dancers Rudy and Fredy Walker: sculptures by Carl Kauba « Songbook http://myauctionfinds.com/2009/11/24/cakewalk-postcards-at-auction/comment-page-1/#comment-33645 Cakewalk dancers Rudy and Fredy Walker: sculptures by Carl Kauba « Songbook Fri, 16 Mar 2012 05:07:33 +0000 http://auctionfinds.weareblackwomen.com/?p=1219#comment-33645 [...] that she had somehow connected the sculptures with a series of postcards — not these, but another set which I was able to identify as well –  bought by a friend at a previous auction, and learned a bit about the artist who [...] [...] that she had somehow connected the sculptures with a series of postcards — not these, but another set which I was able to identify as well –  bought by a friend at a previous auction, and learned a bit about the artist who [...]

]]> By: Jim R. http://myauctionfinds.com/2009/11/24/cakewalk-postcards-at-auction/comment-page-1/#comment-33626 Jim R. Fri, 16 Mar 2012 01:30:46 +0000 http://auctionfinds.weareblackwomen.com/?p=1219#comment-33626 Also, that mailing card features a doctored photo of Bert Williams from the set. Part of his leg is obscured by the dress of one of the women in the original photo from which this image is taken. His (too small) bowler hat is covered by the stamp. Also, that mailing card features a doctored photo of Bert Williams from the set. Part of his leg is obscured by the dress of one of the women in the original photo from which this image is taken. His (too small) bowler hat is covered by the stamp.

]]> By: Jim R. http://myauctionfinds.com/2009/11/24/cakewalk-postcards-at-auction/comment-page-1/#comment-33625 Jim R. Fri, 16 Mar 2012 01:26:50 +0000 http://auctionfinds.weareblackwomen.com/?p=1219#comment-33625 Hi, Sherry You've got a half a set of eight postcards created from photographs of Bert Williams, George Walker, Aida Overton (Walker), and Stella Wiley demonstrating the cakewalk. That's the easy part. Dating the photos is more difficult. Several online booksellers date them c.1896, with the following description: *Williams & Walker. Eight Williams & Walker Cakewalk Postcards. NY: Franz Huld, ca. 1900. Standard size. The postcards, which are captioned: Cake Walk (Negro Dance) Nos. 1-8, show photos of Bert Williams, George Walker, Aida Overton, and Stella Wiley doing various cakewalk steps. In No. 5 there is also a little girl. The dancers' clothes have been colored: Nos. 1-4 colored differently than Nos. 5-8 although the clothes are the same. On the address side, a man (Williams?) appears to be holding the rectangle where the stamp was to be pasted. Very Good. Unused. These 8 photos were taken for the American Tobacco Company around 1896 and used for a series of trading cards advertising Old Virginia Cheroots cigars. The photos were re-issued as lithographs and later as postcards. A complete set of all eight postcards in nice condition. The Williams biography, "Introducing Bert Williams" by Camille F. Forbes (2008) also dates the photographs 1896. The photos were made by the American Tobacco Company to be used in advertisements of their product Old Virginia Sheroots. However, the Oxford African American Studies Center dates the photos 1898 in one of its articles on Aida Overton Walker, saying: In 1898, a friend, Stella Wiley, convinced her to pose for an American Tobacco Company trading card. At the photo shoot, she met her future husband, George Walker, who, along with Bert Williams, had one of the most successful vaudeville acts of the day. Most of the others sites I've checked say that George Walker and Aida Overton first met in 1898 or 1899. They married on 22 June 1899. There is an excellent photo (evidently misdated 1904) of Williams & Walker wearing the exact same costumes at jasobrecht.com (Jas Obrecht Music Archive) a site which has several fine articles on Williams & Walker and Bert Williams separately. Scroll about half way down this page: http://jasobrecht.com.s142067.gridserver.com/bert-williams-george-walker-african-american-superstars/ Other sites date the photos c.1900. Regards, doc Hi, Sherry

You’ve got a half a set of eight postcards created from photographs of Bert Williams, George Walker, Aida Overton (Walker), and Stella Wiley demonstrating the cakewalk. That’s the easy part. Dating the photos is more difficult. Several online booksellers date them c.1896, with the following description:

*Williams & Walker. Eight Williams & Walker Cakewalk Postcards. NY: Franz Huld, ca. 1900. Standard size. The postcards, which are captioned: Cake Walk (Negro Dance) Nos. 1-8, show photos of Bert Williams, George Walker, Aida Overton, and Stella Wiley doing various cakewalk steps. In No. 5 there is also a little girl. The dancers’ clothes have been colored: Nos. 1-4 colored differently than Nos. 5-8 although the clothes are the same. On the address side, a man (Williams?) appears to be holding the rectangle where the stamp was to be pasted. Very Good. Unused. These 8 photos were taken for the American Tobacco Company around 1896 and used for a series of trading cards advertising Old Virginia Cheroots cigars. The photos were re-issued as lithographs and later as postcards. A complete set of all eight postcards in nice condition.

The Williams biography, “Introducing Bert Williams” by Camille F. Forbes (2008) also dates the photographs 1896. The photos were made by the American Tobacco Company to be used in advertisements of their product Old Virginia Sheroots.

However, the Oxford African American Studies Center dates the photos 1898 in one of its articles on Aida Overton Walker, saying:

In 1898, a friend, Stella Wiley, convinced her to pose for an American Tobacco Company trading card. At the photo shoot, she met her future husband, George Walker, who, along with Bert Williams, had one of the most successful vaudeville acts of the day.

Most of the others sites I’ve checked say that George Walker and Aida Overton first met in 1898 or 1899. They married on 22 June 1899.

There is an excellent photo (evidently misdated 1904) of Williams & Walker wearing the exact same costumes at jasobrecht.com (Jas Obrecht Music Archive) a site which has several fine articles on Williams & Walker and Bert Williams separately. Scroll about half way down this page: http://jasobrecht.com.s142067.gridserver.com/bert-williams-george-walker-african-american-superstars/
Other sites date the photos c.1900.

Regards, doc

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