Some years ago, a friend and I were visiting a nostalgia convention when we came upon a vendor who was actually selling vintage items. He was one of the few; there were mostly tables with DVDs…
Tag: bert williams
Bert Williams in black face on sheet music
Posted in Black history, Broadway plays, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, Music, and Performers
I could tell there was another clear frame behind the one with a sheet-music cover of a black woman in orange kerchief lovingly holding a white child in night clothes. I wasn’t sure who was…
Blackface makeup in a tube
Posted in Personal items, Plays, theater, and Tins
My friend Rebecca alerted me to the bright yellow tube in the vendor’s case. On the front was a man in blackface with huge white lips wearing a tux and white gloves, and the product…
Cakewalk postcards at auction
Posted in Postcards
My auction buddy Janet collects vintage African American postcards. Like me, she can’t stand the ugly ones that stereotype us as black people. At auction recently, she picked up a batch of cards, including three…