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A cohesive and varied collection of original sheet music in early editions featuring the top composers
and performers of the day. Each song was born out of the Jim Crow genre developed by white enter-
tainer Thomas Dartmouth “Daddy” Rice in the early 1830s. Donning blackface, he developed his
stage character after allegedly witnessing a disabled slave hobble about while singing a traditional tune.
The Jim Crow persona became a widely used performance trope and soon became synonymous with
the degrading stereotype of the grinning and hapless negro.
Several works by African American minstrel composer and performer James A. Bland appear in this
lot. Bland abandoned his studies at Howard University to become one of the most popular Jim Crow
performers. He wrote an estimated 600 songs throughout his career including “Carry Me Back to
Old Virginny” which became the official state song of Virginia in 1940.
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400,
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