Discrimination
Materials in this category are for Institutional sale only - to be contextualized for educational purposes.
Minstrelsy and Black Face in America
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Merrihew & Son, c.1876. Printed program outlining a full night of musical entertainments starring "The Gigantic Duprez & Benedict's Minstrels", a traveling minstrel group popular with the public in the 1870s. As might be expected, one of the biggest numbers includes black face/minstrelsy (one of the numbers is.....
Price: $100.00
Masks,Material Culture,Theater Costumes, Racism, Discrimination
New York, New York: Gustav Klippert, 1910s. Printed handbill advertising the sale of paper mache, gauze, wax, and satin masks for events ranging from costume balls to Christmas parties. Offerings include a large paper mache radish head "about one yard high", devil masks, imported French Domino satin masks for masquerades.....
Price: $275.00
Circuses and Carnival Entertainment,Hotels,Vaudeville,Minstrel and Depictions of Race
United States: 1910s-1930s. A whimsical collection of 1910s-1930s ephemera related to circuses and carnival acts, including illustrated letterheads, postcards, handbills, and hotel stationary. Collected by one individual who was, presumably, a traveling performer, it is a unique collection in that it contains stationary from the fancy hotels he (she?) was.....
Price: $3,200.00
History of Black Americans in Higher Education,Howard University, University of Chicago,Black Veterans of the First World War
Washington, D.C: 1914. A postal card postmarked April 18th, 1914 in Washington, D.C., sent from Uzziah Miner, an under-studied Black activist and veteran of WWI. At the time of this postal card, he was a Howard University Student seeking information about admissions to the University of Chicago. The message and.....
Price: $150.00
menu, program, racism, Hotel Men's Mutual Benefit Association, Crawford House
May 27th, 1898. A single-fold 12" x 9" menu and programme for an annual meeting of the Hotel Men's Mutual Benefit Association. Stereotypical racist imagery of a banjo player and dancer on the front cover. The blatant racism persists on the Programme and Menu page within. Each menu course is.....
Price: $135.00
Chromolithography,Metamorphosis,Transformation,Puzzle Game,Dress Up Games,Racism,Sexism,Ageism,Xenophobia,History of Discrimination in America
New York, New York: Ives, Blakeslee Co., c.1880. A charming box of children's puzzles, that doubles as a metamorphosis/transformation. In total there are five (5) different puzzles, each with its own character. This example is complete. The characters can be mixed and matched (hence the "metamorphosis") to create completely new.....
Price: $1,000.00
Patriotism in Advertising,Columbia,American Iconography,Early Cinema Depictions in Advertising,Mail-Order Medicines
Woodbury, New Jersey: G.G. Green, 1915. A beautifully designed 1915 almanac promoting mail-order medicines sold by G.G. Green. This particular Green almanac courts a more wealthy or up-market clientele. The front depicts Columbia with her shield and a cornucopia of Green's medicines, looking out onto a grand scene showing "Industry.....
Price: $125.00
Dual Language Edition,Biography,History of Little People
Montreal, Canada: c.1929. A promotional booklet for a tourist destination in Montreal called "The New Famous Midgets Palace", which served as a living museum to display to the public the Count and Countess Philippe Nicol. Philippe Nicol (1881-1940) made his name and fortune as a circus performer, and was known.....
Price: $175.00
Stereotypes, Racism, Performances, Minstrelsy, Black America, Song and Dance
United States: 1829-19074.19. A gathering of twenty-three (23) items promoting performances by and/or exploiting Black entertainers spanning the years 1829 and 1907. Most of the items are sheet music, with one printed flyer and one illustrated printed flyer. White people in black face and Minstrelsy are well represented, as well.....
Price: $15,000.00
Zoos and Aquariums, Boston, Advertising, Performing Arts, Racism
Boston: Boston Zoological Society, 1897. The Boston Zoological Society's "Zoo Bulletin" for October 18, 1897, featuring a variety of diverting offerings including: the feeding of sea lions and carnivora; glee performances; and an upcoming exhibit of polar bears, "Direct from Hagenbeck's, at Hamburg, Germany". Also included are some more disturbing.....
Price: $200.00
Stereotypes, Racism, Performances, Side Shows
New York, New York: J.M. Elliott, c1839. A fascinating printed poster documenting the touring show of the "original" Siamese Twins, Chang and Eng Bunker. The show was titled "The United Brothers, Chang-Eng". The brothers were born in Siam (now Thailand) in 1811, and popularized the term "Siamese Twins" via their.....
Price: $1,250.00
Circus, Entertainment, Songster, Dime Hand Book, Racism
New York: William H. Murphy, [1895]. 37 pp. . A wide array of songs. Many with writer's name and copyright year (mostly 1889) Last page and back wrapper promotes Merchant's Oil products. Measures 6 3/4" x 4 3/4"
Price: $200.00
ABAA-RBMS-2024,Race,Democracy,Social Change
New York, New York: Modern Age Books, 1940. Ephemera advertising books on race, democracy, and social change newly published in 1940 by Modern Age Books. Includes: a typewritten letter from the publisher on company letterhead (approx. 11" by 8.5"); circular advertising "Democracy and Social Change" by Harry F. Ward (bifolium.....
Price: $200.00
IBM,Business and Technology,History of Computing,Equal Opportunity
United States: IBM, 1950s-1960s. A group of promotional ephemera for IBM collected by an employee, Vincent Palmer (1911-2009), in the 1950s and 1960s. In total there are seven (7) items, including three (3) issues of The IBM Magazine issued between Oct 10 and Nov 25, 1969; two (2) issues of.....
Price: $300.00
Benefit Concerts, Stereotypes, Old South, Entertainment, Cultural History
Revere, [Massachusetts]: 1908. Printed program for a benefit concert raising funds for victims of the April 12th, 1908 fire that devastated Chelsea, Massachusetts and left over half of its population homeless. The theme of the concert is "An Evening on the Old Plantation" and features "Eighty Colored People of Revere".....
Price: $125.00
Missionary reports and serials,Colonialism,Imperialism,ABCFM , ABAA-RBMS-2023
Boston, Massachusetts: American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 1844. Vol. XL, Nos. 4, 6, and 7 of The Missionary Herald, a serial published in Boston by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). The present issue publishes news from their members doing missionary work in Africa, the.....
Price: $250.00
ABAA-RBMS-2026,Card Games,History of Parlor Games,Depictions of African Americans in Popular Culture
N.pl: N.p, c.1860s. A scarce example of a c.1865 card game in the original box, titled "The New Game of Snip, Snap, Shorum". Featuring comical illustrations that would be right at home in a vinegar valentine, the game aims to amuse and delight. Contains several racist and stereotypical depictions that.....
Price: $725.00
Depictions of Native Americans in Advertising
[Boston, Massachusetts]: [Samoset Chocolates Co.], c.1900. A self-standing advertising card promoting the Samoset Chocolates brand, using (exploiting?) a stereotypical image of a Native American man in feathered headdress rowing a canoe. Includes two tabs to help the canoe stand upright, with the slogan "Chief of them all" on the upper.....
Price: $150.00
Anti-Communist,History of Conservative and Nationalist Ideologies,1950s McCarthyism,Roots of Trump's America
Washington, D.C: National Republic, 1950-1951. A partial run of seven (7) issues of "National Republic", a monthly magazine "of Fundamental Americanism", i.e. nationalism, conservatism. The issues span the dates September 1950 and May 1951 (Vol. XXXVIII No. 5-8, 10, 12, and Vol. XXXIX No. 1). Largely focused on anti-Communist activities.....
Price: $350.00
Louisiana,White League,KKK,Civil Rights
United States: [1874]. A political pamphlet printing a speech given by Republican Senator Oliver P. Morton of Indiana, on racism in the South and its current political implications. Morton (1823-1877) was a strong ally of Lincoln, and condemns here the continued activity of the White League, KKK, and other White.....
Price: $150.00
Old West,Advertising Stage Plays,Depiction of Native Americans on the Stage
[Boston, Massachusetts]: Hollis Street Theatre, c.1906. Promotional pamphlet for the Boston run of "The Squaw Man", a 1905 Western stage play written by Edwin Milton Royle and starring William Faversham in the starring role. The basic premise follows an English Captain who buys a ranch in the American Old West.....
Price: $100.00
Children's Art, Stereotypes, Minstrelsy, Original Artwork
United States: c1900. Naive children's painting on laid paper (5" by 6.75") labeled in pencil: "This is big Ben Green". "Ben Green" appears to be a man in black face or a Minstrel-type character smoking a cigar while riding a donkey. Typical African stereotyping.
Price: $225.00
Daughters of Liberty,Nativism,Anti-Catholic,Anti-Immigration,American Identity,Racism and Xenophobia,Topical
Springvale, Maine: Daughters of Liberty, 1901. Two (2) certified Withdrawal Cards (i.e. membership cards) held by members of Daughters of Liberty in 1901. The Daughters of Liberty was a female auxiliary of the Order of United American Mechanics, a Nativist organization organized in the 19th century that opposed immigration. Its.....
Price: $175.00
Dance Cards, Chromolithography, Yale, College Sports, Crew, Boating, Dances and Balls
[New Haven, Connecticut]: [1875]. An elegantly produced unused dance card for the June 1875 Dedication Ball of Yale Crew's New Boat House. Hosted by S.C. Bushnell (Class of 1874), the ball was divided into three "parts" containing twenty-three waltzes, galops, quadrilles, and more, all to music performed by Adolph Bernstein's.....
Price: $125.00