Composed by

Williams, Bert, American, 1874 - 1922

Subject of

George Walker, American, 1873 - 1911

Written by

Furber, Edward

Published by

Jos. W. Stern & Co., American

Owned by

McDonald, Vernon Sugg, American, 1906 - 1982

Sugg, Mary Elizabeth, American, 1839 - 1915

Date

1898

Medium

ink on paper

Dimensions

H x W: 14 × 11 in. (35.6 × 27.9 cm)

Description

Sheet music for the song He's Up Against The Real Thing Now. The front cover features three photographs. The photograph on left side of cover depicts an African American man in a suit with white type at bottom of the photograph that reads: [Williams]. The photograph on right side depicts an African American man in a suit with white type at bottom of photograph that reads: [Walker]. The photograph in the center features the two men in the other photographs dressed in costume, Walker is in blackface and Williams has an exaggerated collar. A plant-like design, in green ink, surrounds the photographs. Red type on front cover reads: [WILLIAMS AND WALKER'S Latest Comic Coon Craze / HE'S UP AGAINST / THE REAL THING NOW / WORDS BY / Edward Furber / MUSIC BY BERT A. WILLIAMS]. Underneath the photographs a text block contains a logo for Jos. W. Stern & Co. On the bottom of the cover there is an ink stamp that reads: [The Model, / Music Store / Washington St. Sonora, Cal.]. The interior of the sheet music contains five pages of music bars and notes in black ink. The music is for several songs. The back cover contains additional songs in red ink.

Statement

Objects depicting racist and/or stereotypical imagery or language may be offensive and disturbing, but the NMAAHC aims to include them in the Collection to present and preserve the historical context in which they were created and used. Objects of this type provide an important historical record from which to study and evaluate racism.

Place collected

Sonora, Tuolumne County, California, United States, North and Central America

Place printed

New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America

Classification

Documents and Published Materials-Sheet music

Racist and Stereotypical Objects

Type

sheet music

Topic

Blackface

Minstrel (Music)

Stereotypes

Vaudeville

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Sylvia Alden Roberts

Object number

2014.275.15

Restrictions & Rights

Public domain

Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

GUID

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5c9dde9bd-c807-44fa-a82f-33bba2cb08e4