<I>"Bully" Song</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1896
name: label: Subject of
content: May Irwin, Canadian, 1862 - 1938
label: Composed by
content: Charles E. Trevathan
label: Owned by
content: Vernon Sugg McDonald, American, 1906 - 1982
label: Owned by
content: Mary Elizabeth Sugg, American, 1839 - 1915
notes: label: Description
content: Sheet music for the song Bully Song. The front cover of sheet music features a caricatured illustration of an African American man in a blue checkered jacket, blue and white striped pants, and a small white and black hat. The man is depicted holding a razor in his proper right hand. The black ink type on front cover reads: [May Irwin's / Bully Song / AS SUNG WITH / GREAT SUCCESS / IN THE / "WIDOW JONES" / WORDS AND MUSIC / BY /Charles E. Trevathan]. Type referring to the copyright is in the bottom left corner, but it has been torn off. In the top left corner of the cover there is handwriting in blue ink that reads: [This is the only / correct publication / of the "Bully Song" / as sung by me / in "The Widow Jones." / May Irwin]. The back of the cover has the beginning of the “Bully Song” in black print.
label: Statement
content: 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: label: Place collected
content: Sugg McDonald House, Sonora, Tuolumne County, California, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Blackface
label: Topic
content: Caricature and cartoons
label: Topic
content: Minstrel (Music)
label: Topic
content: Stereotypes
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Racist and Stereotypical Objects
label: Classification
content: Written Music
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Sylvia Alden Roberts
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2014.275.19
objectType: label: Type
content: sheet music
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public Domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 12 5/16 × 9 in. (31.3 × 22.9 cm)