Contract for a Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels performance
date: label: Date
content: 1879
name: label: Created by
content: Unidentified
label: Signed by
content: Charles Frohman, American, 1856 - 1915
label: Subject of
content: Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels, American, founded 1877
label: Subject of
content: J. H. Haverly, American, 1837 - 1901
notes: label: Description
content: A contract for Haverly's "Genuine Colored" Mastodon Minstrels to perform at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. The contract is a long folio leaf, with pre-printed fields that have been filled out by hand. An edit, by hand in ink, adds: "Genuine Colored" at the top of the document, which was signed by the troupe's manager, Charles Frohman. This contract stipulates that the minstrels were to get a share of the house take, based on the receipts at the door, a common practice even today. Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels was a black-face minstrel troupe created in 1877. The back of the contract has an inscription that gives a name and a date.
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 depicted
content: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Business
label: Topic
content: Minstrel (Music)
label: Topic
content: Stereotypes
label: Topic
content: Theatre
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: Documents and Manuscripts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2012.46.64
objectType: label: Type
content: contract documents
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
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: 14 x 8 1/2 in. (35.6 x 21.6 cm)