Birch, Wambold & Backus San Francisco Minstrels
date: label: Date made
content: n.d.
name: label: depicted
content: Birch, William
label: depicted
content: Wambold, David
label: depicted
content: Backus, Charles
label: referenced
content: San Francisco Minstrels
label: maker
content: Thomas, Henry Atwell
notes: label: Description
content: This black and white print contains oval bust portraits of three men, along with three smaller heads of black cherubs with wings, a pan flute, and a lyre. Overprinted directly onto the poster in blue ink is the advertisement of the location and dates of some performances. The notification printed on top in blue reads: “Newark Opera House, Saturday, June 1st / Birch, Wambold & Backus.” Below the portraits is the statement “San Francisco Minstrels from their / Opera House Broadway & 29th Street, New York, ” which was designed to convey Broadway legitimacy on a trio from New York and New Jersey that first established themselves on the west coast.
label: Description
content: Charles Backus (1831-1883), Billy Birch (1831-1897), and D. S. Wambold (1836-1889) belonged to a performing group called the San Francisco Minstrels that was founded in San Francisco in the mid-1860s, in part to make fun of what they viewed as the elitist tastes of San Francisco opera and serious drama fans. They went on to appear on New York-area stages for the next two decades, becoming one of the highest paid minstrel groups of their time. Like other minstrel performers, they performed in blackface and parodied what was considered in the period stereotypical African-American mannerisms and behavior, but they also poked fun at the social and political mores of white society. These performers were said to be a favorite of American author Mark Twain.
label: Description
content: Charles Backus was born in Rochester, New York, and moved to San Francisco, California, in 1852. He performed with minstrel groups and circuses in countries around the world, including England, Australia, Egypt, India, and China, before helping form the San Francisco Minstrels with Birch and Wambold in 1864. Known as a talented mimic, his specialties included social parody and imitations of popular actors.
label: Description
content: William Birch was a comedian born in Utica, New York, who began appearing in small town minstrel shows in his early teens. He crisscrossed the United States performing with various minstrel groups before helping establish the San Francisco Minstrels, where he was celebrated for his originality and clever word play.
label: Description
content: David S. Wambold was born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. He joined a small minstrel group when he was just 13 years old and toured with other shows in the United States and Europe before helping form the San Francisco Minstrels. His tenor voice made him one of the most highly praised ballad singers of his time.
label: Description
content: This lithograph was produced by Henry Atwell Thomas. Henry Atwell Thomas (1834-1904) was an artist, portrait painter, and lithographer especially well known for his theatrical portraits. His New York firm was called H. A. Thomas Lith. Studio until 1887, when it became H. A. Thomas & Wylie Lithographic (sometimes cited as Lithography or Lithographing) Company.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
topic: label: Subject
content: Blacks
label: Subject
content: Theater
label: Subject
content: Music
label: depicted
content: Minstrels
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
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content: Advertising
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content: Art
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content: Peters Prints
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content: Domestic Furnishings
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.60.3027
label: catalog number
content: 60.3027
label: accession number
content: 228146
objectType: label: Object Name
content: lithograph
label: Object Type
content: Lithograph
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: image: 17 in x 20 in; 43.18 cm x 50.8 cm