Old Black Joe. Dan Bryant. [graphic] : Songs & chorus written & composed by Stephen G. Foster. Bryant, Dan, 1833-1875 -- Portraits. African American men. African American men -- Performances & portrayals. Girls. Minstrels. Racism in popular culture. Reading. Sheet music cover containing a genre scene showing minstrel performer Dan Bryant in the character of "Old Black Joe." "Joe," attired in worn and torn clothing, sits on a chair with a book in his lap and with one foot propped on a stool next to a white girl, wearing a ribbon in her hair and attired in a short-sleeved dress with ruffles. The girl sits on her knees and holds an edge of the book as she reads. Also includes a chest of drawers, jugs, and a pitcher. Scene based on a Napoleon Sarony photograph of Bryant in the character of Uncle Tom. Photograph in the Harvard Theatre Collection, The Houghton Library, Harvard College, Boston, MA. Blackface minstrelsy is a popular entertainment form, originating in the United States in the mid-19th century and remaining in American life through the 20th century. The form is based around stereotypical and racist portrayals of African Americans, including mocking dialect, parodic lyrics, and the application of Black face paint; all designed to portray African Americans as othered subjects of humor and disrespect. Blackface was a dominant form for theatrical and musical performances for decades, both on stage and in private homes. Title from item. Date from copyright statement: Entry according to act of Congress in the year 1860 by Firth, Pond & Co. in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern Dist. of New York. Printed above the image: Ten Thousand Copies Sold. Names of nine additional publishers printed on the recto. Includes Chicago, Root & Sons; San Francisco, M. Gray; St. Paul, J.A. Weide; Pittsburg, H. Kleber & Bro.; Milwaukee, H. N. Hempsted; Savannah, Ludden & Bates; San Jose, A. Waldteufel; Houston, E. H. Cushing; New Haven, Skinner & Sperry. Manuscript note on recto: 4th Edition. Manuscript note on verso: First Ed. (same year) by Firth, Pond & Co. Gift of S. Marguerite Brenner, 1984. RVCDC Description revised 2021. Access points revised 2021. Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014. Description of Blackface minstrelsy and minstrel characters from Dorothy Berry, Descriptive Equity and Clarity around Blackface Minstrelsy in H(arvard) T(heater) C(ollection) Collections, 2021. New York : Published by Wm. A. Pond & Co. 547 Broadway, and 39 Union Square, Broadway side PA. Philadelphia. 1860 Foster, Stephen Collins, 1826-1864, composer. Wm. A. Pond & Co., publisher. Firth, Pond & Co., copyright holder. Foster, Stephen Collins, 1826-1864, composer. Printer: Wm. A. Pond & Co., publisher. Printer: Firth, Pond & Co., copyright holder. 1860 Lithographs -- 1850-1860. Sheet music covers -- 1850-1860. 1 print : lithograph ; sheet 35 x 21 cm (13.5 x 8.25 in.) digitool:129435 Library Company of Philadelphia PRINT PRINT GC- Entertainment [9156.F] 9156.F