Music sheet for The Black and White Minstrel Song Book by Hughie Cannon, Henry Clay Work and others, presented with the 1 Dec 1962 issue of Woman.

As the title and photograph on this music sheet demonstrate this sheet music dates from an era in which 'Blackface Minstrelsy' was considered a fashionable and acceptable form of theatrical costume. This style of theatrical makeup originated in the United States around 1830 and was based on racist stereotypes of African Americans. It was most commonly used in the minstrel performance tradition. White performers (and sometimes black) used burnt cork, greasepaint or shoe polish to blacken their skin and exaggerate their features. The look was completed with ‘woolly’ wigs, gloves, tailcoats and/or ragged clothes. Blackface was a performance tradition in American theatre for over 100 years and was also popular overseas. Stereotypes embodied in the stock characters of blackface minstrelsy played a significant role in cementing and proliferating racist attitudes.