Blackface Minstrelsy

Oh! Lemuel!

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1850

WARNING: This is a blackface minstrel song, a genre that features demeaning caricatures rooted in racism and white supremacy.

“Oh Lemuel” was submitted for copyright deposit by F. D. Benteen of Baltimore on January 7, 1850.

Oh! Susanna

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1848

WARNING: This is a blackface minstrel song, a genre that features demeaning caricatures rooted in racism and white supremacy.

“Oh! Susanna” was submitted for copyright deposit by W. C. Peters & Company on December 30, 1848. It was very likely published between July 15 and August 1 that year, for an advertisement in the Louisville Daily Democrat refers to the song as “recently published” on September 6, 1848. This was not the first edition of the song published. But this is the first edition that was prepared from Foster’s autograph manuscript.

Old Black Joe

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1860

WARNING: This is a blackface minstrel song, a genre that features demeaning caricatures rooted in racism and white supremacy.

Firth, Pond & Co. deposited Stephen C. Foster’s “Old Black Joe” for copyright on November 8, 1860. 

According to Evelyn Foster Morneweck’s The Chronicles of Stephen Foster’s Family: 

Stephen’s granddaughter, Jessie W. Rose, paints an attractive picture of the pleasant and hospitable McDowell home. “Old Black Joe” of Stephen’s song was, according to Mrs. Rose, the McDowell family butler and handy man.

Old Folks at Home

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1851

WARNING: This is a blackface minstrel song, a genre that features demeaning caricatures rooted in racism and white supremacy.

Ring, Ring de Banjo!

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1851

WARNING: This is a blackface minstrel song, a genre that features demeaning caricatures rooted in racism and white supremacy.

“Ring, Ring de Banjo!” was entered for copyright on April 21, 1851, and deposited on April 29, 1851. 

Stephen Foster Collection

Stephen C. (Collins) Foster (1826–1864) was born in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania, outside of Pittsburgh. He wrote songs in his youth to perform in amateur blackface minstrel shows and in parlors with his friends. After the immense success of “Oh! Susanna” and “Uncle Ned,” in 1849 Foster signed contracts with music publishers and embarked on a career as a songwriter.

The Glendy Burk

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1860

WARNING: This is a blackface minstrel song, a genre that features demeaning caricatures rooted in racism and white supremacy.

Firth, Pond & Co. deposited Stephen C. Foster’s “The Glendy Burk” for copyright on May 29, 1860.

According to Evelyn Foster Morneweck’s The Chronicles of Stephen Foster’s Family:  

Uncle Ned

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1848

WARNING: This is a blackface minstrel song, a genre that features demeaning caricatures rooted in racism and white supremacy.

“Uncle Ned” was submitted for copyright deposit by W. C. Peters & Co. in Louisville on December 30, 1848. 

According to Evelyn Foster Mornweck’s The Chronicles of Stephen Foster’s Family:

Way Down in Ca-i-ro

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1850

WARNING: This is a blackface minstrel song, a genre that features demeaning caricatures rooted in racism and white supremacy.

“Way Down in Ca-i-ro” was submitted for copyright on April 17, 1850, by Firth, Pond & Co. of New York. 

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