Auction details
8:00 AM PT - Dec 6th, 2008
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Photographs
Henry Ford Puts On A Blackface Minstrel Show In 1916 (HENRY FORD). This fabulous photograph of members of the Ford Family Minstrel Show, is labeled: "Ford Family Minstrels - Sales Department Banquet - Pontchartrain Hotel February 3, 1916," and is in Choice Extremely Fine. The 40 members shown in the photograph are all White men, most of them in "blackface" paint. This photograph was almost certainly taken at the Pontchartrain Hotel in Detriot, Michigan, which was in existence as early as 1909. The Pontchartrain Hotel in New Orleans did not open until 1927. We could not find any reference to a Ford Family Minstrel group, and believe this is a photograph of some employees of the Ford Motor Company who agreed to provide entertainment for a company banquet. The evidence for this is the man seated in the second row, near the center, without face paint. He is none other than Henry Ford himself! This photograph is in excellent condition, with no holes, tears, stains or foxing. The matte under which it is housed has browned with age, and the wooden frame in which it is held is scuffed (not examined out of the frame). A rare and historic illustration of American Business History and Black American History. Early American will accept payment by check or credit card. ImagesClick on thumbnails to see larger images: 
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6019635
