Image of an eight-page theatrical courier including the front cover with a bust statue of American playwright and actor Edward Harrigan being pointed to by a caricature of Martin W. Hanley who stands nearby with a globe; a back cover page with an image presumably of Irish-American character Peter McSorley talking to his wife, portrayed by a female impersonator, in her grocery stall at Washington Market with watermelons and chickens in the background; a page with the lyrics of songs from the play including some written by Dave Braham; a page with the show's program; a page with three vignettes of an African American military regiment marching through the streets captioned "Charleston Blues," a six-piece band playing in the street with the sign "Salvation Army," and two women arguing in a grocery store captioned "Washington Market"; a page with seven vignettes of character portraits of a man at different ages including as a baby, child, soldier, and old man titled "The Seven Ages in 'As You Like It' by William Shakespeare"; a page with short humorous articles as well as statistics of the "Population of States and Territories in 1880"; a page with two vignettes of a crowd of dancing white men and women and black men captioned "McNally's Row of Flats," and a street scene with a grocer arguing with a man while a woman looks on and a Chinese immigrant falls out of a window while holding a trombone, and an African American man carries a bundle of laundry into a store with storefront signs for the "Coroner's Office" and "Hung Lung Laundry" behind and the caption "Chinese Must Go"; the courier advertises the musical comedy "McSorley's Inflation" written by Edward Harrigan. Probable date based on newspaper advertisements for Hanley's tour of the play from 1883 and 1884. "The Courier Lith. Co. Buffalo, N.Y."--text, bottom margin centered. "Edward Harrigan / Author of / Mulligan Guards Ball / Mulligan Guards Chowder / ... the major / Squatter Sovereignty. / Mc Sorley's Inflation."--text, middle right of front cover page. "...M.W. Hanley's Company is the only authorized troupe having the sole right to produce 'McSorley's Inflation.' ... Edward Harrigan / Harrigan & Hart's Theatre, 728 and 730 Broadway, New York."--text, middle of sixth page.
Type
image
Extent
1 lithograph : color printed ; overall 35.24 x 52.71 cm (13 7/8 x 20 3/4 in.)
Harrigan, Edward, 1844-1911--Portraits Hanley, Martin W.--Portraits Actors--Pictorial works African Americans--Pictorial works Chinese Americans--Caricatures and cartoons Comedies Female impersonators--Pictorial works Irish Americans--Pictorial works Soldiers--Pictorial works Theatrical productions Theatrical producers and directors--Portraits M. W. Hanley's Company Harrigan & Hart Lithographs--Color--1875-1900. (gmgpc) Theater programs--American. (gmgpc) Songs. (gmgpc)
Source
Jay T. Last Collection Entertainment Large Size Music and Theater The Jay T. Last Collection of Graphic Arts and Social History, Huntington Digital Library
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