Initially published over thirty years ago, this new edition is practically three times the size of the original. Author Sampson has published numerous well-received scholarly texts on African American images and stereotypes in film, cartoons, radio, and television. This work complements his Ghost Walks: A Chronological History of Blacks in Show Business, 1865–1910 and focuses mainly on the years 1900–1940. Coverage from the original volume has been greatly expanded, including four entirely new chapters. Many more period photographs have been added as well. The focus of the work is on writers, actors, producers, and venues involved in this unique and curious aspect of American entertainment. The scope of venues covered has also expanded greatly since the original edition and now includes minstrel, circus, medicine, and traveling carnival shows, as well as elegant nightclubs and cabarets. Even booking agents, recording, and publishing houses merit their place here.

The title may be slightly misleading, as not necessarily every performance or performer contained herein falls under the “blackface minstrel” category. Still, there is no denying the widespread popularity of the blackface show during this time in American history—and yes, even many African American performers wore the blackface.

This is a sourcebook, so there is little to no theorizing or critical jargon. The focus is on introducing and informing users of the name, date, location, and description of black musicals in the time period involved. Contemporaneous reviews of the performances from both the African American press and white mainstream press make up a huge portion of this resource. The stated intent is to expose users to the perspectives of those involved in these shows at the time, rather than the modern-day interpretation of them. The author only interjects commentary to introduce each chapter. Otherwise, the original voices of those involved and those who observed them speak for themselves.

The set is not organized alphabetically or chronologically. Rather, there are ten chapters focusing on topics like early black musicals, pioneering producers, minstrel shows, and famous theaters and cabarets. This is a resource with a plethora of detail—there are nearly 250 pages listing comedy shows, their casts of characters, and plot summaries. Period black and white posters advertising the acts appear throughout the volumes as well. Yet the business side of these shows is not ignored, often including performers’ salaries, costs of production, and ticket prices.

Ten appendices are also included, mainly lists of venues and of individuals involved in some of the more obscure traveling shows. There is a helpful index at the back, particularly useful for finding names of people or shows, since the location of relevant entries within the set may not be obvious to the average user.

There are many first-rate resources on the history of American musical theater, but not so many share the focus of this work—the hundreds of shows written, produced, and acted out by African Americans in these early days of show business. While there are some resources that focus on early black stage performances, nearly all of these are from a modern critical perspective, focusing on the implications of the inherent racial stereotypes in this type of entertainment. This resource lets the user see how these performances and performers were received and perceived at the time.

Overall, this is an excellent, detailed, and comprehensive resource on early black musicals. The amount of detail and narrow focus may be more than needed in most public or high school library collections but recommended for academic libraries.