Between the Covers

Hardcover. A 1900-1930s era vaudeville patch featuring a man with black face playing a saxophone. Embroidered with green, yellow, red, black, and white thread. Very good with fraying, some curling, and a loss of the left foot.

This embroidered fabric patch features a man wearing the typical blackface attire that was popular in vaudeville with a swallowtail coat, patterned trousers, gloves, and red lips. Music notes are depicted above a yellow saxophone that the man is holding in his right hand.

Vaudeville was widely popular in the United States from the 1880s until the 1930s. Each show featured a variety of acts such as: short plays, musicians, acrobats, animal acts, dancers, magicians, and comedy routines. While blackface performances were usually a single skit or song, it played a major role in the evolution of dance, song, and comedy acts that vaudeville popularized.

Item #402344