For your consideration c.1880 Vintage Minstrel No. 182 Epinal Wissembourg French/German (Alsace) Carnival Poster- A Relic of Times past. A relic of backward thinking of Non-White peoples. A relic that must be saved as never to forget. The Minstrel as a Shooting target, a Black Man as a shooting Target, an example to Black people's Western struggles. As an unsuspecting Black guitar player becomes a shooting target. His hat is jumping off his Head. The Gentleman is dressed quite sharply as the Top Hat, Pants, and Flower on Jacket attest. This is a stark example showing how far the Minstrel character traveled. From the Deep South to NYC to Europa to France. A relic of a Racist past of the West.

There are over 182 different designs in this Carnival theme. Wow! All different characters. This poster was created by the C. Burckardt printing firm, and is part of a larger series of posters that were produced during the 1880s and 1890s. The company was based in the Alsatian town of Wissembourg, along the French border with Germany, and was also known for their cutout puppets, puzzles for children, educational charts, and religious depictions. These posters were created during a time that the Alsace region belonged to Germany, when the town was still called Weissenburg. All posters in this series have been printed via stone lithography, in multiple panels.

While the subject matter of these posters vary from common Alsatian characters, to wily animals, to figures plucked from the Commedia dell'Arte, all have a spirit of playfulness that cannot be denied. They visually represent a time of relative peace along the French and German border, between the Franco-Prussian and First World Wars, in which these images would bring much joy to carefree adults and children alike- at the Carnival. 

This is an Original Vintage Poster; it is not a reproduction.

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Size: 65" x 27" inches, 165 x 68 cm

Condition: MINT. Age appropriate aging for a 140 year old Poster.