At the Minstrel Show: Minstrel Routines from the Studio, 1894-1926

The Archeophone label makes early recordings available to the public accompanied by comprehensive liner notes that are often nominated for Grammy's. Past efforts have included Real Ragtime, a collection of ragtime recordings from the first boom in the 1890s. Recent releases have included a 4 track 45 rpm record of banjo recordings from the 1890s, a collection of  Gus Haenschen recordings that some are calling the first jazz records, an anthology of Arthur Fields, and a collection of James Reese Europe related material, that like their newest release was associated with a book, in that case The Product of Our Souls: Ragtime, Race, and the Birth of the Manhattan Musical Marketplace. Serious historians of music await their releases eagerly. At the Minstrel Show: Minstrel Routines from the Studio, 1894-1926 was 16 years in the making.  It bears the catalog number 1004 to prove it. They reserved that space as they awaited the extensive research conducted by media historian Tim Brooks for his book, The Blackface Minstrel Show in Mass Media. That research also aided the selection of the 51 titles and the 55 pages of liner notes contained in this double album. It was worth the wait. Through the generosity of several notable collectors they were able to assemble three early efforts, on three different labels, to recreate a complete minstrel show. The limitations of the medium were o