Raynors HCA 2014-11
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/6/2014
Rare silver print photograph of Bert Williams, 3”x6”,on original photographers mount, by White on Broadway in New York. Fine condition..plus; Book “BERT WILLIAMS SON OF LAUGHTER. A Syposium of Tribute to the Manand to his Work by his Friends and Associates with a Prefac by Davd Belsaco” 1923, 218pp. octavo, red cloth covers. Fine condition....plus; Book “NOBODY. The story of Bert Williams by Ann Charters with documentary photographs and reproductions of his most famous songs.” 1970, Macmillian Company, 156pp. quarto, hard-cover with dust jacket. Fine condition. Bert Williams (1874-1922) was one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. He was by far the best-selling black recording artist before 1920. In 1918, the New York Dramatic Mirror called Williams "one of the great comedians of the world.” Williams was a key figure in the development of African-American entertainment. In an age when racial inequality and stereotyping were commonplace, he became the first black American to take a lead role on the Broadway stage, and did much to push back racial barriers during his career. Fellow vaudevillian W.C. Fields, who appeared in productions with Williams, described him as "the funniest man I ever saw – and the saddest man I ever knew."
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