New York, New York. Ada Tesmans Female Minstrels. Bowers NY-7900. Ferrotype, brass frame. 38 mm. Ext

New York, New York. Ada Tesmans Female Minstrels. Bowers NY-7900. Ferrotype, brass frame. 38 mm. Extremely Fine.，Obverse: Ferrotype portrait of Ada Tesman. Reverse: Heavy white card printed in black with five-line advertisement, ADA TESMANS / Female Minstrels, / AND / OLIO TROUPE, / Are Coming. The ferrotype has a couple of small dents and tiny chips, but these barely affect the nice clear image. The portrait has been hand-accented with gold, green and red ink, highlighting Tesmans jewelry. The paper is a little handed but very clear and without any losses. A lovely portrait piece, and this one is the Bowers plate example.<p>Billy Pastor, the New York City vaudevillian and opera house manager, took care of bookings. The girls were all blonde and attracted attention more for their novelty than for their performance. They performed at least through 1876.<p>Touring female minstrel companies were all the rage circa 1870. Other troupes included Rentzs Female Minstrels, Barnards Female Minstrels, Elwoods Female Minstrels, among others.<p>，Ex Barney Bluestone sale, May 1942; Alan V. Weinberg, September, 2011; Q. David Bowers Collection.，