LeRoy, Mervyn as Told to Dick KleinerMareMagnum
MOUNTED SILVER GELATIN PHOTOGRAPH Of VAUDEVILLE PERFORMER W. E. CRAFEAUX In BLACKFACE. Signed and Inscribed to His Mother. March 29 1911
191142917Cincinnati 1911. Silver gelatin photograph mounted on stiff grey mounting board with green border and bevelled edges. Very minor soiling/wear to photo signed and inscribed at upper and lower corner. Light soiling to mounting board upper corner slightly bumped light damp-staining to verso with few spots of loss to paper overlay. VG overall. Photo: 8-3/4" x 7-13/16". Mounting board: 12" x 10" <br/><br/>Publicity photograph from vaudeville performer W.E. Crafeaux signed and briefly inscribed to his mother on the photo itself with a longer signed inscription to the verso of the mounting board. Crafeaux is in blackface and clownlike apparel. The inscription on the verso is dated "Cincinnati O. 3/29/11" and reads in part: "Darling Mamma: - Don't laugh at your red-headed son in this garb as its sic the way he makes his living making other people laugh. Crazy way to make a living isn't it. Some are born fools and others get jealous and make fools of themselves but I don't know whether Im sic a natural fool or naturally a fool or a fool naturally however Im sic not as big a fool as some fools I've fooled . . . " W. E. Crafeaux who seems to have been known professionally as Earle performed with his wife Tessie in several locations on the West Coast as well as in Oklahoma and the Midwest. The Tulsa Morning Herald called them "a pair of the cleverest entertainers on any vaudeville circuit" April 9 1911 and the Vinita Daily Chieftain reported that the Crafeaux were particularly well-liked by a "large audience . . . that readily showed their appreciation of this clever and versatile team by many rounds of applause" August 13 1910. The Vinita Daily Chieftain goes on to note that the final offering that night was the Crafeaux's original blackface comedy "The New Hostler." Research indicates that the Crafeaux also performed in Bakersfield and Santa Ana CA as well as Abilene KS primarily circa 1910 - 1915. They appear to have lived in San Francisco around that time as well as in Los Angeles. unknown books
Tavistock Books, ABAA · États-Unis495,00 $US≈ 418,82 €
