Baker's Minstrel Budget: For Amateur and Professional Entertainers, Clubs, Lodges, Schools, Churches, or Any One Else Who Desires to Laugh. Containting Minstrel First Parts, Crossfire for Female Minstrels, Jokes, Puns, Monologues, Foolish Rhymes, Crossfi…

136 pp. 10 pages of publisher ads follow text. Minstrel shows, also known as minstrelsy, were a form of American theater that began in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors in blackface makeup who portrayed racial stereotypes of African Americans in a comedic way. The term "minstrel" comes from the Old French word ménestrel, which is derived from the Italian word ministerello, and then from the Middle Latin word ministralis, which means "retainer". Ministralis is also the adjective form of the Latin word minister, which means "attendant," and minus, which means "lesser".