Lilly of the Valley by Christy's Minstrels

[Christy's Minstrels]. Arranged by Edwin P. Christy. Lilly of the Valley. New York: Jaques and Brother, 1847. Folio, 13.25x 10" [1], 5pp.  Sheet Music. Very Good.

Lithograph cover illustrated with five vignettes; one shows Edwin Christy and the others show the minstrels performing as both men and women in blackface. Four blackface cherubs decorate the cover as well. Christy's Minstrels invented the standard minstrel line with the interlocutor in the middle and Mr. Tambo and Mr. Bones on the ends and were the most popular minstrel group of their day. "The Christy Minstrels... give the most decidedly original exhibition that we have seen, and accomplish what is the legitimate object of their costumes and colored faces, namely, the personation of the witty negro. In consideration of these things, we must express our preference for the Christy Minstrels... We listen and laugh, and have a desire to go again, and again. And in this feeling, we think the great majority of the people are with us." The Spirit of the Times, 16 October 1847.