[Black history. Variété] The Louisiana Amazon Guards

Friedländer, Hamburg, 1901. Consisting of 2 parts, ca. 68 x 92 and 71 x 92 cm. Lith. no. 1940.

*The Louisiana Amazon Guards was an all African-American revue group from the States, brought together by Mrs. Kohn-Wollner, a German impressario and wife of a German theatre owner. Kohn-Wollner saw a business opportunity in creating a black revue act which would tour through Europe performing, amongst other themes, historical scenes. Most of the women did not have a lot of musical or performing experience, so she trained the women for a 4-act revue. The show was indeed a great success: the tour received raving reviews, calling them "the best song-and-dance ensembles of today". The opening scene was "Hustlin' & Bustlin' on a Cotton Plantation", displaying the women slowly chanting "My Old Kentucky Home". The second scene, "Banjo Serenade" was followed by the "Cake Walk", a dance originating from the black slave plantations. The performance ended with the "Rough-Riders" act, where the women were dressed in military uniform with rifles.