222

Zip Coon, A Popular Negro Song.

New York: Firth & Hall, circa late 1834
3 pages, 13½ x 10 inches, on one folding sheet; stitch holes, moderate toning and wear. 

  • Notes: One of the most popular minstrel songs. The authorship is uncredited here, but is presented "as sung by Mr. Geo. W. Dixon, with great applause." Dixon is sometimes credited as the composer. It was first popularized by minstrel singer Bob Farrell as early as 1832, and George Washington Dixon introduced it to New York audiences by July 1834. 

    The melody was later used in another song called "Turkey in the Straw," and is most familiar to American audiences as the jingle which played on thousands of ice cream trucks--until its racist origins recently came to light.

    The first printing of this song is undetermined, but was probably the one printed by Birch with a copyright of 17 May 1834 with a full-length portrait of Dixon in character. This Firth & Hall New York printing, with a new illustration lithographed by Endicott of New York, probably precedes the Baltimore edition by George Willig with the same text variants and illustration, which was available for sale by 5 January 1835. Dichter & Shapiro call the Willig's the "preferred" edition because it contains an extra concluding verse about Andrew Jackson (also found here). Dichter & Shapiro (page 53); Fuld, page 591, edition "d". 
  • Condition:
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