This colored print is a stereotypical depiction of composer and lyricist Fred Lyons as "Old Bob," seated in a bar and playing a banjo with a donkey named "Calamity Jane" braying at his side. Fred Lyons was a popular 19th Century African American minstrel entertainer who composed many songs including "Paint All De Little Black Sinners White" and “Dem Chickens Roost too High,” published in 1887.
James H. Wallick (ca 1839-1908) was born in Hurley, New York. Sources have suggested varying possibilities for his birth name, including Patrick J. Fubbins, James Henry Wheeler, or James H. Fubbins Wallick. There has also been speculation that he took the last name Wallick to link himself to the actor James William Wallack, Sr. James Wallick appeared in melodramas and circuses before achieving his best-known success in The Bandit King, a touring Wild West show based on the life of outlaw Jesse James, recast as a hero named Joe Howard. Wallick created, produced, and starred in the drama, which offered stock features of the genre like horses, buffalo, and riding and sharpshooting tricks. In addition, the shows sometimes featured Robert J. Ford, James's real-life killer. Wallick’s other productions included The Cattle King and The Mountain King. He made and lost several fortunes over the course of his career and suffered from heavy debt. He committed suicide in 1908.
This chromolithograph was published by the Great Western Printing Company, which was probably based in St. Louis, Missouri.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.