He was, by the way, not the first to 'blacken his face professionally.' From Charley White's diary[77] we learn that already in 1799 'Mr. Graupner' did so, 'Pot Pie Herbert' in 1814, Andrew Jackson Allen in 1815, etc., etc. In that year, indeed, according to Mr. Krehbiel, a song description of the battle of Plattsburg was sung in a drama to words supposedly in negro dialect. But organized negro minstrelsy did not exist until 1843, when Frank Brown, Billy Whitlock, Dick Pelham, and Dan D. Emmett appeared in the Chatham Square Theatre, New York, as the Virginia Minstrels and were 'received with deafening applause.' They were soon followed by band after band and hence transferred their labors to England to escape competition. When they returned there were the 'Kentucky Minstrels,' 'Congo Minstrels,' 'Original Virginia Serenaders,' 'African Serenaders,' and many more, among them the famous Christy's Minstrels, organized in 1844 or 1845. The droll humor of the negro, his native wit and ludicrous ways were a rich field for travesty to draw upon. Exaggerated, burlesqued in showman fashion, it was the joy of audiences still fond of slap-stick comedy. But the pathetic side of negro existence, told in sentimental ballad and stories of plantation life, appealed as well. No less a person than Thackeray was affected by it. According to the famous author's own testimony, it 'moistened his spectacles in a most unexpected manner.' From a mere accessory to the performance the negro minstrel show, thanks to the ingenuity of Edwin T. Christy, spread itself to usurp the entire evening. Christy created the form, the stereotype, as it were, of the minstrel show. He provided for a first part during which the performers, from four to twenty in number, seated in a single row with the 'interlocutor' in the centre and 'bones' and 'tambo' at either end, engaged in repartee and song in negro dialect alternately. During the second part or 'olio' there were banjo playing, clog dancing, and other 'specialties.' It might be remarked here that the negro minstrel developed a style of instrumentalism all his own, consisting largely of violin and banjo playing, often in trick fashion, between the knees, over the head, behind the back, etc. The third part of the minstrel show degenerated into a musical variety entertainment as far removed from plantation life as possible. Increased virtuosity notwithstanding, this breaking away from the negro traditions of the old minstrelsy brought about decay. Gorgeous show and glitter superseded negro characterization, just as the coon song took the place of the negro ditty, while only the blackened faces recalled the original intent of the entertainment. At present the minstrel show is dead except in amateur circles of the country town.