Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels was a blackface

Blackface

Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...

 minstrel

Minstrel show

The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....

 troupe created in 1877, when J. H. Haverly

J. H. Haverly

J. H. Haverly was an entrepreneur and promoter of blackface minstrel shows. During the 1870s and 1880s, he created an entertainment empire centered on his minstrel troupes, particularly Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels and Haverly's Colored Minstrels. Under his guidance, these troupes grew to...

 merged four of the companies he owned and managed.

Promotion

Borrowing techniques from showmen like P. T. Barnum

P. T. Barnum

Phineas Taylor Barnum was an American showman, businessman, scam artist and entertainer, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the circus that became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus....

, Haverly advertised

Advertising

Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...

 the Mastodons in broadsides, newspapers, and playbills: "FORTY—COUNT 'EM—40—FORTY—HAVERLY'S UNITED MASTODON MINSTRELS". Another ad read, "Forty is a magical and historical number. In the time of Noah it rained forty days and forty nights. The Children of Israel wandered forty years in the wilderness. Haverly's famous forty are just as important."

Showmanship

The Mastodons entered every new town in two columns, spread out as far as possible and led by a brass band

Brass band

A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...

. Beginning in 1878, a drum corps

Drum and bugle corps (modern)

A drum and bugle corps, also known as a drum corps, is a musical marching unit consisting of brass instruments, percussion instruments, and color guard. Typically operating as independent non-profit organizations, drum corps perform in competitions, parades, festivals, and other civic functions...

 joined their ranks so that they could tour one part of a city while the band played in another. After sufficient marching, the two units joined up and led intrigued spectators into the theater. The company's manager, Charles Frohman

Charles Frohman

Charles Frohman was an American theatrical producer. Frohman was producing plays by 1889 and acquired his first Broadway theatre by 1892. He discovered and promoted many stars of the American theatre....

, showed off a three-foot-tall iron safe when the troupe arranged for accommodations, with a golden "Haverly's Mastodon Minstrels" blazoned on its side; only the troupe knew that the safe rarely held anything of value.

The United Mastodon Minstrels and the aura that surrounded them were all about size. In one 1879 production in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, the curtain raised to reveal 19 minstrels. Behind them was another curtain, this one featuring a female figure representing "Dance". This went up and added another group of men, these standing in front of the figure of "Music". As this curtain lifted, the audience saw yet more men backed by the figure of "Art". This in turn rose, to complete the ensemble. The final backdrop was an image of two of Haverly's theaters.

In addition to size, the Mastodons' shows emphasized lavish scenery and extravagant expense. The program for an 1880 show addressed the audience: "The attention of the public is respectfully called to the magnificent scene representing a Turkish Barbaric Palace in Silver and Gold." The sketch began with minstrels portraying Turkish soldiers on a mountain. The scenery then changed to a royal palace, the scene of a dancing contest. For the finale, a number of unrelated scenes appeared, representing "Base-Ball", "The Dying Athlete", "The Strong Defending the Weak", and "United We Stand". The third act consisted of a circus

Circus

A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...

 burlesque

American burlesque

American Burlesque is a genre of variety show. Derived from elements of Victorian burlesque, music hall and minstrel shows, burlesque shows in America became popular in the 1860s and evolved to feature ribald comedy and female striptease...

, called "PEA-TEA-BAR-NONE'S KOLLOSAL CIRKUSS, MUSEUM, MENAGERIE AND KAYNE'S KICKADROME KAVALKADE". The segment featured acrobats, bareback riders, clowns, tightrope walkers, and minstrels in elephant costumes.

Success

Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels saw great success, and the impact on minstrelsy was profound. Other troupe owners rushed to compete, mimicking the Mastodons' elaborate sets and large number of players. Ultimately, many smaller companies folded or were forced to travel further from the established minstrel circuits in order to survive.