[MINSTREL SHOW] CHRISTY?S MINSTRELS. GHOST ILLUSION. [British], 1864. Large letterpress broadside accentuated by three large wood-engraved images, the uppermost depicting a minstrel holding an American flag aloft with the troupe?s name incorporated into the design. The centermost image is a farcical depiction of the then-popular ghost illusion as presented by the troupe. The lowermost shows the minstrels in their concluding turn, ?Take it & Leave Man!? 36 ? 11?". A few marginal chips and losses, old central fold, else very good. This bill advertises one of many troupes trading on the success of the original Christy?s Minstrels after the original troupe disbanded in 1860. The Ghost Illusion advertised here was most likely a comedy sketch playing on the popularity of Professor Pepper and Thomas Tobin?s then-novel stage effect (which debuted in London in 1862) that allowed a ghost to walk amongst men during a theatrical performance.