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"Chas. E. Blaney's Big Extravaganza Success." This is a lithograph advertising the theatrical comedy "A Female Drummer," c. 1898. View full size.
Drummer in this sense means salesperson, from the practice of peddlers banging a drum to alert housewives they were approaching. Drummer in this sense began to fade from usage in the 1920s as "salesman" and its derivatives entered common use.
The show opened on 26 December 1898 and closed 22 May 1899 after 56 performances at the Star Theatre, the Grand Opera House, and the Manhattan Theatre. The opening day cast can be seen here.
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