In 1858, Cyprian Clamorgan wrote a book entitled The Colored Aristocracy of St. Louis. The grandson of a white voyageur and a mulatto woman, he was himself a member of the "colored aristocracy." In a setting where the vast majority of African Americans were slaves and where those who were free generally lived in abject poverty, Clamorgan's "aristocrats" were exceptional people. Wealthy, educated, and articulate, these men and women occupied a "middle ground". Their material advantages removed them from the mass of African Americans, but their race barred them from membership in white society. In 1899, "Colored Aristocracy" became the title of a cakewalk number by Gus. W. Bernard, published by Baldwin. This is a genuine ragtime piece that fiddlers and mandolin players adopted in the early 20th century. Other rags/blues tunes in this collections are:     "Cherry River Rag"     "Dora Dean"     "L & N Rag"     "Old Jackson Stomp"     "Pig Ankle Rag"     "Ragtime Annie" - in the Tunes section,     "East Tennessee Blues"     "Eli Green's Cakewalk"     "Hawkin's Rag"     "Sister Kate"     "Stone's Rag"     "Woody's Rag" - in the Legacies section     "Horace Hanesworth" - in the Songwriters section. I learned this from the Old Time Banjo Project album. I sometimes play it in medleys with:     "Far from Home" in this section     "The Old Jackson Stomp" in this section     "Hawkin's Rag" in the Legacies section