Author: Marek

Cartoonist, musician, teacher.

Harvard: “American Minstrel Show Collection” (1823-1947)

Click to view collection guide from Harvard.edu: American minstrel show collection, 1823-1947 >> Master Diamond playbills >> T. D. Rice in character >> SCOPE & CONTENT: “The collection includes images of minstrel performers and troupes, playbills and programs of performances, and other miscellaneous materials concerning minstrel shows. The images are of individual minstrel performers and…

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Song of the 1st of Arkansas (1864)

This rewrite of “Battle-Hymn of the Republic” puts the agency of social and economic upheaval squarely on the shoulders — or rather, under the boot-heels — of Colored Troops.

Jim Crow (Rice, 1830)

If we can hold our immediate revulsion at the (now offensive) language, we’ll find some shocking critique and surprisingly liberal views in the lyrics…

Howe: Instructor for the Guitar (1851)

“Containing NEW AND COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS. To Which is Added A SELECTION OF CELEBRATED WALTZES, POLKAS, &c. TOGETHER WITH A LARGE COLLECTION OF POPULAR SONGS.”

Briggs: Banjo Instructor (1855)

“Containing the elementary principles of music, together with examples and lessons, … to which is added a choice collection of pieces, numbering over fifty popular dances, polkas, melodies, &c. &c., many of which have never before been published. Composed and arranged expressly for this work.”

Allen &c.: Slave Songs of the United States (1867)

“The musical capacity of the negro race has been recognized for so many years that it is hard to explain why no systematic effort has hitherto been made to collect and preserve their melodies…”

Buckley: Banjo Guide (1868)

“Containing the Elementary Principles of Music, Together with New, Easy, and Progressive Exercises, and a Great Variety of Songs, Dances, and Beautiful Melodies, Many of Them Never Before Published.”

UCSB: Early 20th Century Recordings

UCSB’s Edison wax cylinder collection provides a great many early recordings from the 1890s and 1900s, which is as close as modern recorded music gets to the 1860s*.