Restrictions on access. No duplication allowed listening and viewing for research purposes only.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Descriptive Summary: 1718f., b&w, a compilation reel created by Ernie Smith
1. Three teen-age "street boys"
Descriptive Summary: silent
Copyright: 1903
2. Cakewalk
Descriptive Summary: silent
Copyright: 1903 (see also 491.1(2))
3. "Tiger Rag"
Copyright: 1929
Performer(s): James Barton
4. Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life, (excerpt from 491.29)
Copyright: 1935
Corporate Creator: Paramount Pictures
Producer: Adolph Zukor
Director: Fred Waller
Performer(s): Snake Hips Tucker, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra incl. Greer, Hodges, Whetsol and Jenkins
Song Title(s): "Merry-Go-Round", part Four-Harlem Rhythm
5. "Harlem Harmony"
Copyright: 1932
Performer(s): Cab Calloway, introduction by James Wallington
Song Title(s): "Harlem Harmony"
6. Snow White (see also 491.187)
Copyright: 1933
Corporate Creator: Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures
Producer: Max Fleischer
Director: Dave Fleischer
Performer(s): Cab Calloway, voice of Betty Boop is Mae Questel
Song Title(s): "St. James Infirmary Blues", vocals by Calloway and Questel
7. "Christopher Columbus"
Copyright: 1937
Performer(s): Stringbean, Jimmy Lunceford and His Orchestra, (Willie Smith on alto sax)
8. "Nagasaki"
Copyright: 1934
Performer(s): Red and Struggie, Lucky Millinder's Orchestra
9. unidentified clip
Copyright: ca. early 1940s
Performer(s): Slick and Slack, (bass drum reads Chris and Crew)
10. "Solid Sending Soft Shoe Specialist"
Copyright: 1944
Performer(s): Rubberneck Holmes
11. Stump and Stumpy
Copyright: 1948
12. "Ain't Misbehaven"
Copyright: 1948 Performer(s) Patterson and Jackson
13. Raymond Kaylund
Copyright: 1941
Performer(s): Jimmy Lunceford and His Orchestra
Descriptive Summary: Same setting as #7, but noted as 1941
14. A Bundle of Blues, excerpt
Copyright: 1933
Corporate Creator: Paramount Pictures
Performer(s): Bessie Dudley and Florence Hill, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra personnel: Hardwick, Hodges, Bigard, Carney (reeds), Whetsol, Williams, Jenkins (trumpets), Nanton, Tizol, Brown (trombones), Ellington, Guy, Broad, Greer (rhythm)
Song Title(s): "Bugle Call Rag"
15. "Bugle Call Rag"
Copyright: 1938
Performer(s): Miss Harris
16. "It Don't Mean A Thing" and an unidentified musical number
Copyright: 1939
Performer(s): Miller and Rhodes, unidentified young female
17. Follow the Boys, excerpt
Descriptive Summary: An excerpt from a George Raft film.
Copyright: 1944
Corporate Creator: Universal Films Producer(s): Charles K. Feldman, Albert L. Rockett
Director: A. Edward Sutherland Performer(s):
Song Title(s): "Sweet Georgia Brown"
18. Al Minns and Leon James; Playboy Club Show, excerpt
Descriptive Summary: an excerpt from 491.5
Copyright: 1964
Corporate Creator: Playboy Magazine/Enterprises
Producer: Dan Schuffman
Director: Dan Schuffman
Performer(s): Al Minns and Leon James
Song Title(s): Camptown Races, "Charleston", "Stompin' at the Savoy", "One O'Clock Jump", "How High the Moon"
19. The Berry Brothers
Copyright: ca. late 1940s, early 1950s
Performer(s): Introduced by Phil Silvers, The Berry Brothers
20. Three scat-singing unidentified male dancers
21. Two unidentified male dancers
22. Jump rope dancer
Corporate Creator: Vitaphone, Warner Brothers
Video reference copy
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the films are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Sponsor:
America's Jazz Heritage: A Partnership of the The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund and the Smithsonian Institution provided the funding to produce many of the video master and reference copies.
Corporate Creator: Paramount Pictures, distributed by UM&M TV Corp.
Producer: Adolph Zukor
Director: Fred Waller
Performer(s): Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, personnel: aumented orchestra includng: Hardwick, Hodges, Bigard, Carney;, Whetsol, Williams, Jenkins; Nanton, Tizol, Brown; Ellington, Guy, Braud, Greer, vocals by Billie Holiday, dances featuring Snake Hips Tucker and Bessie Dudley
Song Title(s): "Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life"
1. The Laborers - solos by Brown, Hodges
2. A Triangle: Dance, Jealousy, Blues - solos by Brown, Cootie, Barney, Nanton; Tucker and Dudley, vocals by Billie Holliday
3. A Hymn of Sorrow - solo possibly by Cootie Williams
4. Harlem Rhythm - Merry-Go-Round, solo by Jenkins, dancing by Snake Hips Tucker
Video reference copy
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the films are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Sponsor:
America's Jazz Heritage: A Partnership of the The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund and the Smithsonian Institution provided the funding to produce many of the video master and reference copies.
The Cook Labs records, which date from 1939-2002, document the activities of audio engineer Emory Cook and his label Cook Labs. The contents include business records, materials relating to recording artists, photographs, and production materials, as well as phonograph records, master recordings and unpublished recordings produced by or associated with the Cook Labs label. The collection also contains two interviews conducted with Emory Cook in 1990: one by Jeff Place and one by Anthony Seeger and Nicholas Spitzer. There are several physical objects relating to Cook Labs including a bag of powdered vinyl, a binaural playing arm, and a condenser microphone.
Scope and Contents note:
There are two primary components of the Cook Labs records: the records, master tapes and other audio recordings, and the related paper files.
The Cook Labs records contains about 150 of the 200 released Cook recordings, and 739 master tapes. In addition, there are 330 unpublished tapes.
The the paper files include acquisition materials; business correspondence; recording reports; various production notes on records produced; news articles both about and by Emory Cook and Cook Labs; copyright, licensing, and trademark materials; photographs, correspondence, contracts, and other materials relating to recording artists; production materials for each Cook Labs release; and other miscellany. Many contracts are signed by both Cook Labs and the artist. Correspondence is primarily between business associates.
Two interviews were done with Emory Cook in 1990: one by Jeff Place and one by Anthony Seeger and Nicholas Spitzer; both interviews are included in the Cook Labs records.
There are several physical objects relating to Cook Labs including a bag of powdered vinyl, a binaural playing arm, and a condenser microphone.
Arrangement note:
Many of the items in this list have been assigned an accession number, and like materials have been grouped together to create seven series:
Series 1: Business Papers, 1939-1990
Series 2: Recording Artists, 1949-1981, bulk 1950-1959
Series 3: Photographs, undated, 1957
Series 4: Production files, 1948-1995, bulk 1952-1963
Series 5: Objects, undated, 1908-1964
Series 6: Audio Interviews, 1990
Series 7: Audio Recordings
Biographical/Historical note:
Emory Cook (1913-2002) is widely regarded as a highly influencial audio engineer. Born and raised in Albany, New York, he joined the Army Air Corps in 1932. After his discharge in 1934 he obtained his degree from Cornell University and began working for Western Electric in the Audio Engineering Force. During World War II, while still at Western Electric, Cook supervised the creation of a fire-controlled radar "Trainer," for which he received a Commendation from the Service.
In the late 1940's, convinced he could do better than what was on the market, Cook began experimenting with making his own audio equipment. Cook Laboratories was started in 1945 when he developed a new cutting head to be used in record production. Future development of equipment brought about the discovery that he could record frequencies as high as 20,000 hertz, more than any other recording company at the time. He cut a record of piano and organ music to demonstrate this discovery, and took it to the 1949 Audio Fair in New York. When he demonstrated the record with the hopes to sell the recording equipment, he found that people were much more interested in buying the record itself. Shortly after, Sounds of Our Times, later called Cook Records, was born.
Cook Records collected many different sounds and was mostly aimed at the devoted high-fidelity listener. Cook believed that hearing was a sense often overlooked by people, and he wanted listeners of his albums to be able to hear things they might otherwise miss. In a New Yorker profile by Daniel Lang in 1956, Cook claimed that hearing was "always being kicked aside in favor of sight… There's a time and a place for everything, and that includes sound." In order to encourage listening, he put out many albums full of everyday sounds, such as Voice of the Sea, an album of noises of the ocean and Eye of the Storm, recorded during a thunderstorm. One of the most successful albums was Rail Dynamics, an album of steam trains pulling in and out of a station.
Cook Records also produced traditional music albums from its plant in Stamford, Connecticut. The label produced everything from organ music to folk, flamenco guitar, calypso and steel band. Cook had little interest in name musicians and instead searched high and low for anything he thought might be an interesting contribution to his label. He even invited listeners to send in their favorite sounds, some of which he eventually recorded.
Cook had such a large interest in Calypso music that he set up a second pressing plant in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. There he pressed calypso and steel band music for both a Trinidadian and American audience, and most albums sold well in both countries.
In addition to the wide range of music Cook recorded, he was also an inventor. It was Cook who first came up with the idea of pressing records with powdered, rather than solid, vinyl, a technique he dubbed "microfusion." This technique not only saved money, but cut out many of the traditional crackles and pops associated with records.
He also developed the binaural system of recording and playing records, which he thought was superior to the more commonly used stereo method. Binaural was more precise than stereo, and it required placing two microphones six inches apart, approximately the space between two ears, during the recording. It was then played back with a special two-needle playing arm. Binaural recordings were thought by Cook to best duplicate the original sound.
Emory Cook died at the age of 89 in 2002 after a long hospitalization.
Shared Stewardship of Collections:
The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.
COOK RECORDINGS - NUMERICAL LISTING:
001 20,000 Cycle Demo (1949) COOK00001
002 Night Rain and Surf COOK00002
003 Specimen Heart Beats COOK00003
004 Katydids, Frogs and Forrest Birds
E101 Grenada Stories and Songs (1957-58) COOK00101
E102 Amazon Sound: Yacu River Tribes (Rituals and Rites) (1954) COOK00102
E103 Music of St. Lucia (1953) COOK00103
E104 Rada (1958) COOK00104
E105 JOSE RAMON FORTUNE AND OLGA MAYNARD Nancy Stories (1956) COOK00105
106 Afro-West Indian Cultural Practices (1957-58) COOK00106
107 ESCOLA DE SAMBA DE BRAZIL The Boli, The Cocolute, and Brazil (1957-58) COOK00107
901 Steelband Jump Up Boys Town, Tropical Harmony, Silvertone COOK00901
904 THE ESSO STEEL BAND Esso Steelband of Bermuda (1958) COOK0904
906 LORD MELODY Lord Melody Sings Calypso (1958-59) COOK00906
911 TOM CHARLES AND HIS SYNCOPATER ORCHESTRA Fete for So! (1959) COOK00911
914 LORD MELODY Again! Lord Melody Sings Calypso (1957-58) COOK00914
916 Calypso Cross Section Young Killer, The Mighty Bomber, Small Island Pride, The Mighty Wrangler (1957-58) COOK00916
920 THE MIGHTY SPARROW King Sparrow's Calypso Carnival (1959) COOK00920
927 LORD MELODY Calypso through the Looking Glass (1959) COOK00927
928 CLARENCE CURVAN His Drums, His Orchestra COOK00928
930 Belly to Belly Clarence Curvan, Johnny Gomez, Tom Charles, Fitz Vaughn Bryan (1960-61) COOK00930
931 LORD MELODY Lord Melody, 1962 COOK0931
1000 TITUS MOODY DDDs of Binaural (1952) COOK01000
1011 The Christmas Music Box (1950) COOK01011
1012 Music Boxes of Long Ago (1950) COOK01012
1013 CHARLIE MAGNANTE Accordion Pops Concert (1954-55) COOK01013
1014 CHARLIE MAGNANTE AND LaVERGNE SMITH His and Hers (1954-55) COOK01014
1020 SAM ESKIN Sam Eskin's Songs of All Time COOK01020
1021 GROUPE MI-O Un Ti Bo (1958) COOK01021
1022 LAVINIA WILLIAMS' GROUPE FOLKLORIQUE Haiti Confidential (1958) COOK01022
1023 The Ramayana (Hindu Ceremony) (1961) COOK01023
10120 Music Boxes, Carousels, and Hand Organs (01012 and 05010) (1950-53) COOK10120
10248 The Voice of Mexico Gustavo Zepoli, Trio Leones (01024 and 01080) (1954) COOK10248
10251 SEAN McGONIGAL AND ST. COLUMCILLE'S UNITED GAELIC PIPE BAND Kilts on Parade (01025 plus solos) (1950-53) COOK10251
10271 CARLOS MONTOYA AND THE JOSE GRECO TROUPE Fiesta Flamenca (selections from 01027 and 01028) (1952) COOK10271
10289 CARLOS MONTOYA Montoya (selections from 01028 plus) (1952) COOK10289
10301 EDWARD AND JOSEPH VITO The Harp (selections from 01030 and 01031 plus) (1951-54) COOK10301
10326 Cafe Continental Ruth Welcome, Dick Marta, and Anita Ast (selections from 01026 and 01032) (1951-52) COOK10326
10350 Nickelodion and Calliope (selections from 01035 and 05010) (1950-53) COOK10350
10500 REGINALD FOORT The Theater Organ COOK10500
10501 MICHAEL CHESHIRE Pipe Organ in the Mosque (selections from 01050 and 01051) (1952) COOK10501
10523 REGINALD FOORT Percussion and Pedal (selections from 01052 and 01053) (1952) COOK10523
10545 REGINALD FOORT The Organ at Symphony Hall (01054 plus) (1954) COOK10545
10579 REGINALD FOORT Foort Pops (selections from 01057 and 01058) (1956) COOK10579
10646 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Tempo Vivace: Symphonic Masterpieces of Dance & Theater (selections from 01064 and 01066) (1955-56) COOK010646
10657 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Two Classical Symphonies: Mozart Symphony No. 40, Beethoven Symphony No. 5 (01065 and 01067) (1955) COOK10657
10659 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Two Classical Symphonies: Mozart Symphony No. 40, Haydn Symphony No. 100 (01065 and 01069) (1955-56) COOK10659
10683 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Modern Orchestral Textures (01068 and 01063) (1955) COOK10683
10850 RUPERT Cook LabsEMENDORE BAND Le Jazz Trinidad COOK10850
10867 Before and After Willie Rodriguez (selections from 01086 and 05007) (1953-54) COOK010867
10889 RED CAMP Horizontal & Upright & Downright & Dunright (01088 and 01089) (1954) COOK10889
10890 The Castiliane Johnny Gomez Band, John Buddy Williams Band, Girl Pat Steel Band, And Grand Curacaye String Orchestra (1956) COOK10890
11312 BRUCE PRINCE-JOSEPH AND HUFSTADER SINGERS The Forgotten Pedal Harpsichord and Hufstader Singers (01131 and 01092) (1953) COOK11312
11815 TONY ALMERICO'S PARISIAN ROOM BAND AND LIZZIE MILES Clambake on Bourbon Street (1954-55) COOK11815
50130 Tour of Cook Labs COOK50130
70889 RED CAMP Popular Piano and Combo COOK70889
80134 LUIZ BONFA Waterfall: Guitar COOK80134
80417 MARIMBA ORCHESTRA Waterfall: Children's Music COOK80417
80680 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Waterfall: Symphonic COOK80680
XX1 Audio Follies Sampler COOK00XX1
XX2 Calypso Jazz Sampler COOK00XX2
Series 10 Cook Series 10 COOK_Series10
Series 30 Cook Series 30 COOK_Series30
Series 60 Cook Series 60 COOK_Series60
Series 70 Cook Series 70 COOK_Series70
Series 80 Cook Series 80 COOK_Series80
Series 90 Cook Series 90 COOK_Series90
Series 100 Cook Series 100 COOK_Series100
Series 300 Cook Series 300 COOK_Series300
Series 301 Cook Series 301 COOK_Series301
Series 302 Cook Series 302 COOK_Series302
Series 303 Cook Series 303 COOK_Series303
Provenance:
The Smithsonian Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections acquired the Cook Labs Records in 1990, when Emory and Martha Cook donated their company records to the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Anthony Seeger, then Director of Smithsonian Folkways Records, received a call from Mr. Cook in the summer of 1989 offering to donate the Cook label to the Smithsonian. Dr. Seeger visited him in August of that year to view the contents of the collection, and the Smithsonian received custody of the collection in May 1990. In return for the donation from Mr. Cook, the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage agreed to keep the record titles available and to store the papers in the archives.
Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Topic:
Popular music -- 20th century -- United States Search this
Doc Watson Family with Gaither and Rosa Lee: Pretty Polly--Down in the willow garden--Rueben's train--Jimmy Sutton--Down the road--Ground hog--Old rattler--Brown's dream--Fiddler's dram--Merry go round--Cutty in the woodpile--Sally Goodin'--Cutty in the woodpile--Merry go round--Kitty Wells--Lawson Family tragedy--Back to Jericho--Keep my skillet good and greasy--Lord Thomas--Claude Allen
Track Information:
101 Pretty Polly / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
102 Willow Garden / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
103 Reuben's Train / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
104 Jimmy Sutton / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
105 Down the Road / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
106 Ground Hog / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
107 Old Rattler / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
108 Brown's Dream / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
109 Fiddler's Dram / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
201 Merry Go Round / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
201 Cutty in the Woodpile / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
202 Sally Goodin' / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
202 Cutty in the Woodpile / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
202 Merry Go Round / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
203 Kitty Wells / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
204 Lawson Family Tragedy / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
205 Back to Jericho / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
206 Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
207 Lord Thomas (Child No. 73) / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
208 Claude Allen / Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee Watson. Guitar,Fiddle,Banjo.
Local Numbers:
FP-RINZ-7RR-0011
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Deep Gap (N.C.), United States, North Carolina, September, 1960.
General:
CDR copy
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
2015.3035.180, The program covers the week of December 26th at the Strand Theatre in Ipswich. The cover features the 1937 film Manhattan Merry-Go-Round
Container:
Box 1, Folder 9
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1937
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Strand Theatre Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
2015.3035.207, The program covers the week of December 19, 1937 at the Strand Theatre in Ipswich. The cover features the 1937 film Manhattan Merry-Go-Round
Container:
Box 1, Folder 9
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1937
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Strand Theatre Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
2015.3035.327, The program covers the week of January 6, 1935 at the Strand Theatre in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The cover features the 1934 film Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round
Container:
Box 1, Folder 7
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1935
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Strand Theatre Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Collection primarily documents American folk art collected by Frederick Fried (1908-1994) and his wife Mary McKensie Hill Fried (1914-1988). It includes photographic materials, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, research files, lecture notes, unpublished manuscripts, brochures, drawings, printed advertisements, blueprints, books, patents, correspondence, trade literature, sheet music, auction catalogs, oral history interviews, and commercially recorded music. Of particular interest is the material relating to carousels. There is a substantial amount of material relating to New York architecture, wood carvings, show figures, weathervanes, mechanical and coin operated machines, amusement parks, the circus, tattoos and lesser-known folk arts. The collection is arranged by subject or genre in the order maintained by Frederick and Mary Fried.
Arrangement:
Series 1, Professional Materials, 1930-1995, undated
Subseries 1.1, Lectures, 1968-1989, undated
Subseries 1.2, Research Notes, 1962-1975, undated
Subseries 1.3, Published and Unpublished Materials, 1960-1990, undated
Subseries 1.4, Exhibitions, 1966-1985, undated
Subseries 1.5, Correspondence, 1945-1995, undated
Subseries 1.6, Office Files, 1930-1991, undated
Series 2, Sculptors and Ship Carvers, 1855-1987, undated
Series 3, Ship Carving Reference Files, 1875-1990, undated
Subseries 16.2.1, Lectures and Performances, 1969-1973, undated
Subseries 16.2.2, Interviews, 1940-1976, undated
Subseries 16.2.3, Conferences and Meetings, 1973-1977
Subseries 16.2.4, Music, 1956, undated
Subseries 16.2.5, Other, undated
Subseries 16.3, Videotapes, 1982-1991, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Frederick P. Fried was born December 11, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn where his father owned a clock business across the street from Charles Carmel, a carousel carver. Fried acquired a fine-arts education in the 1930s with an emphasis on sculpture. He served with the Air Force during the Second World War. After a successful military career, Fried worked as art director in several fashion agencies. He met Mary McKenzie Hill, an academically trained artist in one of the studios.
Mary McKenzie Hill was born in 1914 in Baltimore, Maryland. She graduated from the Maryland Institute of Fine Arts. After graduation, she spent a year abroad studying before she returned to the United States to work as a fashion illustrator in Baltimore and New York. During World War Two Hill was a draftsman for a firm of architects.
Fried and Mary Hill married in 1949. The couple had two children Robert Hazen and Rachel. Around 1953 Fried began to collect architectural ornaments in New York. Fried served as the art director for Bonwit Teller in New York City from 1955-1962. He left the fashion world in 1962 to pursue his passion for collecting and writing full time. Fried published his first book, Pictorial History of Carousels in 1964. In 1967, Fred and Mary Fried purchased a forty-acre farm in Bristol, Vermont where the family spent their summers.
In 1968, Fried led a national campaign to preserve the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse (Seamen's Church Institute at South Street). He also became active in politics and served as the campaign manager for a New York State senator. His interest in Indian cigar store figures resulted in his publication Artists in Wood: American Carvers of Cigar Store Indians, Show Figures and Circus published in 1970. The focus of the book was Samuel Anderson Robb a New York wood carver. Fried co-founded the National Carousel Association in 1973. In 1978, Fried wrote America's Forgotten Folk Art with his wife Mary. This publication covered subjects such as carousels, banner painting, scarecrows, beach sand sculpture, tattoos, cast iron toys, amusement park architecture and trade signs.
Fried's collecting goal was to first preserve artifacts and to then make them available through his writings and exhibitions. His most treasured relics were the items he salvaged from the ruins of Coney Island. Fried referred to such artifacts as the uncelebrated arts. He became one of the founders of the Anonymous Arts Recovery Society a group of individuals who saved architectural ornaments from the wreckers' balls. In addition, he was one of the founders of the National Carousel Round Table which was created to preserve hand-carved merry-go-rounds. As a result of his collecting, research and writing Fried became recognized as the authority on carousels, coin-operated machines, and cigar store figures. He served as a consultant to many Museums; in particular as chief consultant on American Folk Art for the Smithsonian Institution.
Frederick and Mary Hill worked together in many ways to document, collect, preserve and increase the awareness about primarily the folk arts. Mary McKenzie Hill Fried passed away in 1988 at the age of seventy-four. Frederick P. Fried died July 1994 at the age of eighty-six.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
E. Howard Clock Company Records (NMAH.AC.00776)
M. Francis Misklea Carousel Collection (NMAH.AC.0665)
Archives Center Carousel Collection (NMAH.AC.0675)
Messmore and Damon, Incorporated Company Records (NMAH.AC.0846)
Anthony W. Pendergast Collection (NMAH.AC.0882)
Frank Paulin Photoprints (NMAH.AC.1373)
Wurlitzer Company Records (NMAH.AC.0469)
Industry on Parade (NMAH.AC.0507)
Reel #191, Craftsmen of the Carousel, 1954. Manufacturing merry-go-rounds for amusement reports. Arrow Development Co., Mountain View, California.
Provenance:
Collection a bequest of the Frederick Fried Estate.
Rights:
Reproduction restricted due to copyright or trademark. Fees for commercial reproduction.
Includes carousel or merry-go-round, circus, and organ music. Some of the music is identified as commercial recordings. Materials are arranged in chronological order.
Collection Rights:
Reproduction restricted due to copyright or trademark. Fees for commercial reproduction.
Collection Citation:
Frederick and Mary Hill Fried Folk Art Archives, circa 1662-1999, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Catalog of 14 photographs of Lang Jingshan to commemorate the centenary of Daguerre, sponsored by l'Association Photographique de l'Université l'Aurore, Shanghai, 1939. Fourteen monochrome photographs and one color print; forward by Lang, dated October 10, 1939. Also includes brief notes of appreciation by John C. Ferguson; J. Hernault S.J.; Hsia Ching-Kwen (Xia Jingguan) and Chen Chuan-Lin (Chen Zhuanlin).
郎靜山
Exhibition of Pictorial Photography, by Chin-san Long
Biographical / Historical:
Lang Jingshan was a pioneering Chinese photographer active from the 1920s until his death in 1995. He is most noted for incorporating Chinese traditional painting styles and themes into his photographs. He also was noted for exploring modernist subjects and techniques such as 'composite photography' and nudes.
Admission tickets and sales profits from this 1939 exhibition were donated to purchase medical photography equipment and for refugees of the Japanese invasion of China.
Local Numbers:
FSA A1999.33 3.10.1
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Collection Citation:
John Calvin Ferguson Family Papers, FSA A1999.33. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. Gift of Peter Ferguson.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the
Smithsonian Institution Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Lilian Swann Saarinen papers, circa 1909-1977. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by The Walton Family Foundation; and John R. & Barbara Robinson and Deborah Schmidt Robinson & Dr. R. Perry Robinson, The Widgeon Point Charitable Foundation.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Freda Diamond Collection, 1945-1984, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Cultural History Search this
Extent:
1 Cubic foot (3 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Newsletters
Photographs
Patents
Auction catalogs
Clippings
Cyanotypes
Design drawings
Price lists
Trade catalogs
Date:
1925-1994.
Scope and Contents note:
A diverse collection of papers relating to amusement parks and playgrounds, with most of the papers relating to carousels. Contents include correspondence, photographs (including one cyanotype), exhibition catalogs, trade literature and trade catalogs, price lists, articles and clippings, newsletters, and patents (photocopies) for carousel animals. One series, that relating to the woodcarver Salvatore Cernigliaro, contains his sketchbook for carousel animal designs.
Arrangement:
Divided into 7 series, arranged by donor.
Related Materials:
Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Industry on Parade (NMAH.AC.0507)
Reel #191, Craftsmen of the Carousel, 1954. Manufacturing merry-go-rounds for amusement reports. Arrow Development Co., Mountain View, California.
Provenance:
Collection donated by multiple donors.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Cultural History Search this
Extent:
2 Cubic feet (6 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Letters (correspondence)
Advertisements
Design drawings
Clippings
Stereographs
Scrapbooks
Photographs
Date:
1879-1956
Scope and Contents:
Miscellaneous documents, catalogs, scrapbooks, photographs and printed material relating to the carousels and other amusement park rides of the Allan Herschell Company (which earlier in its existence was called the Herschell-Spillman Company and the Spillman Engineerng Corporation).
Arrangement:
1 series.
Biographical / Historical:
Employee of the Allan Herschell Company, which manufactured amusement park rides.
Provenance:
Donated by Francis Misklea in 1974.
Restrictions:
Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
