Sailors And Accordians!

[Dirge]

I thought the historians might be interested in a quote from the book I'm reading, 'The Sea and The Jungle' which is a true account of a tramp steamer voyage from Swansea docks to the Amazon basin made in 1909. Published 1912. The writer, H M Tomlinson, was someone in fleet st. who chucked in his job to sail as purser with his friend the captain and comes across as a fair eye-witness account of life at sea. (we're somewhere out near the Azores at the moment) See what you think of this throw-away comment:

 

"I sang some songs in a riving minor, accompanied by the mate on an accordian, for the doctor's amusement, and discovered why sailors always use the accordian, previously a mystery to me. It has a sad and reflective note, suited to men with memories when alone on the ocean."

 

So there. As far as H M Tomlinson's concerned the ACCORDIAN is the sailor's choice, at least in 1910. (the chief engineer has a flute and the rest of the crew sing; there seems to be an unspoken expectation of mutual entertainment!)

[Stephen Chambers]

You remind me of Charles Dickens, writing of the preparations for his voyage home from America, in a letter dated 22nd March 1841:

 

I have bought another accordion. The steward lent me one, on the passage out, and I regaled the ladies' cabin with my performances. You can't think with what feeling I play Home Sweet Home every night, or how pleasantly sad it makes us. . . .

 

edited for spelling

Edited May 16, 2006 by Stephen Chambers

[Dirge]

My poor little offering, reduced to smut in 2 blows...

[JimLucas]

My poor little offering, reduced to smut in 2 blows...

Not at all.

 

I found it most interesting... and ignored the smut.

[Stephen Chambers]

My poor little offering, reduced to smut in 2 blows...

Well I hope you don't think my post was intended that way. It was the association of the passengers being entertained with an accordion belonging to one of the crew, and the sadness it induced, that reminded me of Dickens' letter of almost seventy years earlier.

 

In fact it was really my poor post that got reduced to smut

[Dan Worrall]

Geez, let's lift the level of conversation back to where Stephen and Dirge had it!!

 

Here is an interesting account of some passengers visiting sailors in the sailors quarters, on a US-bound sail/steam ship in 1878...where the sailors produced a concertina and danced a jig (see paragraph 9).

http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Rep...ish-skin-custom

 

This is one of those ever-so-rare documentations of working sailors playing concertinas on board ship in the nineteenth century.

 

That ship, the City of Chester, is shown in a period photograph, here:

http://www.mysticseaport.org/Library/immig...f%20Chester1873

 

 

Cheers,

Dan

[stuart estell]

You remind me of Charles Dickens, writing of the preperations for his voyage home from America, in a letter dated 22nd March 1841:

 

I have bought another accordion. The steward lent me one, on the passage out, and I regaled the ladies' cabin with my performances. You can't think with what feeling I play Home Sweet Home every night, or how pleasantly sad it makes us. . . .

 

That's a wonderful image to conjure with. Thanks Stephen