Anglo Concertinas In 19th Century Us

[Dan Worrall]

Just a note to let Forum readers know that I’ve published a “Brief History of the Anglo Concertina in the United States” this week on the Concertina Library website at

http://www.concertina.com/worrall/anglo-in-united-states

 

As a long time anglo enthusiast in the US, I’ve long been curious about this instrument’s mostly-forgotten early history here. We know from old advertisements and tutors that the German prototypes of the anglo reached the US at the same time as they reached England and the rest of Europe, and that its use had largely died out here a decade before the dawn of sound recording. Tantalizing clues to its earlier use here abound, including Civil War era photographs and the like, but no ready documentation, and no early recordings of the sort available in England (William Kimber) or Australia (Dooley Chapman)…only the 1920s recordings of Irish music by immigrant William Mullaly. How commonly was it played, and by whom? Most of us American players are woefully in the dark on this; I know I was. In the article, you’ll find lots of nineteenth century newspaper accounts, diary references, and photographs that, it is hoped, shed some light on the subject; here are a few teasers:

 

•It was extremely popular in mainstream American culture, even somewhat iconic, in the 1850s to 1870s, and remained commonly played until about 1900.

•Numerous accounts (and a nice period painting) of its use by folks on wagon trains heading west, and by Indian fighters and such. Ads from that period show it as being sold across the US, including some places then reachable only by wagon train.

•Mormons and Salvation Army folks used it extensively in sacred works. I’ve included some nice photos of anglos being used in tent revivals, and by early Salvationists here

•In the Civil War, documents show it was used on raiding ships in the Confederate Navy, among other places…and it was noted later in quite a few other nautical settings

•After that war, it found itself in somewhat frequent use in both north and south in blackface minstrel shows, the forerunner to old time string band music, as shown by several accounts and photographs…and (perhaps less frequently) by black Americans themselves

•Aleut Indians on Alaska’s frontier Bering Sea coast adopted it widely in their dances and seasonal affairs

•Irish immigrants were playing it extensively here a full half century before Mullaly arrived; among other sightings, there is a lengthy account of one anglo ‘incident’ at an 1888 Irish dance in New York, that must be among the earliest lengthy accounts anywhere of Irish anglo playing. Italian and German immigrants used it too; German Americans switched to the Chemnitzer toward the end of the century.

•Hollywood’s use of anglos to instill ‘old time’ atmosphere in their films dates back to the silent era. Movie use of it as a prop in westerns and on sailing ships is not as historically far-fetched as it may seem.

 

Taking full advantage of the Concertina Library site, I’ve also loaded (or rather, Bob Gaskins has painstakingly loaded) several nineteenth century tutors in their entirety…several hundred pages of material scored for anglo. These include classic American tutors for German concertina by Elias Howe (two, both 1879) and Alfred Sedgwick (his last, 1893). Also included is a Salvation Army anglo tutor by Herbert Booth from 1888 (published in London). There is also some other documentation on the large body of American-composed ‘traditional’ dance music of that era.

 

I hope you enjoy the article. Many people helped with this, especially Randy Merris, Jared Snyder, US Salvation Army historians Susan Mitchum and Gloria Stepke; The University of Texas’ Ransom Center’s collection of minstrel documents; Utah’s Springfield Museum of Art. Thanks as well to Roger Digby, Robin Harrison and Randy Merris for helpful editing comments, and most of all to Bob Gaskins for his extensive, friendly help and his wonderful concertina website.

 

One particularly nice thing about the Concertina Library is that, being digital, updates and corrections are easy to make. I would be keen to hear of any new material any of you may have seen on this subject, or of corrections, so that they might be incorporated into this work. Please email those to me…my e-address is appended to the Anglo article.

 

Dan

Edited April 16, 2007 by Dan Worrall

[Jim Besser]

Just a note to let Forum readers know that I’ve published a “Brief History of the Anglo Concertina in the United States” this week on the Concertina Library website

 

Well done, Dan; really interesting and nicely executed. Answered a lot of my questions. Thanks.

[Mark Evans]

Bravo Dan! Boy, those snooty EC players (I'm not suprised though ).

 

This is a fine piece of work.

[JimLucas]

Great stuff!

Brilliantly done!

 

My first browse tells me I'll be taking some time to go through it all. What a lot of material. What a lot of work!

 

Now about the English and duets....

[Daniel Hersh]

Yes, a great job--amazing research, wonderful illustrations and clear and well-organized writing. Thank you!

 

Just a note to let Forum readers know that I’ve published a “Brief History of the Anglo Concertina in the United States” this week on the Concertina Library website

 

Well done, Dan; really interesting and nicely executed. Answered a lot of my questions. Thanks.

[Jody Kruskal]

Thank you Dan. A splendid piece of research. Your clear and organized presentation makes this complicated and interesting subject a pleasure to read. You make a very convincing case for the wild popularity of the Anglo in the US. Alas, that popularity faded before the era of recorded music, so we’ll never hear what folks were actually playing on the Anglo here in the US back then. Oh well, I guess we’ll have to figure out how to play American music on the Anglo without them. What fun!

[stuart estell]

I've only taken a cursory glance, but will read this through properly at lunchtime. Looks fascinating Dan, thanks.

[Dan Worrall]

Bravo Dan! Boy, those snooty EC players (I'm not suprised though ).

 

This is a fine piece of work.

 

Thanks, all, for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed it.

 

I should add a remark about the 'snooty EC players' in the 19th century US, in all seriousness. Well, almost serious. I'm certainly not one to raise a ruckus about that subject, as I play both anglo and EC equally poorly. Because I was attempting to write a 'history', however, I had to write what I found. Those were strange times.

 

In case you haven't seen it, Bob Gaskins posted another such reference with EC vs anglo content, this one found by Stuart Eydmann in a 1908 English magazine, with a hilarious comment about the elegant EC as not to be compared with "cheap German atrocities with which Bank Holidays make us all too familiar". Oh dearie me!

 

http://www.concertina.com/eydmann/christin...ertina-1908.pdf

 

I've tried to make amends with EC friends by writing an article on America's first English concertinist (and one of England's greatest inventors) for the next PICA.

[Mark Evans]

Those were strange times.

 

In case you haven't seen it, Bob Gaskins posted another such reference with EC vs anglo content, this one found by Stuart Eydmann in a 1908 English magazine, with a hilarious comment about the elegant EC as not to be compared with "cheap German atrocities with which Bank Holidays make us all too familiar". Oh dearie me!

.....

I've tried to make amends with EC friends by writing an article on America's first English concertinist (and one of England's greatest inventors) for the next PICA.

 

Those were indeed strange times. In using EC for popular music of the period I have tried to rationalize with a twisted logic that since my families were well established in Kentucky, North Carolina and Virgina and all but the Evanses (who started the trek to Utah with Brigham Young) wealthy land owners, an ancestor musician amongst them could have perhaps owned an EC. That musician might have enjoyed straying from the manor house for a walk on the wild side with the music that was the life force surrounding their twisted, rather screwed up world. It is a far reach I'll admit (no further than my pig headed instance on playing Irish trad on the thing as well).

 

From the moment I picked up an EC in 1978 I felt a connection to this music that went so deep it seemed almost genetic. Yes, granola and delusional all in one.

 

I look forward to your next article.

Edited April 17, 2007 by Mark Evans