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Finding Aids to Individual Collections in the Archive of Folk Culture
THE JAMES MADISON CARPENTER COLLECTION
AFC 1972/001
Library of Congress
Washington DC
June 1996
SUMMARY
The James Madison Carpenter Collection consists of manuscript materials,
sound recordings, and graphic materials that document primarily British
and American folk music, dance, and British ritual drama. The materials
span the years 1928-55, with some dated 1972 and 1987. The bulk of the
material was collected between 1928-35 by Carpenter during fieldwork in
England and Scotland; other material was collected in the United States
between 1937 and 1941 by Carpenter and his Duke University students. Through
this effort, Carpenter amassed a collection of an estimated 1,000 ballad
texts and 850 tunes of the Francis Child canon; 500 sea songs (including
chanteys); 1,000 other ballads and songs (texts and many tunes) from Britain
and America; 200 children's singing games, riddles, and nursery rhymes
(texts and many tunes); 300 British folk plays (texts and some tunes);
miscellaneous folktales, African- American spirituals, Cornish carols,
and so forth; and approximately 500 related photographic images and 40
drawings. The collection was purchased from Carpenter by the Library of
Congress in 1972. An oral history interview with the donor in 1972 and
subsequent programs based on the materials complement the collection.
Access and Reproduction: Listening and viewing access
to the collection is unrestricted. Duplication of the recorded materials
may be governed by copyright.
Key Subjects: Afro-American spirituals, ballads, bothy
ballads, castles, chanteys, Chedworth, Child ballads, children's games,
children's songs, Christmas plays, Cornish carols, dreg songs, English
Folk Dance Society, English folk plays, Hadrian's Wall, Helston Furry dance,
mummers' plays, May Day festivals, morris dance, Pace Eggers, ritual drama,
Roman baths, songs, Stonehenge, sword dance, wassailers
Primary Languages: English, Gaelic, Scottish
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
SERIES I: ORIGINAL COLLECTION MATERIAL
Physical Description |
Location Numbers |
Manuscripts: 255 folders 10 reels
microfilm |
Music 3109 |
Audio Recordings:
|
|
179 dictaphone cylinders |
AFS 4501-4679 (numbers subject to change)(Original field
recordings) |
220 12" discs at 78 rpm |
AFS 14,830-15,050 ("sides" 1-440) (Copies made by JMC
of cylinders) |
22 7" reels at 3.75 ips |
(Listening copies) |
22 10" reels at 7.5 ips |
AFS 19,900-19,921. LWO 6961, r1-22 (Preservation copies
of discs) |
Graphic Materials: |
|
40 ink and pencil drawings
346 b&w negatives
598 b&w photoprints
112 b&w glass plate negatives
115 b&w glass transparencies (lantern slides) |
|
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
SERIES II: ORAL HISTORY, PROGRAMS, AND PRODUCTS
Physical Description |
Location |
Manuscript
|
|
3 Folders |
|
Sound Recordings |
|
4 7" reels FT at 7.5 ips |
AFS 14,762-14,765, LWO 6918 |
4 7" reels FT at 7.5 ips |
(Listening Copies |
Graphic Images |
|
1 b&w contact sheet
4 color photoprints
1 b&w photoprint
17 color transparencies |
|
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
Introduction
The James Madison Carpenter Collection spans the years 1928- 1987, with
the largest portion dated 1928-35. It is arranged into two groups or series.
Series I, the bulk of the collection, consists of the materials purchased
from Carpenter and includes manuscripts, sound recordings, and graphic
materials. It contains the results of Carpenter's fieldwork, his subsequent
work on the collection, and documentation of other professional activities.
Series II consists of material about the collection, primarily generated
by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. It includes
manuscript material, sound recordings, and graphic materials. It is an
open series.
Carpenter spent most of his life as an American university lecturer. However,
he began his collecting activities while conducting research on sea chanteys
in the northeast United States (1927-28) and England, Ireland, Wales, and
Scotland (1928) for his doctoral dissertation at Harvard University. This
year of fieldwork extended into six more as Carpenter traveled throughout
Scotland and Britain as a Harvard Fellow, covering (by his estimate) 40,000
miles and recording the texts and tunes of thousands of ballads and folksongs
as well as hundreds of folk plays. During his tenure abroad, Carpenter
focused, successively, on collecting chanteys (particularly in eastern
coast ports of northern England and Scotland, 1929-30), ballads, and songs
(chiefly in Scotland and the English counties of Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire,
Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, and Yorkshire, 1929-
33), and folk plays (in England and Scotland, 1934-35). After his return
to the United States, Carpenter continued collecting activities while a
professor of English at Duke University, concentrating on children's songs
and singing games (1938-41).
Through multi-format documentation Carpenter captured approximately 1,000
ballad texts and 850 tunes of the Francis Child canon; 500 sea songs and
chanteys; 1,000 other ballads and songs (including bothy ballads and dreg
songs) from Britain and America; 200 children's singing games, riddles,
and nursery rhymes; 300 British folk plays; miscellaneous folktales, African-American
spirituals, Cornish carols, and so forth; and 500 related photographic
images and 40 drawings.* Although Carpenter used his collections as the
subject of numerous lectures in colleges and universities, he never was
successful at publishing his findings.
The collection represents not only the results of Carpenter's fieldwork,
but also documents his fieldwork process. Traveling throughout Britain
and Scotland in a small roadster (an Austin Seven), he searched for singers
and dancers. While Carpenter found many of his best informants through
chance and circumstance, he purposely tracked down some of the singers
and performers documented by Francis Child, Gavin Greig, and Cecil Sharp.
One of his most prolific informants, Scottish singer Bell Duncan, gave
him 300 songs and ballads, of which 62 balads were previously collected
by Child. Using a dictaphone powered by a six-volt battery, Carpenter recorded
his informants on wax cylinders. He also typed the text with a manual typewriter
while the singer dictated. Later he transferred many of the recordings
to 12-inch acetate discs, and also taught himself music notation to transcribe
approximately 1,000 of the recorded tunes. To record the folk plays, Carpenter
usually enlisted several informants to recite the entire ritual drama,
thus obtaining multiple versions of each one.
While Carpenter's focus was on the spoken and sung word, his collection
includes some documentation of dance and related dance activities (see
Appendix A). Many of the mummers' play texts, particularly the sword dance
plays, include references to and some description of dance. The sound recordings
include fiddle tunes used in morris dance. In addition, photographs depict
morris dance (with broom dancing), sword dance, the Helston Furry dance,
and dancing at May Day and English Folk Dance Society festivals.
Series I
Series I contains Carpenter's fieldwork documentation as well as notes,
drafts, and miscellanea accumulated during the ensuing years of work. The
fieldwork materials are interrelated; however, these relationships are
not always readily apparent. That is, many of the ballads and songs are
documented by written texts, recorded tunes, and notated tunes (often with
texts). The photographs often depict the subjects of the ballads and songs
(castles, rivers), the informants (mummers, wassailers, fishwives), and
their environment (cottages, ports, villages). The inventories and indexes
are limited at this time; no concordance links all the works together.
Many ballads and folk plays are represented by several versions recorded
by different informants. In addition, Carpenter's documentation of the
informant, place, and date of recording is not consistent or complete.
The manuscript material in Series I consists of approximately 6,500 type-
and handwritten leaves, bound and unbound. It contains documentation of
Carpenter's fieldwork, subsequent work on the materials, and documentation
of Carpenter's other professional activities. After the materials arrived
at the Library they were microfilmed in the order in which they were arranged
at the time: by "box," "packet," and "mailsack" number (folders 13-184).
Since the microfilm has been distributed world-wide and references and
guides use this arrangement, that arrangement has been maintained. Therefore,
the materials in general are not organized systematically by subject type.
Related notes, correspondence, iterations of indexes, and drafts of lectures
or publications may be filed separately.
The materials fall into several categories, each of which may have several
iterations: texts of ballads, songs, and plays; transcriptions of tunes;
lists and indexes; correspondence; lecture notes and drafts; plans and
drafts of publications; curriculum and administrative material from Duke
University; newspaper clippings; and miscellaneous notes. The music texts
and transcriptions include sea songs and chanteys, Child ballads, bothy
ballads, dreg songs, children's songs and games, and carols. The ritual
drama texts include mummers plays, Christmas plays, sword dance plays,
guyzards, pace-eggers, plough boys, and riding the stang.
The manuscripts represent several stages of work, from rough field notes
and transcriptions to more complete, alphabetically arranged versions.
Some of the manuscripts, particularly the correspondence, notes, and lecture/publication
drafts, shed light on the relationship of the photographs to the rest of
the materials, Carpenter's fieldwork experiences, and his scholarly analysis
of the collection. They also inform the reader about Carpenter's concerns
and work after his years as a collector.
The sound recordings in Series I include the wax cylinders and the 12-inch
discs used by Carpenter to record in England, Scotland, and the United
States, 1928-41. Carpenter copied many of the cylinders onto the discs;
he also used the discs for original recordings. According to Carpenter,
he recorded approximately 3,000 tunes (many are repeated by the same or
different singers), and was the first to make sound recordings of the ballads.
The types of recordings include ballads, lyric songs, sea chanteys, fiddle
tunes, folk tales, folk plays, children's songs, and African-American songs
and tales. A contents list of the sound recordings prepared by Carpenter
can be found in folders 9-10.
The graphic images in this series include film negatives, photoprints,
glass negatives, glass positives (lantern slides), and drawings, totaling
more than 1,000 items. The photographic materials were not indexed or inventoried
by Carpenter, and no apparent order to the materials existed. Consequently,
they are arranged by subject into the following general categories: performance/ritual,
people, structures, ancient structures and artifacts, town and street scenes,
landscapes and maritime scenes, and miscellaneous. For the most part, the
photographs are not dated, but seem to span the years 1925-35; they depict
subjects from England and Scotland. Carpenter or other annotators sometimes
noted cryptic descriptions on the backs of photographs, on the front of
the lantern slides, or on accompanying paper or enclosures (see folders
185-89, "Notes relating to photographs"). While Carpenter was the primary
photographer, he also obtained many photographs from commerical photographers
and others. At some point Carpenter made glass negatives of the photoprints,
and then glass positives. Therefore, identical images often appear in different
mediums.
Although his use of the photographs and their relationship to the other
materials is not explicitly stated, it can be discerned that he used the
lantern slides to illustrate lectures and planned to use the photographs
to accompany publications of the materials. The images cover a range of
people, places, and activities, from Carpenter himself (seated in his car),
to Christmas wassailers, dancing children, Scottish castles, Roman baths,
and market squares. They represent the content of the ballads and songs,
the informants themselves, and subjects whose relationship to the collection
is not yet known. Of particular note is the documentation of castles in
Scotland and England that create a visual record of these structures as
they existed before World War II. For a detailed inventory of the photographic
materials, see the "Photograph Inventory" in folder 1.
The 40 ink and pencil drawings were drawn by George Baker, a British dry
mason who was the son of a mummer. Undated, the drawings depict characters
and scenes from mummers and Christmas plays. Often a caption identifies
the characters, and multiple drawings of the same ones ("the doctor," "belsebub")
exist. Carpenter planned to use these drawings as illustrations for publications
on the folk plays.
Series II
Series II consists of materials generated by the Library of Congress concerning
the collection. It contains manuscipt material, sound recordings, and photographs
documenting the 1972 interview with Carpenter as well as a 1987 lecture
that drew on collection materials. This is an open series.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH JAMES MADISON CARPENTER
James Madison Carpenter (1888-1984) was born in Booneville, Mississippi.
He received both a bachelor of arts degree (1913) and a master of arts
degree (1914) from the University of Mississippi. He furthered his graduate
training at Harvard University, where he came under the tutelage of Professor
G.L. Kittredge, a ballad scholar. At Harvard, Carpenter became interested
in British and American folk songs; his dissertation, "Forecastle Songs
and Chanties," was completed in 1929.
From 1929 to 1935 Carpenter traveled throughout England and Scotland
primarily as a Harvard Fellow, collecting folk songs, folk plays, and other
folklore materials. Upon his return to the United States, Carpenter taught
himself to notate the tunes he had recorded, and transcribed approximately
1,000 tunes in the next few years. At the same time Carpenter became a
college lecturer, giving presentations based on his research at institutions
such as Harvard, Wellesley, Vassar, Smith, Radcliffe, Amherst, and the
University of Vermont. In 1938 he taught English at Duke University, and
continued his collecting of folk songs and children's games, often as part
of his curriculum. After five years at Duke, Carpenter taught for one year
at William and Mary and then became chairman of the English Department
at Greensboro College. His tenure at Greensboro lasted ten years; he formally
retired from the department in 1954. Carpenter returned to his hometown
of Booneville in 1964, where he lived until his death in 1984.
COLLECTION INVENTORY AND DESCRIPTION
MANUSCRIPTS
Archive of Folk Culture Administrative Material:
Location |
Contents |
Folder 1 |
Collection register and photograph inventory. The collection
guide (this document) and the item-level inventory of photograph materials. |
Folders 2-3 |
Correspondence, 1970-91. Correspondence between the
Library of Congress and James M. Carpenter, Kenneth Goldstein, and
others concerning the acquisition of the collection and related matters. |
Folder 4 |
Notes about the collection. Handwritten and typed notes
by James M. Carpenter and Alan Jabbour concerning the contents of the
collection (n.d.). |
Folder 5 |
Early box/contents lists. Handwritten and typed lists
by Alan Jabbour and other Library employees outlining the contents
of the collections, primarily the manuscript materials and the microfilm
(n.d.). |
Folder 6 |
List: Informants. 4-page typewritten list of names
of those from whom Carpenter colleced in northeast Scotland, ca. 1930.
Compiled by E.B. Lyle, 1975, from the headings of texts. |
Folder 7 |
"A Guide to the Carpenter Manuscripts." A copy of the
work compiled by E.C. Cawte, 1980. A type-written inventory of tunes,
songs, and folk drama texts based on the microfilm of the manuscripts.
In reel order, lists informant (singer, fiddler, etc.) and title. Includes
date and place when listed in the original, as well as brief descriptions
of other material such as correspondence and notes. |
Folder 8 |
"A Guide to English Ritual Drama in the Carpenter Manuscripts." A
copy of the work compiled by E.C. Cawte, 1980. 58-page, type- written
inventory of ritual drama and other folk customs based on the microfilm
of the manuscripts. In reel order, each entry includes place, source,
Carpenter's folio number, type of custom, summary of materials, and
comments. The guide also contains an analysis of the places and numbers
of texts collected, a list of customs mentioned by Carpenter, an alphabetical
index, and references. |
Folders 9-10 |
Recordings--content list. Original and copy. Typewritten
list (with annotations) prepared by Carpenter of the contents of the
sound recordings. In disc side order, lists the title of the tune and
the name or description of the singer/informant. It includes ballads,
fiddle tunes, recitations of mummers' plays, chanteys, forebitters,
dreg songs, bothy songs, nursery songs, and spirituals. |
Folder 11 |
Articles by/about JM Carpenter. Photocopies of newspaper
and magazine articles by Carpenter (1931, 1938) and about Carpenter
and the collection (1985, 1989, 1990). |
SERIES I: ORIGINAL COLLECTION MATERIALS
"B" and "P" in parentheses refer to "box" and "packet" numbers corresponding
to those referred to in the microfilm. It is not known if this is the original
order of the materials or the arrangement imposed by the Library for microfilming. "MS" refers
to "mail sack."
MANUSCRIPTS |
|
Location |
Contents |
Folder 12 |
Correspondence/papers 1928-39. Correspondence between
Carpenter and Harvard University and John Lomax (Library of Congress)
concerning his fellowships, collecting experiences, and possible lecture
opportunities. Includes original fellowship certificates. |
Folders 13-22 |
Scottish and English songs (B1P1). Typewritten and
annotated texts of songs from Scotland and England. Originally bound,
now separate 8 1/2 x 6 1/2 inch sheets. Most sheets include name of
tune, singer (informant), and date and place of recording. Sheets are
numbered, but are not arranged in numerical order. Numbers may refer
to various indexes. |
Folders 23-28 |
Scottish ballads (B1P2). Typewritten and annotated
texts of ballads from Scotland. Originally bound, now separate 8 1/2
x 6 1/2 inch sheets. Most sheets include name of tune, singer (informant),
and date and place of recording. Sheets are numbered, but are not arranged
in numerical order. Numbers may refer to various indexes. |
Folders 29-35 |
Mummers plays (B1P3). Typewritten and annotated texts
of mummers' plays, including Riding The Stang, Christmas plays, sword
dance plays, pace egger plays, and others. Originally bound, now separate
8 1/2 x 6 1/2 inch sheets. Includes name of play/group, location, informant,
and text of play, as well as some description of movement/action, costuming,
and circumstances of performance. Some plays copied from cited published
sources. Often contains several versions of the same play from different
informants, as well as the way the informant learned the play. Pages
are numbered, but not necessarily arranged in numerical order. |
Folders 36-39 |
Songs and "chanties" (B1P4). Originally bound, now separate
8 1/2 x 6 1/2 inch sheets of typewritten and annotated song texts.
Includes title of song and often name of informant, date, and location.
Pages are numbered but not necessarily arranged in numerical order.
Begins with six-page typewritten and annotated "Index to Songs and
Chanties" that lists titles of songs in numerical order and its number
(page?). |
Folders 40-43 |
Miscellaneous notes and indices (B2P1). Miscellaneous
handwritten notes and song titles, mostly on 8 1/2 x 6 1/2 inch sheets; "Sharp's
English Folk Song From Southern Appalaciana;" partial index of song
titles and singers; partial sound recordings contents list, #73-126
(see Folder 9); and partial lists of informants, song genres, and titles. |
Folders 44-57 |
Miscellaneous field typescripts and manuscripts (B2P2).
Type- and handwritten (annotated) notes and texts similar in format
to those in Folders 13-39; "Index to English and Scottish Traditional
Ballads" arranged alphabetically by song title. |
Folder 58 |
Miscellaneous notes (B2P3). Type- and handwritten notes
on 8 1/2 x 6 1/2 inch sheets. Covers topics such as music, emotions,
animal sounds, culture, race, civilization, cultural relativity, faith,
students, present trends, and the study of folklore. |
Folder 59 |
Miscellaneous notes and lectures (B2P4). Typewritten
and annotated notes on 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheets, mostly dated 1954-55.
Includes lecture notes on topics such as education, civilization, and
emotions as well as script ideas. |
Folder 60 |
Miscellaneous words and music (B2P5). Handwritten lyrics
and accompanying tune transcriptions to several songs. |
Folders 61-62 |
Miscellaneous words and music (B2P6). Handwritten lyrics
and accompanying tune transcriptions to songs. |
Folder 63 |
Miscellaneous notes (B2P7). Type- and handwritten notes,
including a description of the Shop Acts and a list of songs. |
Folder 64 |
Miscellaneous notes (B2P8). Type- and handwritten notes
and a "Plan For Work" concerning his collection. |
Folders 65-66 |
Miscellaneous notes and correspondence (B2P9). Mostly
handwritten notes on various size sheets. Includes some correspondence,
play texts, and newspaper clippings. |
Folders 67-80 |
Ballads--index and texts, volume 1 (B3). Typewritten
8 1/2 x 11 inch sheets of ballad texts with title, singer/informant,
and location. Arranged alphabetically by song title. Begins with annotated
drafts of indexes: "Index to Ballads," "Index to American Ballads," "Child
Ballad Texts," and "British and American Popular Ballads." |
Folders 81-99 |
Ballads--index and texts, volume 2 (B4). Continuation
of the above texts in alphabetical order by song title. |
Folders 100-21 |
Music manuscripts (B5P1). Handwritten transcriptions
of tunes on 8 1/2 x 11 inch music sheets, arranged alphabetically by
song title. Each tune lists the metronome setting, name of singer/musician/informant
and lyrics. Includes some correspondence and notes. |
Folders 122-23 |
Notes (1939 datebook) (B5P2). Miscellaneous correspondence
and a bound 1939 "Day Book" with notes listing song titles. |
Folder 124 |
Songs and notes (B5P3). "Lefax" music staff notebook,
6 3/4 x 4 inches, containing handwritten music transcription and notes. |
Folder 125 |
English melodies (B5P4). Bound music notebook, 6 1/2
x 5 inches. Contains transcriptions of titled tunes collected in 1928. |
Folder 126 |
American melodies (B5P4). Bound music notebook, 6 1/2
x 5 inches. Contains transcriptions of titled tunes collected in 1927-28. |
Folder 127 |
Scottish national dictionary (B6P1). Typewritten copy
of _The Scottish National Dictionary, Volumes I and II_ by William
Grant, published by the Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1941. |
Folder 128 |
Composition book (B6P2). "Southern Maid" composition
book, 6 3/4 x 8 1/2 inches. Contains several pages of handwritten notes. |
Folders 129-31 |
Notes, etc. (B6P2). Type- and handwritten notes, correspondence
drafts, newspaper clippings, and curriculum materials on various size
paper. Topics covered include "Music and Cosmic Orientation;" "British
Folksong and British Peasants;" segregating methods; Hitler; different
types of songs; education; intelligence; folk literature; and expressions
of moods, screams, and emotions. |
Folders 132-33 |
Notes (B6P3). Type- and handwritten song lyrics (particularly
children's songs) and descriptions of square dances and accompanying
tunes. Includes informants' names (possibly Carpenter's students). |
Folder 134 |
Exercise book and notes (B6P4). Bound "Exercise Book," 6
1/4 x 8 inches. Contains handwritten song texts. |
Folder 135 |
Games (B6P5). 4 x 6 inch notecards containing handwritten
texts to children's games and songs. |
Folder 136 |
Music (B6P5). Bound music book, 9 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches.
Handwritten title on cover: "The Census of American Ballads--Louise
Pound Ballad." Handwritten music transcription with lyrics and metronome
settings. |
Folders 137-48 |
Miscellaneous notes and papers (B6P6). Type- and handwritten
sheets of various sizes. Includes manuscript and lecture drafts, notes,
lists and indexes, song texts, glossary (Scottish? Gaelic?), English
class administrative notes, and tune transcriptions. |
Folders 149-52 |
Looseleaf notebook (notes and songs) (B6P7). Mostly
8 1/2 x 11 inch sheets, type- and handwritten. Begins with a list, "Summer
School Students," and continues with texts of songs. Each text identified
with a student's name. Includes some accompanying music transcription. |
Folders 153-56 |
Miscellaneous papers and notes (B7P1). Type- and handwritten
sheets of various sizes. Includes notes, song texts, lists of songs
(chanteys, Child ballads), and drafts of lectures and/or articles.
Bound, 6 1/4 x 8 inch "Exercise Book" with handwritten mummers' play
text. |
Folders 157-61 |
Mummers plays and miscellaneous notes (B7P2). Type-
and handwritten sheets of various sizes. Includes lecture drafts describing
mummers' plays, folk carols, ballads, chanteys, and Carpenter's collecting
experiences; texts of plays; and tune transcriptions. |
Folders 162-64 |
American songs (B7P3). Type- and handwritten sheets,
mostly 8 1/2 x 11 inch. Texts of songs with name of informant (student?). |
Folders 165-76 |
Music manuscripts books (MS/P1). Twelve music notebooks,
7 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches, 8 1/4 x 7 inches, and 9 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches. Contain
hand- written transcriptions of tunes with lyrics, as well as notes. |
Folders 177-84 |
Miscellaneous notes and article drafts (MS/P2). Mostly
8 1/2 x 11 inch sheets, type- and handwritten. Includes article (lecture?)
drafts such as "Living Ballads From Britain's Long Dead Past," "Burns'
Folksong Muse," "Scotland's Folk Singers," "Collecting Folklore in
Britain," and "Folksongs of British Peasants," as well as correspondence
drafts such as query letters concerning lecture and publishing opportunities. |
Folders 185-89 |
Notes relating to photographs. Correspondence and other
notes (on paper, envelopes, original photoprint enclosures) by Carpenter
and others describing the contents of photographs and other miscellaneous
information. |
Folder 190 |
Ephemera. Miscellaneous historic postcards, drawings,
and printed verses. |
Folders 191-4 |
Oversize originals. Original manuscript material larger
than 8 1/2 x 11 inches. Copies can be found in their original place
within Folders 12- 184. |
Music 3109 |
Microfilm. Microfilm copy of the original manuscript
material in Folders 13-184. Arranged by "box" and "packet" number.
10 reels. |
SOUND RECORDINGS |
|
Location |
Contents |
Cyl. 4501-4679 |
179 Dictaphone cylinders. Original field recordings
by James M. Carpenter made in England and Scotland, ca. 1929 to 1935.
See AFS 14,830-15,050. |
AFS 14,830- 15,050 |
220 12" acetate discs. Copies made by Carpenter of the
cylinders, as well as other disc recordings made in North Carolina
and Mississippi. Ca. 1929 to early 1940s. Includes ballads, dance tunes,
lyric songs, sea chanteys, fiddle tunes, dreg songs, bothie songs,
Wassailer songs, children's songs, carols, mummers' plays, and spirituals.
LWO 6961, R1-22. Listening copies are available in the Folklife Reading
Room. A content list prepared by Carpenter of the recordings can be
found in Folder 9. |
AFS 19,900- 19,921 |
22 10" reels. Preservation copies of AFS 14,830- 15,050.
Listening copies are 19,921 available in the Folklife Reading Room. |
GRAPHIC MATERIALS |
|
Location |
Contents |
Box 14 |
Drawings. 40 ink and pencil drawings on loose sheets
of various sizes (n.d.). Made by George Baker, a British dry mason
whose father was a Mummer. Drawings depict characters and scenes from
mummer and Christmas plays. Some drawings include a descriptive caption,
such as "Sweet Moll" or "Little Dick Nip." |
Box 15 |
Film negatives. 346 black-and-white film negatives,
mostly 4 1/4 x 3 1/4 inches. Arranged numerically by subject category.
Unless documented otherwise, the negatives are assumed to have been
photographed by James M. Carpenter. Oversize negatives (copy?) can
be found in Envelope 1, Box 16. For item-level description, see Folder
1 for the Photograph Inventory. |
Boxes 16-22 (Folders 195-255) |
Photoprints. 598 black-and-white photoprints of various
sizes. Arranged numerically by subject category. Unless otherwise indicated,
photoprints corresponding to film negatives are assumed to have been
taken by Carpenter. Includes many photoprints by other photographers
who are often identified in captions on the photoprint or in other
documentation. Multiple copies of the same image exist. For item-level
description, see Folder 1 for the Photograph Inventory. |
Boxes 23-26 |
Glass plate negatives. Approximately 112 black- and-white
glass plate negatives, 4 x 3 1/4 inches. Hand-tinted with pink. Arranged
numerically by subject category. Only two do not correspond to photoprints
or film negatives of the same image. For item-level description, see
Folder 1 for the Photograph Inventory. |
Boxes 27-33 |
Glass transparencies (lantern slides). Approximately
115 black-and-white glass lantern slides, 4 x 3 1/4 inches. Arranged
numerically by subject category. Almost all correspond to glass negatives
of the same image; only four do not correspond to film negatives or
photoprints of the same image. Most have a one- or two-word desciption
printed on the label, presumably by Carpenter. Originally arranged
by the collector in groups that may correspond to lecture topics. For
item-level description and groupings, see Folder 1 for Photograph Inventory. |
SERIES II: ORAL HISTORY, PROGRAMS, AND PRODUCTS
MANUSCRIPTS |
|
Location |
Contents |
Folder 256 |
Oral history interview transcript. Transcript provided
by Dr. Kenneth Goldstein in 1981 of the interview with Carpenter recorded
by Alan Jabbour in Carpenter's home in Booneville, Mississippi, May
27, 1972. See sound recordings AFS 14,762-14,765. |
Folder 258 |
Lecture materials. "Raise A Fire and Strike A Light." Press
release and flier promoting the lecture by Paul Smith on British folk
drama in the Carpenter Collection presented at the Library on November
19, 1987. |
SOUND RECORDINGS |
|
Location |
Contents |
AFS 14,762- 14,765 |
Oral history interview. Four 7" reels, LWO 6918. Interview
with Carpenter recorded by Alan Jabbour in Carpenter's home in Booneville,
Mississippi on May 27, 1972. A transcript of the interview can be found
in folder 256. Listening copies are available in the Folklife Reading
Room. |
GRAPHIC MATERIALS |
|
Location |
Contents |
Folder 257 |
Photoprints. 4 color photoprints of Carpenter taken
in May 1972, presumably outside his home in Booneville. Photographer
probably Alan Jabbour. |
Folder 259 |
Lecture materials: photographs. One black-and- white
contact sheet and one 8 x 10 photoprint of the lecture by Paul Smith
on November 19, 1987. |
Envelope 2 |
Lecture materials: slides. 17 color transparencies of
photoprints and drawings of Mummers housed in this collection used
for the November 19, 1987, lecture by Paul Smith. Photographed by Carl
Fleischhauer. |
* A "bothy" is a lean-to in the horse's stable where farm hands slept. "Dreg" refers
to the men in small rowboats who would pull a dredge to harvest oysters.
APPENDIX A: DANCE-RELATED MATERIAL
Carpenter was primarily interested in collecting ballads and songs and
folk plays; however, since dance is often an integral part of these folk
expressions, the materials in the collection include some documentation
of dance or dance-related activities, as described below.
MANUSCRIPT MATERIALS
The majority of the folk plays can be found in folders 29-35, "Mummers
Plays." Carpenter's documentation of the plays focused on texts. Many of
the plays include dance sections, whether or not this was noted by Carpenter.
Some of the texts make references to dance within the speeches or lyrics
of the characters; other times Carpenter makes a reference to action within
the play ("they danced"). A few of the plays, most notably the sword dance
plays, contain more description of the dance movements and formations.
Based on review during processing, the following are plays (listed using
Carpenter's title, informant, and sometimes location) in which Carpenter
noted dancing occurs or that feature some description of dancing.
Folder 29 |
"Ploughboys, Tathwell, Robert Brader"
"
Plough Jags or Morris Dancers, Middle Rasen, JF&S Sellars" |
Folder 30 |
"Sword Dance, Kirby Mourside" (handwritten)
"
Helmsby Sword Dancers" (handwritten)
"
Thistlewate Belerby Sword Dance" (handwritten)
"
Sword Dance at Kirkby Malzeard, John Craft (log book)"
"
Ampleforth Sword Dance, Mr. William Garbutt"
"
Greatham Sword Dance Play, Thomas Armstrong"
"
Greatham Sword Dance, Rutherford MS P"
"Easdon Sword Dancers, Mr. Tom Vennar"
"
Bellerby Sword Dance Play, William Thistlethwaite"
"
Sword Dance Play, Jack Kendray, Bellerby" |
Folder 31 |
"Hunton Verson, Robert Spence, Morton-on-Swale, Northallerton"
"
Hunton Sword Dance, Thomas James and Fred Pounder"
"
Sword Dance Play, Hunton, James Pounder, Chaytor Torrace,
Fishburn, County Durham"
"
Sword Dance Play, Hunton, John Carlin" "The Sword Dance,
Startforth, Henry Scott" |
Folder 132 |
"Notes," contains some descriptions of several square
dances and a few diagrams. These were most likely collected in the
United States. |
SOUND RECORDINGS
The sound recordings probably contain some tunes used for morris dance,
sword dance, and dance interludes in mummers' plays. It is difficult to
tell from the titles listed in the recordings content list. However, "fiddle
tunes" (Carpenter recording numbers 232-249) probably include dance tunes.
See "Recordings--content list" in folders 9-10.
GRAPHIC MATERIALS
The photographs listed below include images of dancing as well as of actitivies
that include dance, such as mummers' plays, May Day celebrations, and the
English Folk Dance Society (EDFS) festivals. For a more detailed list and
explanation, see the Photograph Inventory in Folder 1.
Film Negatives/Photoprints
P1-5: P1-p1 to P5-p1 The Mummers Bampton |
P6-9: P6-p1 to P9-p1 The Mummers Bampton |
P24: P24-p1-2 Graphic of mummers |
P10: Mummer group |
P11: P11-p1-2 Mummer group |
P12: Padstow Hobby 'oss,, Cornwall |
P13-14: P13-p1 to P14-p1 Mari Lloyd (Hobby 'oss), Wales |
P15: Midgley Pace Eggers, Yorkshire |
P25-27: P25-p1 to P27-p1 Bampton Morris |
P28-31: Bampton Morris, Oxfordshire (and broom dancing--at EFDS?) |
P32-33: P32-p1 to P33-p1 Bampton Morris (Ilmington mummers) |
P34-35: P34-p1-2; P35-p1-2; P35-n1 Bampton Morris (Ilmington mummers) |
P36: P36-p1 Sam Bennett, Ilmington Morris Fiddler |
P37: Sam Bennett....and broom dancer |
P38: Broom dancer |
P47-48: William Nathan "Jinky" Wells, BamptonMorris Fiddler, Oxfordshire,
w/Bampton Morri |
P49-50: Jinky Wells, Bampton |
P51: Samual Bennett, Ilmington |
P39-40: P39-p1 to P40-p1-2 Fool with conical hat |
P43: P43-p1 EFDS demonstration team-Morris Morris Men, Oxfordshire |
P44-46: "EFDS Festival Stanway 11-7-25" |
P52: P52-p1-5 Goathland Plough Stotts, N. Yorkshire P52-n1 " |
P53: Sword dancers |
P55: Sword dancers |
P56: Sword dancers (girls) |
P57-58: Helston furry dance |
P59: Cotswold village Mayday |
P60: P60-p1 "Ettington 2. 24-5-33" |
P61: "Ilmington 1." |
P62: "Ilmington 24-5-33 2." |
P63: "Empire Day 1933. Ilmington 1" Sam Bennett and girls |
P64: P64-p1 "Empire Day 1933 Ilmington 2" |
P65: Sam Bennett and fool and others (same day as above) |
P66: P66-p1 Sam Bennett with fool and ladies (same day as above) |
P67: Ragnee Hathaway (same day as above) |
P68: Children dancing with ribbons |
P69: Sam Bennett fiddling with dancers |
P70: P70-p1 "May Day Shipston 1924" |
P71: "May Day, Shipston-on-Stoor no. 1, 1926" |
P72: "Shipston, May 1st, 1928 9" |
P73: "Shipston, 1-5-30 16" |
P74: P74-p1 "Upper Slaugher May 1st 1933" |
P75: P75-n1 "Mr. Sam Bennett's Morris Dancers" |
P76-77 Maypole |
P83-87: P83-p1 to P87-p1 Saxon funeral--dancing w/Sam Bennett |
Glass Lantern Slides
P561: The Mummers Bampton |
P562: P562-t1 The Mummers Bampton |
P563: P563-t1 The Mummers Bampton |
P564: P564-t1 (Graphic--mummers) |
P565: P565-t1; P565-n1Pace-Eggers, Yorkshire |
P568: P568-t1 The Morris Men, Bampton |
P569: (Fool with conical hat) |
P570: P570-t1 Morris Men, Oxford (EFDS) |
P571: P571-t1 Sword Dancers, Yorkshire |
P572: P572-t1 Sword Dancers |
P573: P573-t1 English Maypole Dances ("Upper Slaughter, 1933...") |
P574: P574-t1 English Mayday Dances |
|