ContentsContainer List SERIES I: MANUSCRIPT MATERIALS Collection Concordance by Format |
Anne and Frank Warner CollectionAFC 1950/002Prepared by Todd Harvey2003
Administrative InformationIn two separate gifts, the Warners donated 105 acetate disks, 21 reel-to-reel tapes, and loaned three audiocassettes to the Archive of Folk Culture. Each gift was given a unique set of AFS numbers. 1950 Gift: Duncan Emrich, Folklore Section chief, began correspondence with the Warners as early as 1948 regarding duplication of their field recordings for deposit at the Library. The Warners used a Library-loaned reel-to-reel tape recorder, and from June to October, 1950, sent fifteen 7-inch reel-to-reel tapes. The tapes were copied onto three preservation 10-inch reel-to-reel tapes (assigned numbers AFS 10,055-10,057, LWO 1490, reels 1-3) and returned. 1972 Gift: In 1972, the Warners donated their entire collection of sound recordings to the Library. Tape copies (31 7-inch reel-to-reel tapes) were made and sent to the Warners in April 1973. The gift consisted of 105 acetate discs (AFS 15,261-15,365), 17 7-inch reel-to-reel tapes, and 2 5-inch reel-to-reel tapes (AFS 15,366-15,384). These original recordings were copied onto sixteen preservation reels which were assigned numbers AFS 15,385-15,400, LWO 7096, reels 1-16. Two 7-inch reel-to-reel tapes and three audiocassettes were added to the gift between 1972 and 1975. These were copied and returned to the Warners. The preservation copies were assigned numbers AFS 15,564-15,565 and AFS 17,769 respectively. Return to the Table of Contents Biographical HistoryAnne Locher Warner (1905-1991) and Frank Warner (1903-1978) were devoted and renowned collectors, preservers, and interpreters of American traditional folk music who gathered, between 1938 and 1969, over a thousand songs and stories. Most of their pioneering work was done in the musically fertile areas of the Southern Appalachians, the North Carolina Outer Banks, Tidewater Virginia, New England, and Upstate New York. The Warners collected nearly one thousand songs and in doing so brought a number of otherwise obscure songs and performers to the attention of the American public, among them North Carolina's Frank Proffitt, from whom the first version of "Tom Dooley" was collected. Frank Warner, a native of North Carolina, was not only a scholar of traditional music (he studied with Frank C. Brown) but also a well-known performer himself. He collected numerous recordings of songs and was active in organizations such as the Newport Folk Festival and New York Folklore Society. Anne Warner also served the folklore community by writing for scholarly journals and by publishing Traditional American Folk Songs from the Anne and Frank Warner Collection (1984). The Warners' sons, Jeff and Gerret, in 2000 co-produced a two-CD set, titled The Warner Collection, of recordings drawn from their parents' collection. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and ContentThe collection contains sound recordings and photographs made by Anne and Frank Warner that document musicians and storytellers from numerous traditions. The materials were collected during field trips to Illinois (1941), Massachusetts (1941), Missouri (1941), New Hampshire (1940-1941), New York (1939-1941, 1946, 1949-1952, 1961, 1969), North Carolina (1938-1941, 1944, 1951, 1959),Vermont (1940), and Virginia (1940). The collection focuses on the extended Hicks family living on or near Beech Mountain, North Carolina. The family's song and story repertory, and its dissemination by the Warners, played a significant role in the folk revivals of music (1960s) and storytelling (1970s). Other recordings include songs collected from descendents of English and Scots Irish immigrants, African Americans, and Mohawk songs recorded on the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation in New York state. Also included are recordings of lectures and readings by Carl Sandburg in the 1950s. The Warners had no institutional support and limited financial means. As a result, they often recorded only part of a song in order to conserve materials. Anne Warner would then transcribe the remainder of the song in shorthand, later to be typewritten. The disc recordings were made on a Wilcox Gay Recordio disc recorder and a Philco disc recorder. The reel-to-reel tapes were made with a variety of recorders. Return to the Table of Contents Selected Search TermsPeople
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Return to the Table of Contents Container ListSERIES I: MANUSCRIPT MATERIALSCollection GuideSERIES II: SOUND RECORDINGSField recordings of American traditional musicians and storytellers collected by Anne and Frank Warner from 1938 to 1969. Recordings made in Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia. DiscsAFS 15,261-15,365One hundred and five acetate discs recorded between 1940 and 1947 in Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia. Duplicated on LWO 7096, reels 1-6A, AFS 15,385-15,390. Selected parts duplicated on LWO 1490, reels 1-3, AFS 10,055-10,057. Reel-to-reelsAFS 15,366-15,384Seventeen 7-inch and two 5-inch reel-to-reel tapes recorded between 1949 and 1966 in New York and North Carolina. Duplicated on LWO 7096, reels 6A-16, AFS 15,390-15,400. AFS 15,564-15,565Two 10-inch reel-to-reel tapes (LWO 7273, reels 1-2), duplicates of three audiocassettes recorded in New York in 1969, loaned by the donors and returned to them in the early 1970s. AFS 17,769One 10-inch reel-to-reel tape (LWO 8617), duplicate of two 7-inch reel-to-reel tapes recorded in North Carolina in 1951, loaned by the donors and returned to them in the early 1970s. SERIES III: GRAPHIC IMAGESTwenty-five prints and negatives of fifteen images made by Anne and Frank Warner between 1938 and 1959 in New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia. Images PH01-PH15 and negatives.SERIES IV: ELECTRONIC MEDIATwo files compiled by Todd Harvey in 2003 Zip Disk1950_002.mdb (Microsoft Access 2000 database); 1950002_coll_guide.wpd (WordPerfect version 9 document); alternate location, AFC server Collection Concordance by FormatAppendix III: Locations where Recordings were MadeIllinois Massachusetts
Missouri
New Hampshire
New York (State)
North Carolina
Vermont
Virginia
Return to the Table of Contents Return to the Table of Contents BibliographyDavis, Jeff. 1991. "Anne L. Warner (1906-1991)." Sing Out! Vol. 36, no. 2 (August/September/October 1991): 48. DesRosiers, Mary. "Closing the Circle: The Frank and Anne Warner Legacy." Sing Out! Vol. 44, no. 3 (spring 2000): 26-29. "Frank Warner, 74; Collected the Songs of the Rural East." New York Times. (March 2, 1978). Warner, Gerret. "Anne and Frank Warner," notes to Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still: The Warner Collection, Vol. 1. Appleseed APR CD 1035, 2000. Return to the Table of Contents |
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