Contents


Collection Summary

Biographical History

Scope and Content

Arrangement

Selected Search Terms

Container List

Series I: Original Collection Materials

Series II: Oral History, Programs, and Products

Collection Concordance by Format

Appendix B: Locations

James Madison Carpenter Collection

AFC 1972/001

Prepared by Michelle Forner, June 1996Revised by Marcia K. Segal

October 2010

Collection Summary

Creator Carpenter, James M.
Creator American Folklife Center
Title James Madison Carpenter Collection
Inclusive Dates 1928-1955, 1972, 19871928-1935
Abstract: The James Madison Carpenter Collection consists of manuscript materials, sound recordings, and graphic materials that document folk songs, ballads, sea songs, folk music, dance, and British folk drama. The materials span the years 1928-1955, with some related material generated by other scholars dated 1972 and 1987. The bulk of the material was collected between 1928-1935 by Carpenter during fieldwork in England, Scotland, and Wales; other material was collected in the United States between 1937 and 1941 by Carpenter and his Duke University students.
Extent: 29.5 linear feet58 boxes, 21,044 items in collection19,417 manuscript items (12 linear feet manuscripts), 397 sound recordings [178 wax cylinders and 221 12-inch acetate discs], 180 cylinder containers, 1233 graphic materials (40 ink-and-pencil drawings, with 10 of these in color; 352 black-and-white film negatives, 17 color slides [positive transparencies], 1 black-and- white contact sheet, 592 black-and-white photographic prints, 4 color photographic prints, 112 black-and-white glass negatives, and 115 glass positives)
Language: English, Scots, and Scottish Gaelic
Identification: AFC 1972/001

Biographical History

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 continued his graduate training at Harvard University, where he came under the tutelage of Professor George Lyman 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 proceeded to transcribe approximately 1000 tunes over 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 the College of 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 on July 4, 1984.

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Scope and Content

The James Madison Carpenter Collection spans the years 1928-1987, with the largest portion dated 1928-1935. It is arranged into two groups or series. Series I, the bulk of the collection, consists of the materials purchased from Carpenter by the American Folklife Center, including manuscripts, sound recordings, and graphic materials. The entire collection represents the results of Carpenter's fieldwork, his subsequent work on the collection, and the documentation of other professional activities. Series II consists of material about the collection, primarily generated by the American Folklife Center. It includes manuscript material, sound recordings, and graphic materials.

Carpenter spent most of his life as a university lecturer. However, he began his collecting activities while conducting research on sea chanteys in the northern United States (1927-1928) and in 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 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 time abroad, Carpenter focused, successively, on collecting chanteys (particularly in eastern coast ports of northern England and Scotland, 1929-1930), ballads, and songs (chiefly in Scotland and the English counties of Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, and Yorkshire, 1929-1933), and folk plays (in England and Scotland, 1934-1935). 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 (1938-1941).

Carpenter collected approximately 1,000 ballad texts and 850 tunes of the Francis James Child canon; 500 sea songs and chanteys; 1,000 other ballads and songs, including bothy ballads (a “bothy” is a lean-to in the horse's stable where farm hands slept) and dreg songs (a “dreg” refers to the men in small rowboats who would pull a dredge to harvest oysters), from Britain and America; 200 children's singing games, riddles, and nursery rhymes; 300 British folk plays; miscellaneous folktales, African American spirituals, Cornish carols, etc.; 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 extensive collection.

The collection represents not only the results of Carpenter's fieldwork, but also documents his fieldwork process. Traveling throughout Britain 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 James 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 ballads 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 song texts 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 play.

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 mumming 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.

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Selected Search Terms

People

  • Carpenter, James Madison, 1888-1983, collector, interviewee.
  • Carpenter, James Madison, 1888-1983--Correspondence.
  • Carpenter, James Madison, 1888-1983--Ethnomusicological collections.
  • Carpenter, James Madison, 1888-1983--Interviews.
  • Carpenter, James Madison, 1888-1983--Written works.
  • Jabbour, Alan, interviewer.

Organizations

  • American Folklife Center, collector.
  • Archive of Folk Culture (Library of Congress), collector.
  • English Folk Dance Society.

Subjects

  • African Americans--Music.
  • Ballads, English--England.
  • Ballads, English--Scotland.
  • Ballads, Scots--Scotland.
  • Baths, Roman--England--Photographs.
  • Carols--England--Cornwall (County)
  • Castles--Scotland--Photographs.
  • Children's songs, English--England.
  • Children's songs, English--Scotland.
  • Children's songs, English--United States.
  • Christmas music--Great Britain.
  • Christmas plays--Great Britain.
  • Country life--England--Photographs.
  • Country life--Scotland--Photographs.
  • English language--Dialect--Cornwall (County)
  • Festivals--Great Britain.
  • Fiddle tunes--England.
  • Fiddle tunes--Scotland.
  • Fiddlers--Great Britain--Photographs.
  • Field recordings--Great Britain.
  • Field recordings--United States.
  • Folk dancing, English--Great Britain.
  • Folk dancing--Great Britain--Photographs.
  • Folk drama, English--England.
  • Folk drama, Scottish--Scotland.
  • Folk festivals--England--Photographs.
  • Folk music--Great Britain.
  • Folk music--United States.
  • Folk songs, English--England--History and criticism.
  • Folk songs, English--England.
  • Folk songs, English--Scotland--History and criticism.
  • Folk songs, English--Scotland.
  • Folk songs, English--United States--Texts.
  • Folk songs, English--United States.
  • Folk songs, Scots--Scotland.
  • Folk songs, Scottish Gaelic--Scotland.
  • Folk songs--Great Britain--Texts.
  • Holidays--Great Britain.
  • May Day--England--Photographs.
  • Megalithic monuments--Great Britain--Photographs.
  • Morris dance--England.
  • Mumming plays--England--Texts.
  • Mumming plays--Scotland--Texts.
  • Mumming--England--Drawings.
  • Mumming--Scotland.
  • Nursery rhymes--Great Britain.
  • Nursery rhymes--United States.
  • Sea songs--England.
  • Sea songs--Scotland.
  • Sea songs--United States.
  • Singing games--England.
  • Singing games--Scotland.
  • Singing games--United States.
  • Spirituals (Songs)--Mississippi.
  • Sword-dance--England.

Places

  • Cornwall (England : County)--Antiquities--Photographs.
  • Cornwall (England : County)--Social life and customs.
  • England--Social life and customs.
  • Great Britain--Antiquities--Photographs.
  • Scotland--Social life and customs.

Form/Genre

  • Correspondence.
  • Drawings.
  • Field notes.
  • Field recordings.
  • Gelatin dry plate negatives.
  • Interviews.
  • Lantern slides.
  • Lecture notes.
  • Lectures.
  • Manuscripts.
  • Negatives.
  • Photographic prints.
  • Sound recordings.

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Arrangement

Series I contains Carpenter's principal fieldwork documentation as well as associated notes, drafts, and miscellanea. The fieldwork materials are interrelated; however, these relationships are not always readily apparent. Many of the ballads and songs are documented by written texts, recorded tunes, and transcribed tunes (often with texts). The photos often depict the subjects of the ballads and songs (castles, rivers), the informants (mummers, wassailers, fishwives), and their environment (cottages, ports, villages). 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 13,500 typed and handwritten pages, some bound and some unbound. These pages document Carpenter's fieldwork, subsequent work on the materials, and Carpenter's other professional activities.

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 mumming plays, Christmas plays, sword dance plays, guyzards, pace-eggers, plough boys, and riding the stang.

The manuscript materials represent several stages of work, from rough field notes and transcriptions to more complete, alphabetically arranged versions of these writings. 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 collection also includes papers that represent the work of Carpenter’s students at Duke University. Some of the papers are complete; others have had pages removed (presumably by Carpenter) and interfiled with other manuscript materials in the collection. Student papers usually have a surname in the upper right corner of each page, so they are easy to distinguish from Carpenter’s own documents and handwriting. These papers include research on folk songs and tales, and often include original art for the cover pages.

The sound recordings in Series I include wax cylinders and 12-inch acetate discs used by Carpenter to record in England, Scotland, and the United States, 1928-1941. Carpenter copied many of the cylinders onto the discs; he also used the discs to make new 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 some of these ballads. The types of material recorded include ballads, lyric songs, sea chanteys, fiddle tunes, folk tales, folk plays, children's songs, and African American songs and tales. A content list of the sound recordings, prepared by Carpenter, can be found in Folders 9-10.

The graphic materials in this series include film negatives, photographic prints, glass negatives, glass positives (lantern slides), and drawings. For the most part, the photographic materials are not dated, but seem to span the years 1928-1935; they depict subjects from England, Scotland, and Wales. 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 commercial photographers and other sources. At some point Carpenter made glass negatives of the photographic prints, and then glass positives. Therefore, identical images often appear in different formats.

Although his use of the photographs and their relationship to the other materials is not explicitly stated, Carpenter probably used the lantern slides to illustrate lectures, and planned to use the photographs to accompany publications about the materials. The images cover a range of people, places, and activities, from Carpenter himself, to Christmas wassailers, dancing children, Scottish castles, Roman baths, market squares, mumming plays, May Day celebrations, and the English Folk Dance Society (EDFS) festivals. 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 creates a visual record of these structures before their decline or in some cases renovation.

The 40 ink-and-pencil drawings are the work of George Baker, a British dry mason and the son of a mummer. Undated, the drawings depict characters and scenes from mumming 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.

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Container List

Series I: Original Collection Materials

Subseries A1: Administrative Files

Finding aid (2008 revision of the 1996 collection guide).

45 pages.

Concordance to photographic images (revision).

40 pages.

Collection guide, photo inventory, and photo concordance.

The 1996 collection guide and the item-level inventory and concordance of photographic materials (all now superseded by revised documentation). 54 pages.

Correspondence, 1970-1972.

Correspondence between the Library of Congress and James Madison Carpenter, Kenneth S. Goldstein, and others concerning the acquisition of the collection and related matters. 26 pages

Correspondence, 1973-1991.

See description for Folder 2. 21 pages

Notes about the collection.

Handwritten and typed notes by James Madison Carpenter and Alan Jabbour concerning the contents of the collection (undated). 6 pages.

Early box/content lists, circa 1972.

Early box/contents lists. Handwritten and typed lists by Alan Jabbour and other Library employees outlining the contents of the collection, primarily the manuscript materials and the microfilm (undated). 43 pages.

List: informants.

Typewritten list of names of people from whom Carpenter collected in northeast Scotland, circa 1930. Compiled by E.B. Lyle, 1975, from the headings of texts. 4 pages.

“A Guide to the Carpenter Manuscripts.”

A copy of the work compiled by E.C. Cawte, 1980. A typewritten inventory of tunes, songs, and folk drama texts based on the microfilm of the manuscripts. In reel order, it lists informant (singer, fiddler, etc.) and title. It also includes date and place when listed in the original, as well as brief descriptions of other material, such as correspondence and notes. 115 pages.

“A Guide to English Ritual Drama in the Carpenter Manuscripts.”

A copy of the work compiled by E.C. Cawte, 1980. 58-page, typewritten inventory of ritual drama and other folk customs based on the microfilm of the manuscripts. In reel order, each entry specifies 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. 58 pages.

Recordings: content list.

Original. Typewritten list (with annotations) prepared by Carpenter of the contents of the sound recordings. In disc-side order, it lists the title of the tune and the name or description of the singer/informant. It includes ballads, fiddle tunes, recitations of mumming plays, chanteys, forebitters, dreg songs, bothy songs, nursery songs, and spirituals. 68 pages.

Recordings: content list.

Copy. Typewritten list (with annotations) prepared by Carpenter of the contents of the sound recordings. In disc-side order, it lists the title of the tune and the name or description of the singer/informant. It includes ballads, fiddle tunes, recitations of mumming plays, chanteys, forebitters, dreg songs, bothy songs, nursery songs, and spirituals. 82 pages.

Articles by/about James Madison Carpenter.

Photocopies of newspaper and magazine articles by Carpenter (1931, 1938) and about Carpenter and the collection (1985, 1989, 1990). 30 pages.

Castle identifications made by Ian B.D. Bryce.

Corrections, made by Bryce, to previously identified (or unidentified) photographs in the collection. Folder includes some correspondence relating to these corrections. 18 pages.

Additional photo identifications.

Additions and corrections to known photo identifications, made by Lesley Ferguson (Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland), Medwyn Parry (Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales), and others at these institutions. 6 pages.

SIG: NDL file check (Folder 1 of 3).

SIG (Systems Integration Group, Inc.) digitized the manuscript materials. Staff working in NDL (The National Digital Library Program) were responsible for running the file check, which confirmed whether or not the vendor created digitized images according to Library of Congress specifications. 71 pages.

SIG: NDL file check (Folder 2 of 3).

See description for Folder 11d. 64 pages.

SIG: NDL file check (Folder 3 of 3).

See description for Folder 11d. 58 pages.

JJT Inc.: inventory and technical data.

JJT Inc. digitized the photographic images. 89 pages.

VidiPax: summary and condition reports.

VidiPax was the company responsible for digitizing the audio recordings. A technical report by Adrian Cosentini (audio engineer, VidiPax), describes the condition and problems encountered during the digitization of the collection’s wax cylinders. 178 pages.

Subseries A2: Original Manuscript Materials

Correspondence/papers, 1928-1939

Correspondence between Carpenter, Harvard University and John A. Lomax (Library of Congress) concerning his fellowships, collecting experiences, and possible lecture opportunities. Includes original fellowship certificates. 7 pages.

Scottish and English songs - A

Typewritten and annotated texts of songs from Scotland and England, on 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. 86 pages.

Scottish and English songs - B

See description summary for Folder 13. 103 pages.

Scottish and English songs - C

See description summary for Folder 13. 82 pages.

Scottish and English songs - D

description summary for Folder 13. 68 pages.

Scottish and English songs - E

See description summary for Folder 13. 99 pages.

Scottish and English songs - F

See description summary for Folder 13. 136 pages.

Scottish and English songs - G

See description summary for Folder 13. 117 pages.

Scottish and English songs - H

See description summary for Folder 13. 118 pages.

Scottish and English songs - I

See description summary for Folder 13. 108 pages.

Scottish and English songs - J

See description summary for Folder 13. 116 pages.

Scottish ballads - A

Typewritten and annotated texts of ballads from Scotland, on 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. 145 pages.

Scottish ballads - B

See description summary for Folder 23. 178 pages.

Scottish ballads - C

See description summary for Folder 23. 130 pages.

Scottish ballads - D

See description summary for Folder 23. 120 pages.

Scottish ballads - E

See description summary for Folder 23. 125 pages.

Scottish ballads - F

See description summary for Folder 23. 54 pages.

Mumming plays -A

Typewritten and annotated texts of mumming plays, including Riding The Stang, Christmas plays, sword dance plays, pace egger plays, and others. Originally bound, these are 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 there are several versions of the same play from different informants, as well as information about the way the informant learned the play. Pages are numbered, but not necessarily arranged in numerical order. 161 pages.

Mumming plays - B

See description summary for Folder 29. 162 pages.

Mumming plays - C

See description summary for Folder 29. 86 pages.

Mumming plays - D

See description summary for Folder 29. 161 pages.

Mumming plays - E

See description summary for Folder 29. 158 pages.

Mumming plays - F

See description summary for Folder 29. 275 pages.

Mumming plays - G

See description summary for Folder 29. 255 pages.

Songs and chanties - A

Typewrittten and hand-annnotated song texts, on separate 8 1⁄2 x 6 1⁄2 inch sheets.. 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 and their page number(s), in numerical order. 165 pages.

Songs and chanties - B

See description summary for Folder 36. 166 pages.

Songs and chanties - C

See description summary for Folder 36. 131 pages.

Songs and chanties - D

See description summary for Folder 36. 203 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and indices - A

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. 117 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and indices - B

See description summary for Folder 40. 103 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and indices - C

See description summary for Folder 40. 70 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and indices - D

See description summary for Folder 40. 51 pages.

Miscellaneous field typescripts and manuscripts - A

Typed 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. 90 pages.

Miscellaneous field typescripts and manuscripts - B

See description summary for Folder 44. 198 pages.

Miscellaneous field typescripts and manuscripts - C

See description summary for Folder 44. 139 pages.

Miscellaneous field typescripts and manuscripts - D

See description summary for Folder 44. 225 pages.

Miscellaneous field typescripts and manuscripts - E

See description summary for Folder 44. 141 pages.

Miscellaneous field typescripts and manuscripts - F

See description summary for Folder 44. 175 pages.

Miscellaneous field typescripts and manuscripts - G

See description summary for Folder 44. 92 pages.

Miscellaneous field typescripts and manuscripts - H

See description summary for Folder 44. 119 pages.

Miscellaneous field typescripts and manuscripts - I

See description summary for Folder 44. 116 pages.

Miscellaneous field typescripts and manuscripts - J

See description summary for Folder 44. 147 pages.

Miscellaneous field typescripts and manuscripts - K

See description summary for Folder 44. 119 pages.

Miscellaneous field typescripts and manuscripts - L

See description summary for Folder 44. 83 pages.

Miscellaneous field typescripts and manuscripts - M

See description summary for Folder 44. 152 pages.

Miscellaneous field typescripts and manuscripts - N

See description summary for Folder 44. 138 pages.

Miscellaneous notes (Folder 1 of 3)

Typed 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. 89 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and lectures

Typewritten and annotated notes, on 8 1⁄2 x 11-inch sheets, mostly dated 1954-1955. Includes lecture notes on topics such as education, civilization, and emotions, as well as script ideas. 55 pages.

Miscellaneous words and music

Handwritten lyrics and accompanying tune transcriptions of several songs. Includes photocopies of original materials rehoused in Folder 191. 9 pages.

Miscellaneous words and music

Handwritten lyrics and accompanying tune transcriptions of songs. 41 pages.

Miscellaneous words and music

See description summary for Folder 61. 25 pages.

Miscellaneous notes (Folder 2 of 3)

Typed and handwritten notes, including a description of the Shop Acts and a list of songs. 10 pages.

Miscellaneous notes (Folder 3 of 3)

Typed and handwritten notes and a “Plan For Work” concerning his collection. 12 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and correspondence - A

Mostly handwritten notes of various sizes. Includes some correspondence, play texts, and newspaper clippings. Includes photocopies of original materials rehoused in Folder 191. 64 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and correspondence - B

See description summary for Folder 65. 87 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - A (Volume 1)

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.” 55 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - B (Volume 1)

See description summary for Folder 67. 53 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - C (Volume 1)

See description summary for Folder 67. 52 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - D (Volume 1)

See description summary for Folder 67. 52 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - E (Volume 1)

See description summary for Folder 67. 50 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - F (Volume 1)

See description summary for Folder 67. 55 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - G (Volume 1)

See description summary for Folder 67. 52 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - H (Volume 1)

See description summary for Folder 67. 46 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - I (Volume 1)

See description summary for Folder 67. 46 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - J (Volume 1)

See description summary for Folder 67. 49 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - K (Volume 1)

See description summary for Folder 67. 41 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - L (Volume 1)

See description summary for Folder 67. 34 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - M (Volume 1)

See description summary for Folder 67. 32 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - N (Volume 1)

See description summary for Folder 67. 36 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - A (Volume 2)

Continuation of the above texts (volume 1 of “Ballads - Index and Texts”) in alphabetical order by song title. 40 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - B (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 49 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - C (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 32 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - D (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 37 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - E (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 43 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - F (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 39 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - G (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 34 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - H (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 48 pages.

Ballads - index and texts -I (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 44 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - J (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 44 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - K (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 27 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - L (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 44 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - M (Volume 2) (Box 4M)

See description summary for Folder 81. 38 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - N (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 35 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - O (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 56 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - P (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 49 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - Q (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 49 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - R (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 56 pages.

Ballads - index and texts - S (Volume 2)

See description summary for Folder 81. 42 pages.

Music manuscripts - A

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. 33 pages.

Music manuscripts - B

See description summary for Folder 100. 57 pages.

Music manuscripts - C

See description summary for Folder 100. 44 pages.

Music manuscripts - D

See description summary for Folder 100. 51 pages.

Music manuscripts - E

See description summary for Folder 100. 38 pages.

Music manuscripts - F

See description summary for Folder 100. 38 pages.

Music manuscripts - G

See description summary for Folder 100. 41 pages.

Music manuscripts - H

See description summary for Folder 100. 46 pages.

Music manuscripts - I

See description summary for Folder 100. 54 pages.

Music manuscripts - J

See description summary for Folder 100. 43 pages.

Music manuscripts - K

See description summary for Folder 100. 49 pages.

Music manuscripts - L

See description summary for Folder 100. 41 pages.

Music manuscripts - M

See description summary for Folder 100. 35 pages.

Music manuscripts - N

See description summary for Folder 100. 51 pages.

Music manuscripts - O

See description summary for Folder 100. 48 pages.

Music manuscripts - P

See description summary for Folder 100. 39 pages.

Music manuscripts - Q

See description summary for Folder 100. 37 pages.

Music manuscripts - R

See description summary for Folder 100. 41 pages.

Music manuscripts - S

See description summary for Folder 100. 41 pages.

Music manuscripts - T

See description summary for Folder 100. 36 pages.

See description summary for Folder 100. 36 pages.

See description summary for Folder 100. 39 pages.

Music manuscripts - V

See description summary for Folder 100. 31 pages.

Notes (1939 datebook) - A

Miscellaneous correspondence and a bound 1939 “Day Book” with notes listing song titles. 9 pages.

Notes (1939 datebook) - B

See description summary for Folder 122. 99 pages.

Songs and notes

“Lefax” music staff notebook, 6 3/4 x 4 inches, containing handwritten music transcription and notes. 130 pages.

English melodies

Bound music notebook, 6 1⁄2 x 5 inches. Contains transcriptions of titled tunes collected in 1928. 60 pages.

American melodies

Bound music notebook, 6 1⁄2 x 5 inches. Contains transcriptions of titled tunes collected in 1927-28. 55 pages.

The Scottish National Dictionary

Typewritten copy of The Scottish National Dictionary, Volumes I and II, by William Grant, published by the Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1941. 42 pages.

Composition book

“Southern Maid” composition book, 6 3/4 x 8 1⁄2 inches. Contains several pages of handwritten notes. 11 pages.

Notes, etc. - A

Typed and handwritten notes, correspondence drafts, newspaper clippings, and curriculum materials on paper of various sizes. 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. 69 pages.

Notes, etc. - B

Photocopies of original (oversized) materials, in Folder 192, Subfolder A. See description summary for Folder 129. 57 pages.

Notes, etc. - C

See description summary for Folder 129. 46 pages

Notes - A

Typed and handwritten song lyrics (particularly children's songs) and descriptions of square dances and accompanying tunes. Includes informants' names (possibly Carpenter's students). 30 pages.

Notes - B

See description summary for Folder 132. 41 pages.

Exercise book and notes

Bound “Exercise Book,” 6 1⁄2 x 8 inches. Contains handwritten song texts. Lower third of front cover torn off and absent. 30 pages.

Games

4 x 6-inch note cards containing handwritten texts to children's games and songs. 39 pages.

Music

Bound music book, 7 1⁄2 x 9 1⁄2 inches. Handwritten title on cover: “The Census of American Ballads--Louise Pound Ballad.” Handwritten music transcriptions with lyrics and metronome settings. 52 pages

Miscellaneous notes and papers - A

Typed and handwritten sheets of various sizes. Includes manuscript and lecture drafts, notes, lists and indexes, song texts, glossary (may include Scottish or Gaelic), English class administrative notes, and tune transcriptions. 47 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and papers - B

See description summary for Folder 137. 92 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and papers - C

See description summary for Folder 137. 86 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and papers - D

See description summary for Folder 137. 78 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and papers - E

See description summary for Folder 137. 56 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and papers - F

See description summary for Folder 137. 66 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and papers - G

See description summary for Folder 137. 76 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and papers - H

See description summary for Folder 137. 87 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and papers - I

See description summary for Folder 137. 51 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and papers - J

See description summary for Folder 137. 28 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and papers - K

See description summary for Folder 137. 32 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and papers - L

Photocopies of original (oversized) materials are in Folder 192, Subfolder B. See description summary for Folder 137. 18 pages.

Loose-leaf notebook (notes and songs) - A

Mostly 8 1⁄2 x 11-inch sheets, typed 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. 52 pages.

Loose-leaf notebook (notes and songs) - B

See description summary for Folder 149. 60 pages.

Loose-leaf notebook (notes and songs) - C

See description summary for Folder 149. 54 pages.

Loose-leaf notebook (notes and songs) - D

See description summary for Folder 149. 52 pages.

Miscellaneous papers and notes - A

Typed 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 mumming-play text. 37 pages.

Miscellaneous papers and notes - B

See description summary for Folder 153. 30 pages.

Miscellaneous papers and notes - C

See description summary for Folder 153. 91 pages.

Miscellaneous papers and notes - D

See description summary for Folder 153. 143 pages.

Mumming plays and miscellaneous notes - A

Typed and handwritten sheets of various sizes. Includes lecture drafts describing mumming plays, folk carols, ballads, chanteys, and Carpenter's collecting experiences; texts of plays; and tune transcriptions. Photocopies of original (oversized) materials located in Folder 193, Subfolder A. 62 pages.

Mumming plays and miscellaneous notes - B

See description summary for Folder 157. 55 pages.

Mumming plays and miscellaneous notes - C

See description summary for Folder 157. 62 pages.

Mumming plays and miscellaneous notes - D

Photocopies of original (oversized) materials are located in Folder 193, Subfolder B. See description summary for Folder 157. 71 pages.

Mumming plays and miscellaneous notes - E

See description summary for Folder 157. 95 pages.

American songs - A

Typed and handwritten sheets, mostly 8 1⁄2 x 11 inch. Texts of songs with name of informant (possibly a student). 63 pages.

American songs - B

See description summary for Folder 162. 111 pages.

American songs - C

See description summary for Folder 162. 88 pages.

Music manuscripts books - A

Folders 165-177 contain twelve music notebooks (one per folder), 7 1/4 x 5 1⁄2 inches, 8 1/4 x 7 inches, and 9 1⁄2 x 7 1⁄2 inches. Contain handwritten transcriptions of tunes with lyrics, as well as notes. 21 pages.

Music manuscripts books - B

See description summary for Folder 165. 38 pages.

Music manuscripts books - C

See description summary for Folder 165. 79 pages.

Music manuscripts books - D

See description summary for Folder 165. 77 pages.

Music manuscripts books - E

See description summary for Folder 165. 81 pages.

Music manuscripts books - F

See description summary for Folder 165. 7 pages.

Music manuscripts books - G

See description summary for Folder 165. 75 pages.

Music manuscripts books - H

See description summary for Folder 165. 83 pages.

Music manuscripts books - I

See description summary for Folder 165. 53 pages.

Music manuscripts books - J

See description summary for Folder 165. 11 pages.

Music manuscripts books - K

See description summary for Folder 165. 52 pages.

Music manuscripts books - L

See description summary for Folder 165. 52 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and article drafts - A

Mostly 8 1⁄2 x 11-inch sheets, typed 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. 59 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and article drafts - B

See description summary for Folder 177. 41 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and article drafts - C

See description summary for Folder 177. 37 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and article drafts - D

Photocopies of original (oversized) materials located in Folder 193, Subfolder C. See description summary for Folder 177. 53 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and article drafts - E

Original (oversized) materials are in Folder 194, Subfolders B and C. See description summary for Folder 177. 46 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and article drafts - F

See description summary for Folder 177. 37 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and article drafts - G

See description summary for Folder 177. 35 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and article drafts - H

See description summary for Folder 177. 59 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and article drafts - I

See description summary for Folder 177. 17 pages.

Miscellaneous notes and article drafts - J

See description summary for Folder 177. 53 pages.

Notes relating to photographs (Folder 1 of 5)

Correspondence and other notes (on paper, envelopes, original photo print enclosures) by Carpenter and others describing the contents of photographs and other miscellaneous information. 14 pages.

Notes relating to photographs (Folder 2 of 5)

See description summary for Folder 185. 15 pages.

Notes relating to photographs (Folder 3 of 5)

See description summary for Folder 185. 18 pages.

Notes relating to photographs (Folder 4 of 5)

See description summary for Folder 185. 10 pages.

Notes relating to photographs (Folder 5 of 5)

See description summary for Folder 185. 9 pages.

Ephemera

Miscellaneous historic postcards, drawings, and printed verses. 41 pages.

Cylinder slips (Folder 1 of 6)

Original cylinder slips that accompanied wax-cylinder sound recordings made by Carpenter. 18 pages.

Cylinder slips (Folder 2 of 6)

See description summary for Folder 190b. 20 pages.

Cylinder slips (Folder 3 of 6)

See description summary for Folder 190b. 20 pages.

Cylinder slips (Folder 4 of 6)

See description summary for Folder 190b. 20 pages.

Cylinder slips (Folder 5 of 6)

See description summary for Folder 190b. 20 pages.

Cylinder slips (Folder 6 of 6)

See description summary for Folder 190b. 19 pages.

Research papers written by Carpenter’s students at Duke University, circa 1937-1941

Includes documentation and interpretation of folk music, songs, and other folk- related genres. In general, they are organized by class or semester. 600 pages (approx.).

Research papers written by Carpenter’s students at Duke University, circa 1937-1941

See description summary for Box 12c. 600 pages (approx.)

Research papers written by Carpenter’s students at Duke University, circa 1937-1941

See description summary for Box 12c. 600 pages (approx.)

Research papers written by Carpenter’s students at Duke University, circa 1937-1941

See description summary for Box 12c. 600 pages (approx.)

Research papers written by Carpenter’s students at Duke University, circa 1937-1941

See description summary for Box 12c. 600 pages (approx.)

Research papers written by Carpenter’s students at Duke University, circa 1937-1941

See description summary for Box 12c. 600 pages (approx.)

Research papers written by Carpenter’s students at Duke University, circa 1937-1941

See description summary for Box 12c. 600 pages (approx.)

Research papers written by Carpenter’s students at Duke University, circa 1937-1941

See description summary for Box 12c. 600 pages (approx.)

Oversized originals (Folder 1 of 4)

Original manuscript material larger than 8 1⁄2 x 11 inches. Photocopies, filed in the original locations for these oversized documents, serve as place markers, within Folders 12-184. Includes original materials from Folders 60 and 65. 25 pages.

Oversized originals (Folder 2 of 4)

See description summary for Folder 191. Subfolder A includes original materials from Folder 130. Subfolder B includes original materials from folder 148. 20 pages.

Oversized originals (Folder 3 of 4)

Photocopies of original (oversized) materials are in Folders 157, 160, and 180. See description summary for Folder 191. 8 pages.

Oversized originals (Folder 4 of 4)

Photocopies of original materials are in Folder 181. See description summary for Folder 191. 26 pages.

Index cards

Headings include titles and genres, with the name(s) of people from whom Carpenter collected these songs or examples. Index cards are housed in one archival box. 749 cards.

Subseries B: Sound Recordings

Wax cylinders

Original field recordings by Carpenter made in England and Scotland, circa 1929 to 1935. Numbered 1 through 179, with cylinders 3, 24, 59, 60, 94, 108A, and 157A missing. Nine more cylinders were discovered in 2004, bringing the total extant cylinders to 175. Due to damage (e.g., broken cylinders), mold, or poor recording quality (e.g., shallow grooves), not all cylinders could be transferred as digital files. See AFS 14,830-15,052. 175 cylinders.

12-inch acetate discs

Copies made by Carpenter of the wax cylinders, as well as other disc recordings made in North Carolina and Mississippi, circa 1929 to early 1940s. Includes ballads, dance tunes, lyric songs, sea songs, fiddle tunes, dreg songs, bothy songs, wassailing songs, children’s songs, carols, mumming plays, and spirituals. Extant discs were numbered SR001 through SR220, representing disc sides 1-440 (the one missing disc represents Sides 125/126). See Folder 9 for a content list of the recordings, prepared by Carpenter. 220 discs.

10-inch reel-to reel audiotapes

Preservation copies of AFS 14830-15050. 22 reels.

10-inch reel-to-reel audiotapes

Preservation copies of Cylinders 1-50 (SR223-270), created by John Howell in 2003. 19 reels.

Original cylinder containers: SR223_ct01-251_ct01

Individual paper-covered cardboard containers for cylinders. In some cases there are cylinder housings and no extant cylinder. Each cylinder housing (both the container and its lid, if present) are numbered to match the AFC number of the cylinder.

Original cylinder containers: SR252_ct01-280_ct01

See description for the contents of Box 35.

Original cylinder containers: SR281_ct01-309_ct01

See description for the contents of Box 35.

Original cylinder containers: SR310_ct01-339_ct01

See description for the contents of Box 35.

Original cylinder containers: SR340_ct01-368_ct01

See description for the contents of Box 35.

Original cylinder containers: SR369_ct01-398_ct01

See description for the contents of Box 35.

Original cylinder containers: SR399_ct01-401_ct01; two unnumbered cylinders

See description for the contents of Box 35.

Subseries C: Graphic Materials

Drawings

40 ink and pencil drawings on loose sheets of various sizes (undated), 10 of which are in color. 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.” 40 pages.

Film negatives (Box 1 of 2)

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 Carpenter. Oversized negatives are in Box 16, Envelope 1. For item-level description, see Folder 1c for the latest version of the concordance to photographic images. 40 items.

Film negatives (Box 2 of 2)

See description for Box 15a. 162 items.

Photographic prints and oversized negatives

Black-and-white photographic prints and six film negatives of various sizes. Arranged numerically by subject category. Unless otherwise indicated, photographic prints corresponding to film negatives are assumed to have been taken by Carpenter. Includes many photographic prints by other photographers who are often identified in captions on the photo print or in other documentation. Multiple copies of the same image exist. For item-level description, see Folder 1c for the latest version of the concordance to photographic images.592 items.

Glass plate negatives

Black-and-white glass plate negatives, 4 x 3 1/4 inches. Hand-tinted with pink substance, to enhance tone contrast as a positive image. Arranged numerically by subject category. Only two do not correspond to photographic prints or film negatives of the same image. For item-level description, see Folder 1c for the latest version of the concordance to photographic images. 112 items.

Glass positive transparencies (lantern slides)

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 photographic prints of the same image. Most have a one- or two-word description printed on the label, presumably by Carpenter. Originally arranged by the collector in groups that may correspond to lecture topics. For item-level description, see Folder 1c for the latest version of the concordance to photographic images. 115 items.

Series II: Oral History, Programs, and Products

Subseries A: Manuscripts

Oral history interview transcript

Transcript provided by Dr. Kenneth S. 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 14762-14765. 29 pages.

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 of Congress on November 19, 1987. 2 pages.

Subseries B: Sound Recordings

Oral history interview

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. Four 7-inch reels.

Subseries C: Graphic Materials

Photographic prints

4 color photographic prints of Carpenter taken in May 1972, presumably outside his home in Booneville. Photographer was probably Alan Jabbour.

Lecture materials: photographs

One black-and-white contact sheet and one 8 x 10 in. photo print of Paul Smith during the his lecture, on November 19, 1987.

Lecture materials: slides

17 35mm color slides of photographic prints and drawings of mummers housed in this collection, which were used for the November 19, 1987, lecture by Paul Smith. Photographed by Carl Fleischhauer.

Collection Concordance by Format

Appendix B: Locations

England

Ireland

Northern Ireland

Scotland

United States

Wales

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