ContentsContainer List Series 1. Correspondence, 1951-1980, undated Series 2. Collection Notes, 1919-1972, undated Series 3. Printed Materials, 1923-1977, undated Series 4. Ephemera, 1907-1977, undated Series 5. Photographs, circa 1895-1975, undated |
Papers from the Isabelle Sayers CollectionAuthor: Jennifer Lewis2007
Biographical NoteIsabelle S. Sayers (1914-1982) was an avid collector of early recordings and audio equipment. Sayers's primary interest was in rare items, particularly those from 1884 to 1905 of the early sound recording era. One of the few female collectors of the mid-20th century, Sayers expanded her collection over a period of at least 30 years by placing advertisements in local newspapers and collectors' newsletters, and by developing relationships with collectors and antique dealers nationwide. She displayed and spoke about her collection locally; in 1959 she appeared on WBNS-TV to demonstrate early machines in her collection. Sayers was also interested in inventors of recording equipment: she collected photographs, clippings, and ephemera relating to Thomas Edison, Emile Berliner and their various inventions. Sayers also had an avid interest in photography and the history of the West. She wrote two books on Annie Oakley: Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill's Wild West (New York: Dover Publications, 1981) and The Rifle Queen, Annie Oakley (Sayers, 1973). Both incorporated historical photographs from her own collections as illustrations. Isabelle Sayers resided with her husband, Frank T. Sayers, in Columbus, Ohio, from circa 1953 through 1971. The couple lived in Ostrander, Ohio, from 1971 until Isabelle Sayers's death in December 1982. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Content NoteThese papers were part of the larger Isabelle Sayers Collection, a donation of early disc and wax cylinder recordings, phonographs, and related equipment donated to the Library of Congress in several increments between 1981 and 1987. The Sayers Collection includes some extremely rare items from the incunabula period (1884-1905) of the sound recording era. Among these rare items are 19th-century Berliner Gramophone Company discs, concert grand wax cylinders, and an assortment of playback equipment such as a "player-piano type harmonica." The collection totals approximately 2,000 wax cylinders, 4,000 discs, and 50 antique phonographs, as well as related equipment and assorted objects such as statues of the Victor dog, Edison banks, and old needle tins. This collection of paper and photographic materials dates from circa 1886 to 1980, but many of the items are undated. Return to the Table of Contents Selected Search TermsPeople
Organizations
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Form/Genre
Return to the Table of Contents Collection ArrangementThe papers are arranged in six series:
Return to the Table of Contents Container ListSeries 1. Correspondence, 1951-1980, undated .4 linear feetSeries I consists of correspondence between Isabelle Sayers and collectors, experts, and dealers. The majority of the correspondence relates to the exchange, sale, or appraisal of antique records, cylinders, recording equipment, phonographs, or other equipment. Many of the letters relate both to Sayers's collection and to her personal life, reflecting the close relationships she developed with other collectors and experts. Frequent or prominent correspondents represented in this series include Harlan and Grace Kishpaugh, L. Brevoort Odell, Duane D. Deakins, Lawrence McKinley Marken, Lewis G. Green, Clarence A. Ferguson, and Jim Walsh (whose papers are also held by the Recorded Sound Section). Correspondence is arranged chronologically; one folder of undated material is filed at the end of the series. Correspondence, 1951-1957Correspondence, 1958-1959Correspondence, 1960-1961Correspondence, 1962-1963Correspondence, 1964-1965Correspondence, 1966-1967Correspondence, 1968-1969Correspondence, 1970-1971Correspondence, 1972-1976Correspondence, 1977-1978Correspondence, 1979-1980Correspondence, undatedSeries 2. Collection Notes, 1919-1972, undated .21 linear feetSeries II consists of acquisition notes, equipment descriptions, lecture notes, and other items. Included is a diary dating from circa 1952 to 1959 with notes about Sayers's acquisition of equipment and recordings. Lecture notes and miscellaneous writings refer to the history of recording in the United States and Ohio. Miscellaneous collection notes consist of scraps of paper with brief notations about individual recordings, record lists, and addresses of dealers and collectors. One folder contains notes and ephemera relating to Sayers's interest in vaudeville performer Elsie Janis. Materials in this series are filed alphabetically by description. Addresses, undatedDiary of collection and acquisition notes, 1952-1959Equipment descriptions, undatedElsie Janis notes and ephemera, 1919-1972Lecture notes and miscellaneous writings, undatedReceipts, 1958-1975Miscellaneous collection notes, undatedSeries 3. Printed Materials, 1923-1977, undated .42 linear feetSeries III contains newsletters, journals, pamphlets, guides and other printed materials relating to music, recordings and phonographs. Included are programs for music and theater performances, pamphlets on Thomas Edison's inventions and life, technical equipment guides, radio travel logs, record price listings and small catalogs, and reprints of articles on Ohio music and black recording artists. Printed Materials are arranged alphabetically by type and thereunder by title or description. Journals and newslettersThe Music Box: An International Magazine of Mechanical Music, vol. 7, no. 1, 1975Music Box Society Newsletter, no. 4, 1975 MarchMusic Memories Monthly, vol. 3, no. 4, 1963 JuneThe Ragtime Society, 1962-1966The Ragtimer, 1975 MarchPamphletsAudio Equipment, 1923-1977Thomas Alva Edison biographical materials, 1928, 1973Music progams and guides, 1910-1929Radio, travel logs, 1925-1963Radio technical guides, 1923-1930The Rifle Queen: Annie Oakley, 1973Record price lists, advertisements, and catalogs, 1930-1981, undatedReprints, undatedSeries 4. Ephemera, 1907-1977, undated .21 linear feetSeries IV consists of items in a variety of formats relating to Sayers's recording interests. Included are clippings relating to musicians, inventors, and equipment; a calendar issued by the Capehart Collection; advertisements; record inserts from early Edison recordings; greeting cards; pictorial envelopes; phonograph diagrams; and postcards. One folder of miscellaneous materials includes a slide with song lyrics, business cards, and a record coupon. Materials are arranged alphabetically by format. A folder of miscellaneous ephemera is filed at the end of the series. Advertisements See also Oversize Folder 31, Radio, travel logs, 1925-1963Music box advertisements, 1897-1900, undatedPhonograph advertisements, 1897-1923Piano advertisements, 1897-1909Recording advertisements, 1904-1929, 1969Miscellaneous advertisements, 1898-1939, undatedCalendar from the Capehart Collection, 1948Clippings, See also Oversize Folder 66, Clippings, 1897-1961, undated 1932-1977Photocopies of clippingsGreeting cards, undatedPhonograph diagrams, undatedPostcards and pictorial envelopes, 1908-1947, undatedRecord inserts for Edison cylinders, circa 1912-1914Miscellaneous, undatedSeries 5. Photographs, circa 1895-1975, undated .42 linear feetSeries V contains approximately 75 photographs (black-and-white and color) as well as 7 slides and 32 negatives. Many of the photographs in this series were printed from copy negatives of older photographs or images from journals and books. Included are photographs of Isabelle Sayers displaying equipment from her collection and portraits of inventors Thomas Edison and Emile Berliner. Also represented are various actors and musicians, with a particular focus on Elsie Janis, a Columbus, Ohio, native and star of many vaudeville productions. Photographs of recording equipment and phonograph advertisements are also present. Three scrapbooks are included in this series. One contains Isabelle Sayers's family photographs and related ephemera; the two others include portraits and clippings of Broadway, movie, and recording personalities. Photographs are arranged alphabetically by subject or type; miscellaneous negatives and photographs are filed at the end. Audio equipment, 1962, undatedEmile Berliner portraits and equipment, undatedThomas Edison and the gravestone of Samuel Edison, See also Oversize Folder 70, Photographs and prints, 1923 and undated 1969, and undatedElsie Janis portraits, circa 1895-1920, undatedPhotographs of phonograph advertisements, undatedPortraits of actors and musicians, undatedIncluded are images of Helen Clark, Glen Ellison, Kirsten Flagsted, Ada Jones, Helen Jepson, Betsy Lee Shepherd, and Blanche Theborn. Isabelle Sayers with collection and musicians, circa 1945-1975Scrapbooks, 1886-circa 1960Includes family photographs, images of Broadway and theater stars, and ephemera. Miscellaneous negatives, undatedMiscellaneous photographs, 1899, undatedSeries 6. Oversize Materials, 1897-1965, undated 2.04 linear feetOversize materials include posters, broadsides, photographs, prints, and newspaper and magazine clippings. A small collection of broadsides for early concerts and equipment demonstrations are mostly undated. Oversize photographs are all of Thomas A. Edison or his inventions; also included in this folder are several copies of an undated wood block print of Edison. Clippings related to Thomas A. Edison (a few are full copies of publications focusing on his career or death), Elsie Janis and other musicians. Oversize advertisements are also included. Advertisements, 1910-1923, undatedBroadsides, undatedClippings, undatedClippings, 1897-1961, undatedPublications, 1859, 1919-1973Photographs and prints, 1923, undatedPosters, circa 1929-1930, undatedFor cylinders #1828, 1889, 2024, 2034, 2051, 2063, 2142, 2152, 2219, 2269, 2288, 2290, and 2389. Prints made from copy negatives. One image is a copy. Some are copies. Most are copies. Most are copy negatives. Rolled. Return to the Table of Contents Return to the Table of Contents |
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