Music and Musicians

I chose musicians in order to pick a theme about people (or any other topic) for the first week of Wild Card Month—Pick Your Own Theme! in the Vintage Photos Theme Park. The handwritten message on the front of this real photo postcard (see the left-hand side) is: "Vara Light, 928 Maple St., Lebanon, Pa. Answer soon." There's no stamp or postmark on the other side, but Vara Light addressed the postcard to " Miss Sarah Zimmerman , Linglestown, Pa.," and also wrote a message: "This is a picture taken at Mt. Aetna last summer. The one standing is my uncle, a minister. Also the one with the violin [meaning that the violinist is also one of her uncles?]. The lady with the guitar is my aunt. Am working now in Lebanon. Tell Miles to answer my card." This postcard back has an AZO stamp box (four corner triangles pointing up), which suggests a date as early as 1904 to 1918. Vara Katherine Light married William Hoehle Keller on September 1, 1910, and at that time her address was 330 N. 9th Street, Lebanon, Pa. It seems likely, then, that the card dates to sometime prior to their wedding. I haven't been able to identify which of Vara's aunts and uncles might be the musicians in the photo, but they may have been siblings of her father, Harry Henry Light , who was a prominent businessman in Lebanon, Pa. I previously posted a Small-Town Parade with Cornet Band and Church Float photo for the theme of people playing musical instruments in 2014 and another photo showing Pop Morehead's Family for the theme of musicians and musical instruments this past April. For other photos and ephemera, see my Music and Musicians album.

John K. Trewetz (1864-1938), a well-known musician who lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, advertised a patented "bellophone" on his billhead, but I haven't been able to uncover any information about it. David Bachman Landis of Pluck Art Printery created this billhead for Trewetz. M ________ To John K. Trewetz, Dr. Musical Novelties, 350 West Orange St. Lancaster, Pa., ________ 188__ Bellophone. Patented.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of indoor shots—with a focus on the style of the room. Two women and a boy pretend to read from a book as they pose for a photo next to the piano in the corner of a well-appointed parlor. The sheet music on the left-hand side of the piano is " My Love Is Greater Than the World ," which was published in 1910. Notice all the interesting decorative details in the room—the photos, small bust, vase, and lacy cover on top of the piano; the patterned wallpaper, artwork, and lamp on the walls; the gauzy curtains at the window; and the stylish furniture (what do you call that round chair on the left?). This is an unmailed real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box (four corner triangles pointing up) on the other side, which suggests a time frame—1904 to 1918—that matches the publication date of the sheet music. For similar parlor piano pictures, see Parlor and Sitting Room, Elizabethtown, Pa., March 10, 1912 ; New Year Gathering, Chicago, Illinois, 1912 ; and They Laughed When We Sat Down at the Piano .

"A Happy Easter." These strange but distinguished chick musicians appear on a postcard that was postmarked in Baltimore, Md., on April 5, 1912.

A cardboard poster from Danville , Montour County, Pennsylvania, that dates to the 1920s or 1930s (September 12, 19, and 26 fell on Saturdays in 1925, 1931, and 1936). For a similar poster from the same town, see Eddie Gilligan and His Cosmopolitan Orchestra, Riverside Park, Danville, Pa., Sept. 14, 1925 . Montour Park Fall Opening Third Annual Corn Roast and Dance Saturday, Sept. 12 Saturday, Sept. 19 Pfeiffer's Imperials Saturday, Sept. 26 Alexander's Orchestra, with a Charleston Contest.

Clara Bull of Andover , Kansas, used this business card to advertise the music lessons she offered in the early 1880s. Her name appeared in various newspapers during that time (see below). Clara Bull, Music Teacher, Andover, Kansas. Terms: $10 for Term of Twenty-four Lessons. "Miss Ota Johns of Pleasant and Miss Clara Bull of Sedgwick county were entertaining callers Saturday. Miss Bull has been teaching music in Pleasant." — Augusta Republican (Augusta, Kansas), Wed., Sept. 20, 1882, p. 3. "Miss Clara Bull, Andover" was one of the "Successful Teachers" in a "list of successful applicants at the teacher's examination of July 31st and August 1st." — El Dorado Republican (El Dorado, Kansas), Aug. 22, 1884, p. 3. "Miss Clara Bull will instruct the youth of Alhambra this winter. We hope she will be as successful in this as she has been in music teaching." — Augusta News (Augusta, Kansas), Oct. 9, 1884, p. 8. Typefaces: Ringlet ("Clara Bull"), Lady Text ("Music Teacher"), and Program ("Andover, Kansas"). Thanks to Florian Hardwig for identifying and dating the typefaces (see his discussion of Clara Bull, Music Teacher business card at Fonts In Use). Since Lady Text was issued in 1884, Clara Bull's card must date to that year or later.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of sing, sing, sing!—folks making music vocally . An unidentified country musician poses in front of a microphone bearing the call letters for radio station WVLN in Olney, Illinois. Although the microphone and guitar suggest that he sang and played for a show on the station, I haven't been able to determine who he is. I was surprised to see that he was wearing a holster with a revolver. I hope he stuck to the singing and strumming and avoided any shooting. This is an unused real photo postcard with no date or any other additional information on the other side.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of over the shoulder (something or somebody) . Everyone in this puzzling photo is holding something. The man on the left is holding a cane over his shoulder, and the second man has a rope wrapped around his left hand. Both men are watching the woman in the middle, who's holding sheet music and singing. The woman on the right, who's seated in a chair, is holding a lute and is playing it to accompany the woman who's singing. The woman standing beside the singer and both of the men are all holding rolled-up papers of some sort. A closer look at the photo reveals some curious details. First, the sheet music that the woman is holding is entitled A Signal from Mars: March and Two Step , which was published in 1901 (hear a piano version on YouTube). Since the piece is an instrumental "march and two step" without any lyrics, why is the woman pretending to use it as she's singing? Secondly, the rope that the second man is holding extends down to the floor where it's coiled around a small horse pull toy . Why did the man lasso a tiny toy horse? I don't have any answers for the questions that this photo poses. Although the painted backdrop and patterned floor covering suggest that this picture was taken in a photo studio, I wonder if this might be a scene from a theatrical production. There was a popular comedic play with a similar title— A Message from Mars —that toured the United States between 1903 and 1905. As far as I can determine, however, A Message from Mars was not a musical, and there was no connection to the sheet music for A Signal from Mars .

The rope of a lasso surrounds a tiny toy horse. For more information, see another detail from the same photo along with the original version .

A woman poses for a photo and pretends to sing as she holds the sheet music for A Signal from Mars: March and Two Step . For more information, see another detail from the same photo along with the original version .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of bands (music groups) . The Dover Gutter Band from Dover, New Jersey, played Dixieland, performed on an antique fire engine, and played at picnics, parades, and other events in the 1950s and 1960s. This real photo postcard likely dates to the 1960s. For more info, see Glimpse of History: George Peer and his Gutter Band Brought Dixieland to Dover .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of an arch . This is a real photo postcard that served as an invitation for a Sunday School Rally Service held at the First Reformed Church in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Among the various interesting details in the photo, note the pipe organ on the left and the arched alcove in the middle. A Rally Service or Rally Day is a special celebration held by some Protestant churches in September or October to promote family attendance at church services and encourage children's participation in Sunday school. Although the date—October 7—is incomplete, I was still able to use the other information on the postcard to determine the year that the Rally Service took place. Robert James Pilgrim, whose name is listed on the card, served as minister at the First Reformed Church from 1906 to 1911, according to The History of the Pittsburgh Synod of the Reformed Church in the United States (1920), by David B. Lady, p. 246. During those years, the only time that October 7 fell on a Sunday was in 1906, so Pilgrim must have held the Rally Service that year. For a similar photo of a church interior, see Where Shall I Spend Eternity? Sunday School Rally Service, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2 p.m. You are cordially invited and urged to be present. Robert J. Pilgrim, minister. Chas. T. Corman, superintendent. First Reformed Church, Carlisle, Pa.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of booze and music . "Hamburg-St. Pauli. Zillertal bleibt Zillertal." ("Zillertal remains the Zillertal.") Partially visible on the wall in the background: "Schaug das'd in Schwung kimmst!" (According to one source, this translates as "I see you come to life" in the Bavarian dialect). This is a souvenir real photo postcard from the Zillertal, a Bavarian-style beer hall that was located in the notorious Reeperbahn area in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg , Germany. The man wearing a suit and holding a baton is a tourist pretending to be the conductor of the house band, whose lederhosen-clad members are surrounding him. Other souvenir photos typically show the band with groups of tourists holding mugs of beer. See the Zillertal, Hamburg section of the Reardon Smith Ships site for photos of the exterior and interior of the Zillertal along with two more souvenir pictures.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of holding hands . A photo of eleven women -- six standing, one seated on a chair, two kneeling, and two holding hands as they sit on the floor -- taken in front of a window in the parlor. Notice the distinctive wallpaper and the pump organ on the left. There's a partial list of the women's names written on the other side (see below), but there aren't any clues about the location or reason for their get-together. This is a real photo postcard, and the type of Azo stamp box (with four corner triangles pointing up) printed on the back suggests a possible date that may be as early as 1904 to 1918. Written on the other side: Top row left to right 1 Ethel May 2 Maud Ressler 3 Mered Diets 4 [no name] 5 [no name] 6 Gertrude Harrington Setting down 1 Fern Rinker 2 [no name] 3 Mrs. Cora Pommert 4 Wave Pace [possibly Wave Bernadine Pace Sanderson ] 5 Irene Rinker

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the monthly topic of family gatherings for Thanksgiving or other occasions . A family pauses for a photo before they dig in to their Thanksgiving dinner. Despite the turkey, pies, and other dishes on the table , my eye was drawn to the kerosene lamp hanging from the ceiling, the elaborate design of the wallpaper in the background, and the cylinder phonograph hidden in the shadows on the sideboard. See a cropped version of the photo for a better view of these items. For another photo with a similar phonograph, see Young Man Posing with an Edison Cylinder Phonograph . This is a real photo postcard with a divided back (introduced in 1907) but no stamp box, address, or message.

Note the cylinder phonograph on the sideboard, the kerosene lamp on the right, and the wallpaper in the background, See also the full version of this photograph and a photo of a similar cylinder phonograph .

A ticket for a dance that took place at Kresky's Hotel in Mehoopany , Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, on Christmas Day in 1868. A Christmas Ball Will Be Given at Kresky's Hotel, in Mehoopany, Friday, December 25th 1868. Managers: W. M. Gaylord, W. M. Jennings, F. Maynard, Ira Aumick. Music:---Vaughn's String Band. Bill, $3.00

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of the singer . Handwritten note on the other side of this photo: "1953. Imitating Eddie Cantor at Eagle Club in Wiesbaden, Germany." An unidentified man, who bears a resemblance to actor Eddie Cantor , stands and sings in front of a microphone. The musicians accompanying him are playing a piano, guitar, and clarinet. At the time this photo was taken, the Eagle Club was located in the Kurhaus -- spa house -- in Wiesbaden, Germany.