If you are like me, you often lay awake at night wondering if George Dobson ever took all of his old books, pulled random sections out of them, shuffled them together, and made a new book?

Well, I am here to tell you that your sleepless nights are over.  After years of frantic searching and a hour of scanning I was able to uncover this very rare and important tome.  For a limited time only (limited to the existence of the internet) you are able to share in this miracle of banjo history.

Get your copy here...

https://archive.org/details/NationalBanjoMethodGeoDobson

As always, this is public domain so you may do as you wish with it.

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Hi Joel,

Thank you for putting our minds at rest about Dobson. By the way, how is your RSI (repetitive scanning injury) treatment going?

Dobson certainly knew how to pull in the BIG names to help with his magnum opus... I have never heard of any of them!

Just in case the fuse blows on the rest of the Internet I have added the tome to our TUTORS BOOKS page. If you don't want to read it you could print it off and prop the door open with it .

;-)

Yes, top names like Le Valley who invented an adjustable wedge mute to keep banjoists alive longer.

Door stops are a perfect use for most Dobson written books (esp the various "simple methods"), but this one does have some meat if one is onto the Mikado.

I can't help but think this was a rush to market job to try and out do the Converse Analytical Banjo Method, the Dobson family just could not stand Converse and had to challenge him at every turn.  That was until the tragedy that eventually catches up with scummy people took control of their lives bringing a pretty depressing end to a story I'd rather not write.

George seemed to not be into the skulduggery that the rest of his family was into but I could see him learning about Converse's book and slapping something together.

So far my system of scanning has kept injury at bay.

Looks like The Mikado opened in 1885 (thank you, Wikipedia), so in 1886 would it have been like the Hamilton of its day? It seems like including those pieces--newly arranged for banjo--might have helped to sell the book? Was his competitor doing the same? 

I’ve been surprised at the focus on opera that I’ve found in a couple of violin books put out by A. S. Bowman (a research interest of mine) not many years after this one. His Popular Duets for Violin and Piano No. 2 (1892) includes selections from Bohemian Girl (1843), Lohengrin (1850), Maritana (1845), Cavalleria Rusticana (1890) and his The Drawing Room Collection for Violin and Piano (I can’t find a date on it and I haven’t checked to see what years the publisher was in business) includes selections from Rigoletto (1851) and Lucia di Lammermoor (1835). 

What does that say about popular music of the time? In the late 1800s?

On another note, I was curious about the previous owner of the book--presumably C. H. Lefavour, "Teacher of Banjo and Guitar" of Salem? (I like his stamp.) Looks like Clarence H. Lefavour was born in 1859 (see https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FXD1-364) so he would have been in his late twenties when the book came out. 

Unless there was another banjoist with that name, he published three works for banjo in 1884 ("Preludes and Echos," The Boston Globe, 19 October 1884, p. 10, col. 3; Newspapers (https://www.newspapers.com/image/430654382).  And, he participated in "the sixth annual banjo concert of Fairbanks and Cole" in 1889 ("Concert Events," The Boston Globe, 27 January 1889, p. 3, col. 6; Newspapers (https://www.newspapers.com/image/430668496). Between 1900 and 1920, he seems to be living in an institution (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M951-HZH, for example) and he probably died in Tewksbury in 1926. For whatever it's worth. I find it fascinating, though. :)

Did he own the book because he was a teacher? Needed to stay up on what kind of music was being published? Was it for personal use? Use of his students? Is the original in good shape or does it look like it got a lot of use? Just curious.

Operetta was common in the A notation late 19th century banjo books.

As far as the stamp on the book, these guys were trying to make a living.  Lessons and performances alone did not do that. Most successful professional banjoists in the US operated "studios" which were small music stores selling banjos, strings, sheet music, books, lessons, banjo accessories, and light setup work like head replacement.

I presume this was just a product he sold and any story behind it would have to be made up.  Most of the music and books I have had or scanned have a stamp of the seller, be it an individual banjoist or a large retailer. 

Ah! So the stamp indicates the book was sold by Mr. Lefavour. That makes sense and I appreciate the clarification. I'm fascinated by the people who were playing/teaching music in the late 1800s--although, as you can see, I know very little about their world. The "studio" description is helpful background knowledge. Thanks!

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