Good reads

[david caron]

Hi,

I'm wondering if anybody could suggest some interesting reads about the classic banjo era, whether that be biographies or something else. I recently finished Laurent Dubois book about the history of the banjo and I'm eager to read more about our our beloved instrument

[Jody Stecher]

Well, there's My Adventuresome Banjo by Alfred Cammeyer (1934).

[Joel Hooks]

Start with the SSS Journals...

https://urresearch.rochester.edu/institutionalPublicationPublicView...

Fill in a few gaps from my Internet Archive Page...

https://archive.org/details/@joel_hooks

Go ahead an read the few issues of the Gatcomb Gazette that I have posted. 

Then read The Banjo A Dissertation by SSS...

http://contentdm6.hamilton.edu/cdm/ref/collection/spe-ban/id/2642

[Joel Hooks]

Transitioning to the 20th century, there is the sporadic offerings of Cadenza Magazines by the NYPL.  Bad microfilm copies but better than nothing...

https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/the-cadenza#/?tab=n...

Continuing on in the 20th is the Crescendo, the magazine of the Guild of Banjoists Mandolinists and Guitarists.

Here is a close to complete collection up until it becomes Frets magazine.

https://urresearch.rochester.edu/institutionalPublicationPublicView...

[Joel Hooks]

Jody, I have obtained a copy of Cammeyer's book and will scan.  I will share on this site when I get it scanned but will wait until next year to post on the internet archive (if I understand correctly British copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author).

[Joel Hooks]

I almost forgot the greatest work of literary fiction ever printed involving the banjo..

Adventures of a Banjo Player, by S. S. Stewart...

https://urresearch.rochester.edu/institutionalPublicationPublicView...

[Jody Stecher]

That is a *lot* of scanning. It's not great literature but it is an interesting document of time, place, and class.  Cammeyer had the habit of writing chapters in a telegraphic style,  as if he was writing postcards that were 30 pages long. I would have preferred full sentences and more about the banjo and less about social climbing. But the book is an effective time machine so to speak.

Joel Hooks said:

Jody, I have obtained a copy of Cammeyer's book and will scan.  I will share on this site when I get it scanned but will wait until next year to post on the internet archive (if I understand correctly British copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author).

[Joel Hooks]

You you be sick to your stomach if you knew how many pages of old banjo related documents I have scanned to date.  You would throw up if you saw the boxes that I have left to do (before I get more on loan).

[Jody Stecher]

No, Joel, *you* would literally throw up if you had to do an entire book on *my* scanner, which for unavoidable reasons is placed on a shelf that is 13 inches above the floor. Scanning involves a lot of bending and being upside down. If that weren't enough, there is a shelf above the shelf on which the scanner rests. So the scanner lid will not open all the way. 

My scanner is the Qalifornia Queen of Queasy.

Joel Hooks said:

You you be sick to your stomach if you knew how many pages of old banjo related documents I have scanned to date.  You would throw up if you saw the boxes that I have left to do (before I get more on loan).

[Joel Hooks]

I knew what I was up against so I "designed" a system with some workflow.  I took a piece of plywood, attached a handle to the middle and covered it with matte white paper.  That is now the "lid" of the scanner.  No more opening and closing, I just set the "lid" down and pick it up.  With delicate works I have large heavy metal washers that I have covered with paper.  I use those to weight the corners of the pages so I don't break the spine.

I have a large scanner so I can set it up to scan two pages without having to move the work around on most magazine sized works (like SSS Journals and many tutors).  That saves a lot of time.  I also have the scanner on a trunk that I move next to my desk so I only need to swivel to turn the page, the scanner bed is just above waist high so there is no bending.

I have a tiny attic "study" that was formally the sleeping quarters of the "cape" section of my 200+ year old house (before the Federal addition was added in the 1820s or so we estimate).

Since I am limited on space I have to set up my scanning system when I use it.  I usually plan at least a few hours if not an entire day of scanning when I do this.  I have also gotten into a rhythm where I scan a magazine a night trying to get it done.

It needs to be done or this stuff will turn to dust.  Also, this stuff needs to be accessible.  Easy access to this documentation can right the wrongs of banjo history that have perpetuated over the years.

[Jody Stecher]

My hat is off. I salute you, my friend. This is brilliant. And necessary.

Joel Hooks said:

I knew what I was up against so I "designed" a system with some workflow.  I took a piece of plywood, attached a handle to the middle and covered it with matte white paper.  That is now the "lid" of the scanner.  No more opening and closing, I just set the "lid" down and pick it up.  With delicate works I have large heavy metal washers that I have covered with paper.  I use those to weight the corners of the pages so I don't break the spine.

I have a large scanner so I can set it up to scan two pages without having to move the work around on most magazine sized works (like SSS Journals and many tutors).  That saves a lot of time.  I also have the scanner on a trunk that I move next to my desk so I only need to swivel to turn the page, the scanner bed is just above waist high so there is no bending.

I have a tiny attic "study" that was formally the sleeping quarters of the "cape" section of my 200+ year old house (before the Federal addition was added in the 1820s or so we estimate).

Since I am limited on space I have to set up my scanning system when I use it.  I usually plan at least a few hours if not an entire day of scanning when I do this.  I have also gotten into a rhythm where I scan a magazine a night trying to get it done.

It needs to be done or this stuff will turn to dust.  Also, this stuff needs to be accessible.  Easy access to this documentation can right the wrongs of banjo history that have perpetuated over the years.

[Paul Draper]

Just finished reading the Adventures of a Banjo Player - most entertaining.  I love the self-promotions throughout.

Joel Hooks said:

I almost forgot the greatest work of literary fiction ever printed involving the banjo..

Adventures of a Banjo Player, by S. S. Stewart...

https://urresearch.rochester.edu/institutionalPublicationPublicView...

[Joel Hooks]

Here is a readable scan of a photocopy of "Cultivation of the Hands for playing ZIther-Banjo and Banjo" by Cammeyer from 1903.

Sorry it is not better but it works.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hdmXlF8fYZ2Ec3IZvpjqWbq9lQPiRm5U/v...