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Sam Eskin Collection, 1939-1969

AFC 1999/004

Prepared by Sondra Smolek, Patricia K. Baughman, T. Chris Aplin, Judy Ng, and Mari Isaacs

American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

August 2004

Encoded by Judy Ng, May 2007 ; Revised by Nora Yeh, July 2008

Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/eadafc.af007001

Latest revision: August 2009

Table of Contents

Collection Summary

Scope and Content

Biographical History

Selected Search Terms

Personal Names

Subjects

Forms of Material

Administrative Information

Access

Acquisition

Preferred Citation

Related Materials

Collection Concordance by Format

Container List

Appendix A: Complete Listing of Recording Locations

Appendix B: Complete Listing of Field Recording Performers

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

Personal Names

Subjects

Forms of Material

Administrative Information

Access

Listening and viewing access is unrestricted. Listening copies of the recordings are available at the American Folklife Center's Folklife Reading Room, Library of Congress. Restrictions may apply concerning the use, duplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult a reference librarian in the Folklife Reading Room for specific information regarding this collection. See http://www.loc.gov/folklife/recordering.html for information about ordering audio reproductions, or http://lcweb.loc.gov/preserv/pds/photo.html for information about ordering photographic reproductions.

Acquisition

In 1970, Sam Eskin donated all of the field and commercial recordings he made between 1940 and 1969 to the folklore department of the Cooperstown Graduate Program (CGP) in Cooperstown, New York. Upon the collector's death in 1974, all personal manuscripts related to the collection of folk music were presented to CGP by his sons. The collection remained there until the discontinuation of the CPG folklore department in 1979. For the next twenty years, Sam Eskin Collection resided at the New York State Historical Association's (NYSHA) archives until 1999. The materials were transferred to the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in 1999.

Graduate students Simon Bronner and Lee Livney were the first to process this collection at Cooperstown Graduate Program. Bronner organized and created a track list and outlined a processing procedure for all of Eskin's reel-to-reel tapes, while Livney arranged and cataloged manuscripts in the collection. When the collection was transferred to the New York State Historical Association, it underwent another partial re-organization. Once at the American Folklife Center, Nora Yeh supervised the final processing of Sam Eskin Collection. In the summer of 2000, Sondra Smolek reorganized, rehoused, and created the database for the manuscript portion of the collection. Patricia Baughman processed the documentation on the reel-to-reel tape collection in the fall of 2000. In the summer of 2001, T. Chris Aplin reviewed the sound recordings, completed documentation on the reel collection, and processed the acetate disk collection. In the fall of 2001, Judy Ng rehoused the sound recordings, updated the collection's finding aid, and updated the collection database.

Preferred Citation

Sam Eskin Collection, 1939-1969 (AFC 1999/004), Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Related Materials

Sam Eskin personally duplicated select original field recordings from his collection for the Library of Congress in 1952 and 1960. The first duplication project was accessioned by the Archive of Folk Culture in June 1952 (AFS 10,501-10,506 or LWO 1923), and consists of 6 10-inch preservation reel-to-reel tape recordings from 31 of Eskin's reel-to-reel tapes. The second duplication project was accessioned by the Archive of Folk Culture in June 1960 (AFS 11,712-11,719 or LWO 2995), and consists of 8 10-inch preservation reel-to-reel tape recordings from 142 of Eskin's acetate discs.

Since some of the original tapes and almost all of the original discs used for both duplication projects can be found in Sam Eskin Collection (AFC 1999/004), cross-references to both sets of duplicated recordings and all information pertaining to original recordings have been incorporated into the collection database (See zip disk in Folder 1, Box 1).

In addition to the materials in this collection, the Library holds eight commercial recordings with ties to Eskin appearing as a performer, contributor, or producer. Refer to the Library of Congress' Online Public Access Catalog ( http://catalog.loc.gov ) for further information on the following recordings: Sea Chanties And Loggers Songs ; American Storytellers ; Marimba Band, Otherwise Known As To Hell With High Fidelity ; Blues And A Guitar ; Caribeana, Hidden Music From The Caribbean Collected From The Shores and Islands ; Harry K. McClintock, "Haywire Mac" ; Songs Of All Times ; and Tiroro, A Real Glossary Of Rhythms .

Some materials related to recordings Eskin made for the Folkways Record label, including clippings, correspondence, record covers, notes, and magazine articles, are held at the Ralph Rinzler Archives at the Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

Scope and Content

While Sam Eskin's interests were broad in scope, his multi-format collection of manuscripts, published materials, sound recordings, and still images concentrates and builds upon his early interests in American folk music.

The collection centers around field recordings Eskin made in the United States from 1938 to 1966. Not only are these recordings the source material for a number of his original song notations and transcriptions, certain performers' names reappear in his correspondence, business records, notes, and photographs. Another topical connection between the manuscript and audio portions of the collection is bawdy humor. From the beginning, Eskin marked risque field recordings with a Greek delta symbol, and created a Humorous subdivision for his bawdy song transcriptions. He also maintained a healthy file of limericks that mirror the tone and intent of his "delta" recordings.

The manuscript portion of Sam Eskin Collection contains original and printed material, broken into eight main categories: 1) administrative records related to the transfer and acquisition of the collection; 2) clippings/articles related to folk music; 3) Eskin's correspondence with other enthusiasts, performers, and scholars; 4) Eskin's notes and drafts for lectures, presentations, and radio interviews; 5) mailings and advertisements from societies and studios, including festival programs and newsletters; 6) ideas, notes, quotations, and song lists jotted or typed onto slips of paper; 7) a collection of bawdy limericks; and 8) a comprehensive collection of song notations and transcriptions. The last category includes the majority of the manuscript items. Many of these notations were taken directly from original disc and reel-to-reel field recordings and remain in subdivided categories organized by Eskin. It should also be noted that, while a handful of these manuscript items are related to traditional Mexican music, the majority of these manuscripts are directly related to folk music in the United States.

Prominent individuals Eskin corresponded with include: Jorge Luis Arriola, Sidney Robertson Cowell, Arthur Kyle Davis, E.L. Doctorow, J.D. Elder, Alta and Austin Fife, Jim Geary, Bess Lomax Hawes, Joseph Hickerson, Joe Helmer, George List, Seymour B. Liebman, Alan Lomax, Ben Gray Lumpkin, Dorothy Mehrton, Archie Leroy Musick, Tom Paxton, Pete Seeger, Irwin Silber, and Margaret Valiant.

The audio portion of this collection consists of disc and reel-to-reel field recordings, duplicates, and commercial recordings. A complete list of commercial recordings transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcast, and Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress is available in the Folklife Reading Room. Even more than the manuscript series, these sound recordings reflect Eskin's diverse musical interests, his exploration into different genres, and his experimentation with field recording techniques. Although Eskin did not keep formal records of field recording sessions, information regarding songs, locations, and performers are noted on disc sleeves, reel-to-reel boxes, and select items located in the manuscript portion of the collection. While a few of the American performers in these recordings were prominent artists at the time, Eskin made a number of recordings with artists who did not achieve commercial recognition until much later in their careers. Some of Eskin's recordings are performed by unidentified artists.

Eskin's first field recordings were made on discs, which he used from 1940 to 1949. During this time, his many cross-country trips from New York to California were spent recording American folk music. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Eskin made audio copies of these field recordings on 16-inch preservation discs. Concerned over the viability of magnetic tape, he also made 16-inch discs of reel-to-reel field recordings made from the early 1950s, and transferred a small selection of commercial jazz and blues songs, commercial releases of international music, radio broadcasts, and miscellaneous recordings onto the 16-inch disc format. The 12-inch discs included in this collection appear to be given to Eskin by an unidentified collector.

Eskin switched to reel-to-reel tape in 1949. When it was clear that magnetic tape had become a recording standard, Eskin migrated his disc recordings onto tape, and began duplicating of his own tapes, other collectors' recordings, and commercial songs or albums. While he continued making field recordings in the United States, beginning in 1950 Eskin collected music during his more frequent travels abroad. His visits to Mexico, Israel, Spain, and the British Isles yielded a respectable cache of field recordings, which are supplemented by recordings he made in the Middle East, the Caribbean, and East Asia. Also included in AFC 1999/004 are two sets of commercial recordings containing songs performed by Eskin: Sam Eskin Songs and Ballads (four 10-inch discs, 2 sets) and Vistas of Israel (four 16-inch discs).

In 1952, Eskin duplicated thirty-one of his reel-to-reel tape field recordings for the Archive of Folk Song (AFS 10,501-10,506). Eskin also collaborated on a second duplication project to make copies of his earliest disc field recordings for the Archive of Folk Song in 1960 (AFS 11,712-11,719). Additional original recordings used in these duplication projects are included in this collection.

The graphic images in this collection consist of 55 black-and-white prints of various sizes, one color print, two negatives, and a handful of unused postcards depicting views of instruments and instumentalists. Two thirds of the photographic subjects have been identified as field recording performers.

The remaining subjects, while unidentified, are also assumed to be performers. The database created for this collection contains listings and locations for the graphic images and musical transcriptions and notations, as well as searchable title, performer, and descriptive fields pertaining to Eskin's instantaneous discs, reel-to-reel tapes, and original field recordings. This database is available in the Folklife Reading Room.

Biographical History

Sam Eskin was a self-made man who tried his hand at a variety of professions and eventually found an outlet for his artistic expression in folk music. Born in Washington, D.C. on July 5, 1898, Eskin grew up in Baltimore but left home at a young age to explore the world. Consequently, his formal education ended with the eighth grade. Over the course of the next twenty-five years, Eskin's experiences as a taxi driver, clerk, magazine reporter, logger, merchant seaman, cattle hand, cannery worker, and traveling United Parcel Service (UPS) consultant exposed him to a wide variety of songs, including work songs, sea shanties, and American versions of traditional ballads. In 1938, he began seriously collecting and performing folk music. With the job security and benefits accrued after a fifteen-year stint with UPS, by 1945, Eskin was free to pursue his interests in the collection and performance of folk music.

During the period between 1938 and 1945, Eskin gathered material with a growing awareness of folksong scholarship, reading widely on the subject to familiarize himself with the significance of folksongs as cultural and social documentation, and as an aesthetic means of expression for the people who sang them. As a self-taught folklorist, Eskin's primary interests were the collection, preservation, and evaluation of American folksongs, indigenous music, dance music, primitive drumming, oral storytelling, and oral histories. Eskin's papers and correspondence document an awareness of folk music's connection with folklore and musicology, which is reflected in the sound recordings he collected in the field.

Eskin's interest in recording folk music came at a period of technological transition, and his early and successful investments in UPS stock provided him with the financial freedom to experiment with newly emerging recording formats. Eskin embraced new technologies and upgraded his disc and reel-to-reel tape recorders, amplifiers, and speakers on a regular basis. At his permanent home in Woodstock, New York, he was infamous for showing new friends and visitors the eight foot long wooden optimal base speaker he had built. The evolution of sound recording techniques in America from the 1930s to the 1960s is reflected in Eskin's own moves from acetate discs to wire recordings to reel-to-reel magnetic tape.

From 1945 to 1953, Eskin embarked on several cross-country trips through the United States and Mexico, traveling from state to state in a silver trailer from which he made field recordings, notations, and transcriptions. By the mid 1950s, Eskin began a series of trips abroad, visiting Jamaica, Cuba, England, Scotland, Spain, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Morocco, Hong Kong, the Philippines, India, and Thailand, while often recording and collecting samples of the local music and lore he encountered. With his casual demeanor and energetic passion for music, Eskin easily made new acquaintances and maintained correspondence with a number of musicians he met in his travels.

Eskin also shared his thoughts on folk music through correspondence and visits with other folklorists in the field, including renowned collectors and performers Pete Seeger and Sydney Robertson Cowell. Professionally, Eskin lectured at various universities, workshops, and folk festivals, and released two commercial albums, Sea Shanties and Loggers Songs , and the four-disc set Sam Eskin Songs and Ballads . From 1948 to 1972, working with fellow enthusiasts and music producers Emory Cook and Moses Asch, Eskin also contributed original source material, co-produced, or performed on 19 albums released under the Cook Laboratories/Folkways Records label.

Bibliography: Greer, Chia. Remembering Sam Eskin. Home Page. 13 December 2001 http://www.casa-chia.org/Sam/eskin00.html .

Collection Concordance by Format

Container List

Appendix A: Complete Listing of Recording Locations

Canada

• Montréal (Québec)
• Newcastle (N.B.)

England

• Bristol (England)
• London (England)

Hong Kong

India

• New Delhi (India)

Ireland

• Dublin (Ireland)

Israel

• Jaffa (Tel Aviv, Israel)
• Jerusalem
• Natsrat ʻIlit (Israel)
• Tel Aviv (Israel)

Jamaica

• Kingston (Jamaica)

Japan

• Hiroshima-shi

Lebanon

Mexico

• Acapulco (Mexico)
• Apatzingán de la Constitución (Mexico)
• Chiapas (Mexico)
• Guanajuato (Mexico)
• Jalisco (Mexico)
• Jaracuaro (Mexico)
• Marfil (Mexico)
• Mexico City (Mexico)
• Michoacàn de Ocampo (Mexico)
• Monterrey (Mexico)
• Navenchauc (Mexico)
• Nuevo León (Mexico)
• San Cristóbal de Las Casas (Mexico)
• San Miguel de Allende (Mexico)
• Tequisquiapan (Mexico)
• Tupataro (Mexico)
• Venta Prieta (Mexico)
• Veracruz-Llave (Mexico)
• Yalcuc (Mexico)

Morocco

• Marrakech (Morocco)

Scotland

• Aberdeen (Scotland)
• Castle Douglas (Scotland)
• Isle of Lewis (Scotland)

Spain

• Andalusia (Spain)
• Barcelona (Spain)
• Córdoba (Spain)
• Fuengirola (Spain)
• Málaga (Spain)
• Mérida (Spain)
• Selva (Spain)

Sweden

• Stockholm (Sweden)

Syria

• Damascus (Syria)

Thailand

• Bangkok (Thailand)
• Chiang Mai (Thailand)

United States

• Arizona
  • Somerton (Ariz.)
  • Tucson (Ariz.)

• California
  • Los Angeles (Calif.)
  • Menlo Park (Calif.)
  • Monterey (Calif.)
  • Oakland (Calif.)
  • Palo Alto (Calif.)
  • San Francisco (Calif.)
  • San Mateo (Calif.)
  • San Pedro (Los Angeles, Calif.)
  • Topanga (Calif.)

• Colorado
  • Aspen (Colo.)
  • Black Forest (Colo.)
  • Boulder (Colo.)
  • Central City (Colo.)
  • Colorado Springs (Colo.)
  • Denver (Colo.)

• Delaware
  • Arden (Del.)

• Georgia
  • Okefenokee Swamp (Ga. and Fla.)

• Kentucky
  • Elkton (Ky.)
  • Middlesboro (Ky.)
  • Pembroke (Ky.)
  • Todd County (Ky.)

• Massachusetts
  • Provincetown (Mass.)

• North Carolina
  • Greensboro (N.C.)
  • Winston-Salem (N.C.)

• New Hampshire
  • East Kingston (N.H.)

• New Jersey
  • Roosevelt (N.J.)

• New Mexico
  • Santa Fe (N.M.)

• New York (State)
  • Homer (N.Y.)
  • New York (N.Y.)
  • Sawkill (N.Y.)
  • Woodstock (N.Y.)

• Pennsylvania
  • Quakertown (Pa.)

• Tennessee
  • Blount County (Tenn.)

• Texas
  • Beaument (Tex.)

• Virginia
  • Chilhowie (Va.)
  • Gloucester Point (Va.)
  • St. Clair's Creek (Va.) [near Chilhowie]

Adams, Daniel N., Jr.

Adams, Sally

Adler, Nathan

Agnes, Stacey

Aldin, Hanza

Alguzea, Clara

Alguzea, Hector

Alvarez, Sara

Ames, Bob

Angulo, Jaime de

Arnold, Rich

Austin, Joe

Aviganim, Avraham

Bailey, Robert

Balon, Hussein

Barker, Horton, b. 1889

Barker, Charles B.

Barrelbach

Barry, Gail

Barry, Pam

Barton, Tom

Bateman, Mrs. Florence

Bautista, Enricque

Beasley, Luvicie

Becker, Ruth

Bekowies, Paul

Bekowies, Sigrid

Bennet Four (group)

Beweder Morella, Diego (El Perote)

Blom, Gertrude Duby

Bluegrass Cutups

Bluhm, Al

Bootblack, Gypsy

Bressler, Moicshe

Brideau, Billy

Brooks, Earl

Brooks, Eleanor

Brown, Bob

Brown, Delton

Brown, James

Brown, Mike

Brune, John

Butler, Alice Goldpaugh

Butler, Street, 1904-1977

Cade, Mrs. Susie Riley

Camacho, Steve

Capps, Isabel

Carawan, Guy

Carrol, Tommy

Cazden

Chia

Chilola

Clancey, Paddy

Clancey, Tom

Cleo, Myrtle

Cogswell, F. A., Mrs.

Cohen, Joseph W., Mrs.

Cook, Amy

Cox, Alan

Craig, Faith

Cramer, Florence Ballin, 1884-1962

Cramer, Konrad, 1888-1963

Cravath, Dorothy, 1901-1974

Cummings, Ridge

Currie

Curtain, L. S. M., Mrs.

Davis, Elwyn

Delver, Charles W. D.

Dickson, Earle J., Mrs.

Dinam, John R.

Dilts, Elizabeth

Dos Equis Souza Superior Beer Mariachis (group)

Douglas, K. C.

Downing, Myrtle

Drayton, Arthur

Durant, Hank

Dye, Charlie Nate, Uncle

Eberman, Niki

Elliot, Jack

Eskin, Morris

Eskin, Sam

Estey, Frank

Estey, Joseph R.

Estey, Rayburn

Eustis, Sally

Faier, Billy

Farrugio, Remo, Sr.

Farrugio, Remo, Jr.

Fernandez, Diego

Fernandez, José

Fowke

Fowler, Lloyd

Frost, Frances

Fuller, R. Buckminster (Richard Buckminster), 1895-1983

Ghazi 'Azzam, Abu

Gibson, Bob, vocalist

Gibson, Emma

Gikow, Ruth

Gilks, John A.

Gladdish, Dave

Glancey, David

Godwin, Geena

Gomez Rubio, Ramon

Goodenough, Amy

Goodridge, Jeffrey

Gordon, Lou

Grant, Cy

Griffis, Lem

Haines, Red Dog

Haley, Genevieve

Halliday, James

Halliday, Ms.

Hamilton, Frank, 1934-

Hanks, Larry

Hantman, M.

Hare, Perley, Mrs.

Harris, Dan

Hartford, Bob

Hauffrecht

Hebert, Jerry

Hermback, Jeannette

Herring, Frances

Hetzal, Miriam

Higgins, Donald

Higgins, Isaac, bagpiper

Hodes, Ida

Holland, John

Holt, Willie

Huffine, Dave

Humberto, Brother, Dr.

Hutchison, Edward

Ives, Edward D.

Jagoe, Sam

Jamaica Kingston Band

James, Bill

Jansson, Svea, 1904-

Joines, Paul

Jonah, J. Wilson

José Lopez, Antonio

Joy, Frank

Justo

Kalb, Danny

Kaminsky, Dora

Kasell, Mark

Kayid, Muhamad

Keefe, Arthur

Kelly, Allan

Kelly, Roger

Kelter, Celia

Kennedy, Sam

Kent, Willy

Kerry, Patricia

Kingston, Paul

Kusuda, Mr.

Lachica, Rizal, Mrs.

La Farge, Peter, 1931-1965

Laredo, Victor

Laubin, Reginald

Lawlor, Jimmy

Leadbelly, 1885-1949

Lennon, Augie

Lennon, John

Limbrick Four

Limbrick, Fracida

Lurie, Bob

Ma'atuf, Aloof Yishak

Ma'atuf, Moshe Yosef

Ma'atuf, Saadia Ovadia

MacArthur, Gary

MacArthur, John

MacArthur, Margaret, 1928-2006

MacDonald, Arthur

MacDonald, Allan J., Mrs.

MacDonald, Stanley

MacLochlainn, Alf

MacLochlainn, Fionnuala

Malkine, Sonia

Manuel, Sandensul

Martin, Fredirico

Martin, Helen

McClintock, Harry K. (Harry Kirby), 1882-1957

McCullough, Max

McDaniel, Martin McGonigal

Mead Mountain Ramblers

Mehrton, Dorothy

Michaels, Jimmy

Michaels, Mike

Miller, Mickey

Mills, Alan, 1912-1977

Millson, Alex

Millson, Frances

Millson, Frieda

Millson, Laura

Millson, Louis

Millson, Marie

Milne, Elizabeth

Milne, James

Moore, Harley

Moore, David

Moreno, Fidel

Moreno, Paco

Morrett, Claudio

Musick, Archie (Archie Leroy), b. 1902

Nash, Vernon

Nefri, Saadia Shalom

Nevin, Ann

Nevin, John

Nicholas, Constance

Nunan, Mar

Nunan, Peadar

O'Brien, Sean

O'Donnell, Neal

Olsen, David

O'Meara, Don

Papashvily, George, 1898-1978

Papashvily, Helen Waite

Parham, Don

Parsons, Gerald E.

Paxton, Tom, 1937-

Peters, Albert

Peters, Betty

Petric, Faith

Phelps, W. L., Mrs.

Phelps, Roosevelt

Phelps, W.L. (Jake)

Pike, John

Pomeroy, Bill

Pomeroy, Celia

Postigo Santiago, Antonio (Vargas)

Powell, Desmond

Price, Billy

Purcell, Blackie

Rafael

Redpath, Mr.

Redpath, Mrs.

Reid, Vera

Reisberg, Sydney

Resnick, Nat

Ricketts, Toni

Riddle, John

Robertson, Jeannie, 1908-1975

Robichaud, Edmund

Robichaud, Edmund, Mrs.

Robinson, Jolly

Robinson, Vicky

Rodriguez, Lupe

Rodriguez, Victoria

Rogers, Gamble

Rose, Charles

Roskalenko, Harry

Ruth And Crew (group)

Sa'b, Salem

Sabicas, 1912-1990

Schneider, Seymour

Seabrook, Isabel

Seabrook, Kathleen

Seeger, Pete, 1919-

Seona

Septimo, Delphina

Septimo, Gertino

Siemsen, Harry, 1898-

Sigstedt, Val

Sizer, Karl

Soto, Manuel (Manoliyo El Herraor)

Spiegler, Chas

Splitter, Henry W.

Spritzer, Louis

Spurr, William S.

Steffen

Striebel, Frizi

String Dusters (Musical group)

Sullivan, Harvey

Sutton, Art

Sutton, Lannis F.

Symonds, Bob

Tharp, Mrs.

Tharp, Pete

Thomas, Guy

Thompson, Tiger

Tom Clarks (Musical group)

Trio

Trio Autoctono

Trio Monterrey

Tyree, Ruth

Tyree, Woodson

Unckles, Fred

Underhill, Nick

Valenzuela, Maria

Vallens, Red

Vanderschelling, Bart

Villodre, Juan

Volcani, Ben

Walsh, Mrs.

Walsh, Paddy

Walsh, Philip

Wardwell, Ernest

Warner, Pete

Wiley, Don

Williamson, Ena

Wilson, M.

Wooddail, George

Wynkoop, Jane

Zabal, Fidel

Zeitlin, Jake

Zern, Brook