Papers from the Isabelle Sayers Collection (full view)

Title: Papers from the Isabelle Sayers Collection
Inclusive Dates: circa 1886-1980
Bulk Dates: 1920-1980
Creator: Sayers, Isabelle S.
Extent: 3.7 linear feet (6 boxes)
Language: Collection materials are in English
Repository: Recorded Sound Reference Center, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Abstract: Paper and photographic materials created and gathered by Isabelle S. Sayers as she assembled her collection of early recordings and audio equipment.
Location: RPA 00160-RPA 00163; RPC 00001; RPE 00002

Key Subjects and Formats

The following headings represent names, topics, places, and formats of major significance in the collection.

Names

Sayers, Isabelle S.--Archives
Janis, Elsie, 1889-1956
Kishpaugh, Harlan--Correspondence
Kishpaugh, Grace--Correspondence
Odell, L. Brevoort--Correspondence
Deakins, Duane D.--Correspondence
Marken, Lawrence McKinley--Correspondence
Green, Lew--Correspondence
Ferguson, Clarence A.--Correspondence
Walsh, Jim--Correspondence
Isabelle Sayers Collection (Library of Congress)

Topics

Women collectors--United States--Archives
Sound recordings--Collectors and collecting--United States
Sound--Recording and reproducing--Equipment and supplies

Forms of Material

Letters (Correspondence)
Photographs
Newspaper clippings
Ephemera
Scrapbooks
Pamphlets
Catalogs
Postcards
Notes
Diaries

Administrative Information

Acquisition of the Papers

The papers were donated to the Library of Congress by Isabelle S. Sayers in several increments in 1981, and by Frank T. Sayers in memory of his wife in 1982 and 1987.

Additions

No further additions to the papers are expected.

Processing Information

The papers were processed by Jennifer Lewis in March 2004.

Restrictions on Use of the Papers

Restrictions may exist on copying, quoting, or publishing materials included in the papers. For additional information, contact a reference librarian in the Recorded Sound Reference Center, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 20540-4690; (202) 707-7833.

Restrictions on Access to the Papers

The Papers from the Isabelle Sayers Collection are open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [Container number, eg., Box 3], Papers from the Isabelle Sayers Collection, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress.

Biography of Isabelle S. Sayers

Isabelle 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.

Scope and Content of the Papers

These 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.

Arrangement of the Papers

The papers are arranged in six series:

Series I: Correspondence, 1951-1980
Series II: Collection Notes, 1919-1972
Series III: Printed Material, 1923-1977, undated
Series IV: Ephemera, 1907-1977, undated
Series V: Photographs, circa 1886-1975
Series VI: Oversize Materials, 1897-1965, undated

Detailed Description of the Papers

CONTAINER	CONTENTS


	Series 1. Correspondence, 1951-1980, undated
		.4 linear feet
		RPA 00160 (box 1)
		Series 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.

BOX 1 FOLDER 1		Correspondence, 1951-1957

BOX 1 FOLDER 2		Correspondence, 1958-1959

BOX 1 FOLDER 3		Correspondence, 1960-1961

BOX 1 FOLDER 4		Correspondence, 1962-1963

BOX 1 FOLDER 5		Correspondence, 1964-1965

BOX 1 FOLDER 6		Correspondence, 1966-1967

BOX 1 FOLDER 7		Correspondence, 1968-1969

BOX 1 FOLDER 8		Correspondence, 1970-1971

BOX 1 FOLDER 9		Correspondence, 1972-1976

BOX 1 FOLDER 10		Correspondence, 1977-1978

BOX 1 FOLDER 11		Correspondence, 1979-1980

BOX 1 FOLDER 12		Correspondence, undated

	Series II. Collection Notes, 1919-1972, undated
		.21 linear feet
		RPA 00160 (box 1); RPA 00161 (box 2)
		Series 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.

BOX 1 FOLDER 13		Addresses, undated

BOX 1 FOLDER 14		Diary of collection and acquisition notes, 1952-1959

BOX 2 FOLDER 15		Equipment descriptions, undated

BOX 2 FOLDER 16		Elsie Janis notes and ephemera, 1919-1972

BOX 2 FOLDER 17		Lecture notes and miscellaneous writings, undated

BOX 2 FOLDER 18		Receipts, 1958-1975

BOX 2 FOLDER 19		Miscellaneous collection notes, undated

	Series III. Printed Materials, 1923-1977, undated
		.42 linear feet
		RPA 00161 (box 2); RPA 00162 (box 3)
		Series 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 newsletters

BOX 2 FOLDER 20			The Music Box: An International Magazine of Mechanical Music, vol. 7, no. 1, 1975

BOX 2 FOLDER 21			Music Box Society Newsletter, no. 4, 1975 March

BOX 2 FOLDER 22			Music Memories Monthly, vol. 3, no. 4, 1963 June

BOX 2 FOLDER 23-24			The Ragtime Society, 1962-1966

BOX 2 FOLDER 25-26			The Ragtimer, 1975 March

		Pamphlets

BOX 2 FOLDER 27-28			Audio Equipment, 1923-1977

BOX 2 FOLDER 29			Thomas Alva Edison biographical materials, 1928, 1973

BOX 2 FOLDER 30			Music progams and guides, 1910-1929

BOX 3 FOLDER Oversize 31			Radio, travel logs, 1925-1963

BOX 3 FOLDER 32			Radio technical guides, 1923-1930

BOX 3 FOLDER 33			The Rifle Queen: Annie Oakley, 1973

BOX 3 FOLDER 34-36			Record price lists, advertisements, and catalogs, 1930-1981, undated

BOX 3 FOLDER 37		Reprints, undated

	Series IV. Ephemera, 1907-1977, undated
		.21 linear feet
		RPA 00162 (box 3); RPA 00163 (box 4)
		Series 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, 1925-1963

BOX 3 FOLDER 38			Music box advertisements, 1897-1900, undated

BOX 3 FOLDER 39			Phonograph advertisements, 1897-1923

BOX 3 FOLDER 40			Piano advertisements, 1897-1909

BOX 3 FOLDER 41			Recording advertisements, 1904-1929, 1969

BOX 3 FOLDER 42			Miscellaneous advertisements, 1898-1939, undated

BOX 3 FOLDER 43		Calendar from the Capehart Collection, 1948

BOX 3 FOLDER 44		Clippings, 1932-1977, See also Oversize Folder 66, Clippings, 1897-1961, undated
			Please use photocopies in folder 45.

BOX 3 FOLDER 45		Photocopies of clippings
			Please use these photocopies rather than the fragile originals in folder 44.

BOX 3 FOLDER 46		Greeting cards, undated

BOX 3 FOLDER 47		Phonograph diagrams, undated

BOX 4 FOLDER 48		Postcards and pictorial envelopes, 1908-1947, undated

BOX 4 FOLDER 49		Record inserts for Edison cylinders, circa 1912-1914
			For cylinders #1828, 1889, 2024, 2034, 2051, 2063, 2142, 2152, 2219, 2269, 2288, 2290, and 2389.

BOX 4 FOLDER 50		Miscellaneous, undated

	Series V. Photographs, circa 1895-1975, undated
		.42 linear feet
		RPA 00163 (box 4)
		Series 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.

BOX 4 FOLDER 51		Audio equipment, 1962, undated

BOX 4 FOLDER 52		Emile Berliner portraits and equipment, undated
			Prints made from copy negatives.

BOX 4 FOLDER 53		Thomas Edison and the gravestone of Samuel Edison, 1969, undatedSee also Oversize Folder 70, Photographs and prints, 1923 and undated
			One image is a copy.

BOX 4 FOLDER 54		Elsie Janis portraits, circa 1895-1920, undated
			Some are copies.

BOX 4 FOLDER 55		Photographs of phonograph advertisements, undated

BOX 4 FOLDER 56		Portraits of actors and musicians, undated
			Included are images of Helen Clark, Glen Ellison, Kirsten Flagsted, Ada Jones, Helen Jepson, Betsy Lee Shepherd, and Blanche Theborn.
			Most are copies.

BOX 4 FOLDER 57		Isabelle Sayers with collection and musicians, circa 1945-1975

BOX 4 FOLDER 58-61		Scrapbooks, 1886-circa 1960
			Includes family photographs, images of Broadway and theater stars, and ephemera.

BOX 4 FOLDER 62		Miscellaneous negatives, undated
			Most are copy negatives.

BOX 4 FOLDER 63		Miscellaneous photographs, 1899, undated

	Series VI. Oversize Materials, 1897-1965, undated
		2.04 linear feet
		RPC 00001 (box 5); RPE 00002 (box 6)
		Oversize 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.

BOX 5 FOLDER 64		Advertisements, 1910-1923, undated

BOX 5 FOLDER 65		Broadsides, undated

BOX 5 FOLDER Oversize 66		Clippings,
			Photocopies of oversize clippings; please use these rather than the fragile originals.

BOX 5 FOLDER 67-68		Clippings, 1897-1961, undated
			Please use the photocopies of these clippings housed in folder 66.

BOX 5 FOLDER 69		Publications, 1859, 1919-1973

BOX 5 FOLDER Oversize 70		Photographs and prints, 1923, undated

BOX 6		Posters, circa 1929-1930, undated
			Rolled.

Separated Materials

Some publications, especially record catalogs, that originally formed part of the Sayers papers have been cataloged separately and added to the Library's general collections.

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