Lilly Library, Indiana University

[Elaine Masciale]

John & I were at the Lilly Library yesterday (picked up our daughter for Christmas break). We spent several hours at the Lilly studying minstrel music in the Starr Collection. I posted 2 pictures of R. Bishop Buckley ("in his most inimitable plantation character") - one of the full cover and a closeup of his banjo. I will be posting some more of the cover images as I have time to clean them up.

[John Masciale]

I knew there was a reaon I liked that picture...
There were left handed players (the Sweeney banjo in the LA museum), but you are probably right.

[Elaine Masciale]

I added a cover with an engraving of Billy Waters, fiddle player. Who said fiddle players don't know how to dress? lol The group is the Ethiopian Serenaders and the music is a quadrille. I also added the Ethiopian Serenaders "generic" cover - they used this engraving on quite a few of their pieces. I included closeups of each of the members

[John Masciale]

We wanted to try and document all of the songs that are in the various folders at the libray, since they are not posted anywhere. Completing an index with dates, composers, etc. is very time consuming. For the time being, here is a list of some of the groups/folders that we have looked at. You can order songs from the library. Elaine and I also have photographic records of these.

Lilly Library – Star Collection – Song List
Bryant’s Minstrels
Answer of Mollie Darling
By the Lone Riverside
Down in Alabam
How are you Greenbacks
Lanigan's Ball
Myself and Polly Carter
Silver Thread Among the Gold
Raw Recruits
The other Side of Dixie
Oh! Ye Pretty Twinkling Stars

Buckley’s Serenaders
Angry Words are Lightly Spoken
Break It Gently to my Mother
Her Name Was Isabella
Come in and Shut the Door
Darling Little Blue Eyed Nell
Darling Minnie Lee
Ella Leene
Gentle Annie Ray
Gideon's Band
I am Dreaming
I'm Turning Gray Dear Kate
The Juvenile Serenaders Quadrille
Kiss Me Mother Ere I Die
Listen to the Robin
Oh Bid Me Not Forget
O Sing to Me Those Dear Old Songs
Rosa May
Sally Come Up
Sally Come Up
Sarah's Young Man
She is waiting for us there
The Song my Mother Loved to Sing
Favorite Songs
"Tell Me, Is my Father Coming Home?"
"Tis Growing very Dark, Mother"
Trabling Back to Georgia
We Meet Again
When the Corn is Waving Annie Dear
"Yes, We Miss thee"
Why Do We Mourn for the Past

Christy’s Minstrels
Abbott's Polka
Annie Lisle
Bonnie Elosie
Carry Me Back to Old Virginia
Carry Me Home to Tennessee
Chime of the Bells
Christy's Polka
Come to de ole Gum Tree
Don't Be Foolish Joe
Dearest Lila
De Gal With the Blue Dress On
Dinah's Wedding Day
Do They Miss Me at Home
Farewell Ladies
Footsteps on the Stairs
Git Along Home My Yaler Gal
Good News From Home
Good Old Jeff
Happy are We Darkies so Gay
Happy Haidee
Home Again
Hush A By Baby
I Long for my Home in Kentuck
I'll Throw Myself Away
I'm Leaving Thee in Sorrow Annie!
I'm Lonely Tonight
Imitation of the Banjo
Jamie's on the Stormy Sea
Jane Monroe
Jenny Rose
Jim Crow Polka
Joe Ob Tennessee
Julius' Bride
Kimo Kimo
Leon Schottisch
Lilly Clyde
The Lily of the Valley
The Little Church Around the Corner
The Little Log Cabin in the Lane
Love Among the Roses
My Greenwood Home
My Heart's Best Love
My Lubly Dinah Mae and Dearest Mae
My Lovely Virginia Gal
My Pretty Yaller Gal
Nelly Gray
Nelly Wants to Marry
Oh! Carry Me Back
O Carry Me Back to Old Virginnee
O Give Me the Gal with the Blue Dress On
Oh Dinah Dear
Oh! Susanna
Oh Would I were a Bird
De Old Church Yard
De Old Corn Mill
Old Folks are Gone
Old Folks at Home
Old Jessy
The Other Side of Jordan
Root Hog or Die
Rosa Ginger
Rosalie
Sally Primer
"She's Black, But That's No Matter"
Skedaddle
Snow Drop Ann
Stop Dat Knocking
Sweet Lilla Brown
Tilda Horn
Take Me Home
Uncle Gabriel
The Vacant Chair
Walk in the Parlor
Watching for Pa
What Shall This Darkey Do?
We Are Coming Sister Mary
We'll Have a Little Dance Tonight Boys
We Miss Thee At Home
What Is Home Without a Mother
When There's Love at Home
Won't You Buy My Pretty Flowers
Young Folks From Home

Julius Quadrilles First Set
Julius Quadrilles Second Set
Julius Quadrilles Third Set
Julius Quadrilles Fourth set

Christy Melody Quadrilles No. 1
Christy Melodies Quadrilles No. 2
Melodies de Christy

Dan Emmett
Dixie's Land
Dixie - in Patriotic Songs
Dixie
Dixie Land Brilliant Variations
Dixie Land variations
Dixey's Land Gallop
Dixie Polka
Dixies Reel
Dixie Unionized
The Fine Old Colored Gentleman
High Daddy
I'm Goin Home to Dixie
Original Banjo Melodies
Jack on the Green
Anvil Chorus
The Black Brigade
De Boatman's Dance
Dixie for the Union
Jordan is a Hard Road to Trabel
Jordan is a Hard Road to Travel
Jordan Polka
My Old Aunt Sally
Pompy O'Smash
Old Dan Tucker
Striking Ile
Twill Nebber Do to Gib It Up So

Ethiopian Serenaders
Rosa Lee
De Boatman's Dance
De Color'd Fancy Ball
Dandy Jim From Caroline
I wish I was in Ole Virginny
A Life by De Galley Fire
Lucy Neal
Lucy Neal
Mary Blane
My Skiff is by the Sea
The Negro Fisherman
De lip hung down
In de Darkey's Life you read
De Nigga Gal's Dream
Den You'll Remember Me
De Old Jawbone
Come with de Darkey Band
Settin on a Rail
Coal Black Rose
Tis Sad to Leave our Taterland
Long Time Ago

Harmoneons
Corsican's Home
De Skeeters Do Bite
Dearest Mae
Dinah's Gone Forever
Happy Are We Tonight
I Forget the Gay Gay World
I Hab Leff Alabama
The Lone Starry Hours
O Where Is the Spot that I Was Born On
She Sleeps in the Grave
We Come Again with Song to Greet You
Young Clem Brown
Emmigrant's Daughter
Faded Flowers
The Favorite Ring
The Grave of Washington
Home Again
The Lone Starry Hours
Mother I Leave Thy Dwelling
My Lucy and Me
The Negro's Departure
Oh Give Me a Home if in a Foreign Land
She Sleeps in the Valley
The Wild Old Woods

New Orleans Serenaders
Poor Aunt Dinah
Juney at the Gate
Jenny Lane

Nightingale Serenaders
Black Ey’d Susiana
De Banks Ob De Ohio

Virginia Minstrels
Boatman's Dance

Boatman's Dance
Old Dan Tucker
Twill Neber Do To Gib It Up So

Dan Tucker Jig
Cavatina From Don Pasquale
Lucy Neale.
Louisville Guards' Grand March

Dandy Jim of Caroline

Dandy Jim From Caroline

Dandy Jim.
Boatman's Dance.
Lucy Neale.
Dan Tucker Jig

Ethiopian Quadrilles
Goin Ober De Mountin
Jonny Boker
De Old Jaw Bone
Jumbo Jum
Jim Along Josey

Ethiopian Quadrilles
Lucy Long
De Boatman Dance
Old Dan Tucker
Massa Is A Stingy Man
Ginger Blue

Going Ober De Mountain

Jim Along Josey

Jim Crack Corn

Jim Crow's Polka

Miss Lucy Long

Miss Lucy Long

Mary Blane

The Musical Wife

Ole Dan Tucker

Ole Dan Tucker

The Original Ole Dan Tucker

Stop Dat Knocking

The Virginia Minstrels' Cotillions

When the Dew is on the Grass

[Tim Twiss]

Thanks John. Generally, what is their procudure and charge for this?
Did you happen to peek at "Anvil Chorus"?

[John Masciale]

We had them make a photo copy of everything in the Buckley's Serenaders, it cost us something like $60. They have a per page price, but I haven't looked at that recently. You can find out more at http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/starr.shtml

Yes, I have looked at the Anvil Chorus. It is a piano arrangement from the opera. We found a few things that were mis-filed, this is probably one of them.

The collection is interesting. What we tried to do in a few hours is to go through a number of the folders that they have. You have to ask them to bring the folders out, 1 by 1. This is time consuming. For instance, the Harmoneons were contained in about 4 folders. There are multiple copies of pieces in there, etc. Elaine and I only had a few hours, so we tried to get as much as we could of the major groups. I listed an index of the various minstrel groups in the collection in the sheet music form, but here is a list of the groups that are posted in their index. In some of these folders there are 1 or 2 pieces of music, and more in others. We tried to hit what we felt would be some of the larger collections first. I think you will recognize a number of names from the banjo instructors.

AMERICAN SERENADERS
ARLINGTON, KELLY, LEON, AND DONNIKERS MINSTRELS
(includes Arlington, Kelly, and Leon's Minstrels)
BARLOW BROTHERS MINSTRELS
see also BARLOW, DOLSON AND POWERS MINSTRELS
BARLOW, WILSON AND CO'S MINSTRELS
BARLOW, WILSON AND RANKIN'S MINSTRELS
BARLOW, DOLSON AND POWERS MINSTRELS
BARLOW, WILSON AND CO'S MINSTRELS
BARLOW, WISON AND RANKIN'S MINSTRELS
BIRCH AND BOWERS MINSTRELS
BRYANT'S MINSTRELS
BUCKLEY'S CONCERT TROUPE
see also BUCKLEY'S SERENADERS
BUCKLEY'S MINSTRELS
see also BUCKLEY'S SERENADERS
BUCKLEY'S NEW ORLEANS SERENADERS
see also BUCKLEY'S SERENADERS
BUCKLEY'S ORIGINAL NEW ORLEANS SERENADERS
see also BUCKLEY'S SERENADERS
BUCKLEY'S SERENADERS
CAL WAGNER'S MINSTRELS
CALLENDER'S JUBILEE MINSTRELS
(includes Callender's Georgia Minstrels, Callender's
Original Georgia Minstrels)
CAMPBELL MINSTRELS
CARNCROSS AND DIXEY'S MINSTRELS
(includes Carncross, J.L. and Carncross Minstrels)
CARTER'S ZOUAVE TROUPE
CHRISTY AND WOOD'S MINSTRELS
see also CHRISTY'S MINSTRELS
CHRISTY, CAMPELL, PIERCE'S MINSTRELS AND SABLE BROTHERS
CHRISTY MELODIES
see also CHRISTY'S MINSTRELS
CHRISTY'S MINSTREL TROUPE
see also CHRISTY'S MINSTRELS
CHRISTY'S AND OTHER MINSTRELS
see also CHRISTY'S MINSTRELS
CHRISTY AND WOOD'S MINSTRELS
CHRISTY'S MINSTRELS
CHRISTY'S ORIGINAL BAND OF MINSTRELS
see also CHRISTY'S MINSTRELS
CONGO MELODISTS
COTTON AND SHARPLEY'S MINSTRELS
DADY RICE MINSTREL
DOCKSTADER'S MINSTRELS
see also PRIMROSE AND DOCKSTADER'S MINSTRELS
DUMBOLTON'S ETHIOPIAN SERENADERS
(includes Dumbolton's Minstrels)
DUPREZ AND BENEDICT'S MINSTRELS
EMERSON, ALLEN, AND MANNING'S MINSTRELS
ETHIOPIAN SERENADERS
EUTERPEAN VOCALISTS
FELLOW'S MINSTRELS
FIELD'S MINSTRELS, AL G.
(includes Field's Greater Minstrels, Al G. Field, Al G.)
GEORGIA CHAMPIONS
GEORGIA MINSTRELS
GORMAN'S SPECTACULAR MINSTRELS
HARMONEONS
see also HARMONEONS AND WASHINGTON EUTERPEANS
HARMONEONS AND WASHINGTON EUTERPEANS
HAVERLY'S MASTODON MINSTRELS
(includes Haverly's Minstrels, Haverly's New Mastodon
Minstrels, and Haverly's United American and European
Minstrels)
HENRY WOOD'S AND BRYANT'S MINSTRELS
see also WOOD'S MINSTRELS
HOGAN AND HUGHS MINSTRELS
HOOLEY AND CAMPBELL'S MINSTRELS
see also HOOLEY'S MINSTRELS
HOOLEY'S MINSTRELS
KELLY AND LEON'S MINSTRELS
KENDALL AND DICKINSON'S MINSTRELS
KNEASS' OPERA TROUPE
(includes Kneiss' Opera Troupe)
KUNKEL'S NIGHTINGALE OPERA TROUPE
see also KUNKEL'S OPERA TROUPE
KUNKEL'S OPERA TROUPE
McNISH, JOHNSON AND SLAVIN'S MINSTRELS
(includes Frank Howard)
MANNING'S MINSTRELS
MENDELSSOHN VOCALISTS
MOHAWK MINSTRELS
MOORE AND BURGESS MINSTRELS
MORRIS BROTHERS MINSTRELS
(includes Morris Brothers, Pell and Huntley's Minstrels;
Morris Brothers, Pell and Trowbridge Minstrels; Morris
Brothers, Pell and Trowbridge Opera Troupe)
MURPHY, WEST AND PEEL'S ORIGINAL CAMPBELL MINSTRELS
MYER'S CELEBRATED MINSTRELS
see also MYER'S ORIGINAL VIRGINIA SERENADERS
MYER'S ORIGINAL VIRGINIA SERENADERS
NATIONAL VOCALISTS
see also NATIONAL VOCALISTS AND MINSTRELS
NATIONAL VOCALISTS AND MINSTRELS
NEW ORLEANS OPERATIC TROUPE
(includes New Orleans Serenaders and Operatic Troupe)
NEW ORLEANS SERENADERS
see also BUCKLEY'S NEW ORLEANS SERENADERS
NEWCOMB AND ARLINGTON'S MINSTRELS
see also NEWCOMBS MINSTRELS
NEWCOMBS MINSTRELS
NIGHTINGALE SERENADERS
see also ORIGINAL NIGHTINGALE ETHIOPIAN SERENADERS
ORDWAY'S AEOLIAN VOCALISTS see also ORDWAY'S AEOLIANS
ORDWAY'S AEOLIANS
see also MINSTRELS--COMPOSERS--ORDWAY, JOHN P.
ORIGINAL CHRISTY MINSTRELS see also CHRISTY'S MINSTRELS
ORIGINAL NIGHTINGALE ETHIOPIAN SERENADERS
see also NIGHTINGALE SERENADERS
PEEL'S CAMPBELL MINSTRELS
PERHAN'S OPERA TROUPE
PRIMROSE AND DOCKSTADER'S MINSTRELS
see also DOCKSTADER'S MINSTRELS
PRIMROSE MINSTRELS
PRIMROSE AND WEST'S MINSTRELS
PRIMROSE AND WEST'S MINSTRELS
see also PRIMROSE MINSTRELS
PRIMROSE MINSTRELS
(includes Primrose, George)
RUMSEY, NEWCOMB'S AND CAMPBELL MINSTRELS
(includes Rumsey and Newcomb's Minstrels)
SABLE BROTHERS
(includes Sable Harmonists, Christy's and Campbell
Minstrels; Sable Minstrels)
SAN FRANCISCO'S MINSTRELS
SANDFORD'S TROUPE
SHARPLEY'S MINSTRELS
SKIFF AND GAYLORD'S MINSTRELS
(includes Skiffs Costume Concert Troupe)
SWEATNAM AND FRAZER'S MINSTRELS
(includes Sweatnam, Rice, and Fagan's Minstrels)
THATCHER, PRIMROSE AND WEST'S MINSTRELS
see also PRIMROSE'S MINSTRELS
VIRGINIA MINSTRELS
VIRGINIA SERENADERS
WALLIS' UNITED STATES SERENADERS
WASHINGTON EUTERPEANS
WELCH, HUGHES AND WHITE'S BROOKLYN MINSTRELS
WELLS' MINSTRELS
WEST AND PEEL'S ORIGINAL CAMPBELL MINSTRELS
see also WEST, PEELS AND CAMPBELL MINSTRELS
WEST PEEL'S AND CAMPBELL MINSTRELS
WHITEHOUSE'S NEW ENGLAND BARDS
WHITE'S ETHIOPIAN SERENADERS see also WHITE'S SERENADERS
WHITE'S SERENADERS
WILSON AND RANKIN'S MINSTRELS
WINNEMORE, A.F., AND HIS BAND OF VIRGINIA SERENADERS
WOOD AND CHRISTY'D MINSTRELS
WOOD'S MINSTRELS
see also HENRY WOOD'S AND BRYANTS MINSTRELS