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Collection Number: 20020

Collection Title: Edward Babel Collection, 1959-1980 (bulk 1975)

This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


expand/collapse Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size About 90 items
Abstract White folklorist Edward Babel began his studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972. In 1975, Babel began conducting research for his thesis on the hammered dulcimer tradition, particularly that of Randolph County, N.C. The collection includes correspondence, photographs, audio tapes, and other materials, 1959-1980, relating to Edward Babel's research on the hammered dulcimer. Most of the items relate to dulcimers belonging to individuals, some of them musicians, or to museums. Included are a manuscript, audio recordings, and photographs, 1975-1977, relating to Harvey Jones, a hammered dulcimer player from Ramseur, N.C.; a manuscript and photographs, 1975, relating to Mrs. James P. Johnson's dulcimer, which had belonged to her father, William Butler; a manuscript and photographs, 1975, of a dulcimer belonging to the Old Salem, Inc., collection in Winston-Salem, N.C.; a manuscript and photograph, 1959-1975, relating to the dulcimer belonging to Mrs. Artemus Ward; a manuscript and photographs, undated, relating to the hammered dulcimer from the mid-19th century that was purchased by folklorist Alan Jabbour from a woman in Coleridge, N.C.; a manuscript, photographs, and audio recordings, 1975-1976, relating to Virgil Craven; and a manuscript and photographs, 1975, of a dulcimer on display at the North Carolina Division of Archives and History in Raleigh, N.C. The Virgil Craven audio recordings are of jam sessions held at Craven's home in Randolph County, N.C. They feature Virgil on hammered dulcimer, Lauchlin Shaw on fiddle, Fred Olson on guitar, and Glenn Glass on banjo.
Creator Babel, Edward.
Curatorial Unit Southern Folklife Collection
Language English.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
Use of audio materials may require production of listening copies.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Edward Babel Collection #20020, Southern Folklife Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Provenance
Received from Daniel Patterson prior to 1990.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: William Lewis, June 2000

Encoded by: Amy Davis, 2000

Updated by: Anne Wells, April 2019; Patrick Cullom, November 2019

Since 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.

Until 2019, some of photographic materials in this collection were originally part of the "SFC General Photograph Collection." Materials in the SFC General Photographic Collection were individually numbered in a sequential manner that spanned collections. Materials that have a number with a "P-" indicate inclusion in this collection. These numbers have been retained so that previous uses of the images and additional description remain connected to the materials.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Edward Babel grew up in Norwood, Mass., and attended Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y. He began studying folklore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972. In 1975, Babel began conducting research for his thesis on the hammered dulcimer tradition, particularly that of Randolph County, N.C. Babel's thesis and hammered dulcimer project was left unfinished when he withdrew from the Curriculum and enrolled in nursing school.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Correspondence, photographs, audio tapes, and other materials, 1959-1980, relating to Edward Babel's research on the hammered dulcimer. Most of the items relate to dulcimers belonging to individuals, some of them musicians, or to museums. Included are a manuscript, audio recordings, and photographs, 1975-1977, relating to Harvey Jones, a hammered dulcimer player from Ramseur, N.C.; a manuscript and photographs, 1975, relating to Mrs. James P. Johnson's dulcimer, which had belonged to her father, William Butler; a manuscript and photographs, 1975, of a dulcimer belonging to the Old Salem, Inc., collection in Winston-Salem, N.C.; a manuscript and photograph, 1959-1975, relating to the dulcimer belonging to Mrs. Artemus Ward; a manuscript and photographs, undated, relating to the hammered dulcimer from the mid-19th century that was purchased by folklorist Alan Jabbour from a woman in Coleridge, N.C.; a manuscript, photographs, and audio recordings, 1975-1976, relating to Virgil Craven; and a manuscript and photographs, 1975, of a dulcimer on display at the North Carolina Division of Archives and History in Raleigh, N.C. The Virgil Craven audio recordings are of jam sessions held at Craven's home in Randolph County, N.C.. They feature Virgil on hammered dulcimer, Lauchlin Shaw on fiddle, Fred Olson on guitar, and Glenn Glass on banjo.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Correspondence and Smith Fund Material, 1959-1981.

8 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Materials include a flyer designed by Ed Babel and correspondence concerning the Smith Fund, which supported Babel's research; Babel and Daniel Patterson's letters about the donation of materials to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; letters from Fred Olson to Babel; and a letter from Barry Poss of County Records to Babel.

Folder 1

Correspondence and Smith Fund material

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Hammered Dulcimer Research, 1959-1977.

87 items.

Edward Babel's hammered dulcimer research includes biographical and descriptive manuscripts and photographs (with negatives) of dulcimers belonging to individuals or museums. Also included are audio tapes of musicians playing dulcimers.

Until 2019, some of photographic materials in this collection were originally part of the "SFC General Photograph Collection." Materials in the SFC General Photographic Collections were individually numbered in a sequential manner that spanned collections. Materials that have a number with a "P-" indicate inclusion in this collection. These numbers have been retained so that previous uses of the images and additional description remain connected to the materials.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.1. Harvey Jones, 1975-1977.

11 items.

Manuscript, audio recordings, and photographs relating to Harvey Jones, a hammered dulcimer player from Ramseur, N.C.

FT-20020/6266 Harvey Jones on dulcimer, recorded in Ramseur, N.C., 11 October 1977.

Folder 2

Harvey Jones manuscript

Image Folder PF-20020/1

Harvey Jones, circa 1970s.

Photographic Prints

(P-3765-3774)

Image Folder PF-20020/2

Harvey Jones, circa 1970s.

Black-and-White 35mm Negatives

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.2. Mrs. James P. Johnson, 1975.

13 items.

Manuscript and photographs relating to Mrs. James P. Johnson's dulcimer, which had belonged to her father, William Butler. A few photographs feature both Mr. and Mrs. Johnson with the dulcimer.

Folder 3

Mrs. James P. Johnson manuscript and photographs

Image Folder PF-20020/3

Mrs. James P. Johnson, circa 1970s.

Photographic Prints

(P-3775-3786)

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.3. Old Salem, Inc., 1975.

7 items.

Manuscript and photographs of a dulcimer belonging to the Old Salem, Inc., collection in Winston-Salem, N.C., while on display in a music exhibit at the Wachovia museum.

Folder 4

Old Salem dulcimer manuscript and photographs

Image Folder PF-20020/4

Old Salem dulcimer, circa 1970s.

Photographic Prints

(P-3787-3792)

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.4. Mrs. Artemus Ward, 1959-1975.

3 items.

Manuscript and photograph relating to the dulcimer belonging to Mrs. Artemus Ward. The photograph of Mrs. Ward playing the hammered dulcimer is a copy of a photo featured in "The State" magazine in February 1959. Mrs. Ward lived near Seagrove, N.C., and had died by the time that Babel did his research. Babel gathered information from her son.

Folder 5

Mrs. Artemus Ward manuscript

Image Folder PF-20020/5

Mrs. Artemus Ward, circa 1950s-1970s.

Photographic Print

(P-3823)

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.5. Alan Jabbour, undated.

8 items.

Manuscript and photographs relating to the hammered dulcimer from the mid-19th century that was purchased by folklorist Alan Jabbour from a woman in Coleridge, N.C.

Folder 6

Alan Jabbour manuscript

Image Folder PF-20020/6

Alan Jabbour, circa 1970s.

Photographic Prints

(P-3793-3799)

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.6. Virgil Craven, 1975-1976.

About 30 items.

Manuscript, photographs, and audio recordings relating to Virgil Craven. The audio recordings are of jam sessions held at Craven's home in Randolph County, N.C.. They feature Virgil on hammered dulcimer, Lauchlin Shaw on fiddle, Fred Olson on guitar, and Glenn Glass on banjo. Photographs are of these sessions, Virgil Craven playing solo dulcimer, his dulcimer, his songbook, and his grandfather's dulcimer.

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20020/836

Dance tunes, songs, hymns performed by Virgil Craven, hammered dulcimer; Glenn Glass, banjo; Fred Olson, guitar; Lauchlin Shaw, fiddle, Recorded in Craven's home in Cedar Falls, N.C., 29 February 1976: tape 1 of 4

1/4" Open Reel Audio

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20020/837

Virgil Craven, Glenn Glass, Fred Olson, Lauchlin Shaw, 29 February 1976: tape 2 of 4

1/4" Open Reel Audio

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20020/838

Virgil Craven, Glenn Glass, Fred Olson, Lauchlin Shaw, 29 February 1976: tape 3 of 4

1/4" Open Reel Audio

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20020/839

Virgil Craven, Glenn Glass, Fred Olson, Lauchlin Shaw, 29 February 1976: tape 4 of 4

1/4" Open Reel Audio

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20020/1270

Tunes performed by Virgil Craven, hammered dulcimer; Glenn Glass, banjo; Fred Olson, guitar; Lauchlin Shaw, fiddle; Howard Saunders, second fiddle, Recorded in Craven's home in Cedar Falls, N.C., 9 May 1976: tape 1 of 4

1/4" Open Reel Audio

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20020/1271

Virgil Craven, Glenn Glass, Lauchlin Shaw, Fred Olson, Howard Saunders, 9 May 1976: tape 2 of 4

1/4" Open Reel Audio

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20020/1272

Virgil Craven, Glenn Glass, Lauchlin Shaw, Fred Olson, Howard Saunders, 9 May 1976: tape 3 of 4

1/4" Open Reel Audio

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20020/1273

Virgil Craven, Glenn Glass, Lauchlin Shaw, Fred Olson, Howard Saunders, 9 May 1976: tape 4 of 4.

1/4" Open Reel Audio

Folder 7

Virgil Craven manuscript

Image Folder PF-20020/7

Virgil Craven, circa 1970s.

Photographic Prints

(P-3800-3822)

Image Folder PF-20020/8

Virgil Craven, circa 1970s.

Black-and-White 35mm Negatives

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.7. North Carolina Division of Archives and History, 1975.

15 items.

Manuscript and photographs of a dulcimer on display at the North Carolina Division of Archives and History in Raleigh, N.C. The dulcimer was made by Jim Jennings of Cedar Falls, N.C., and donated to the museum by Mrs. Rainey Hawkins of Mebane, N.C.

Folder 8

North Carolina Division of Archives and History manuscript

Image Folder PF-20020/9

North Carolina Division of Archives and History, circa 1970s.

Photographic Print

(P-3824-3836)

Image Folder PF-20020/10

North Carolina Division of Archives and History, circa 1970s.

Black-and-White 35mm Negatives

(P-3824-3836)

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

Audiotapes (FT-836-839, 1270-1273, 6266)

Photographs (PF-20020/1-10)

Field notes to sound recordings placed in SFC Field Notes (#30025) vertical files.

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