Play It Again, Sam!
Before
the MP3 player. . . before the television . . . before the radio
. . .there was an inventive and ingenious source for the
performing arts as far back as the 19th century. In
a new exhibit, the Johnson Humrickhouse Museum shares this whole
new world of entertainment which opened up to the common man in
the late 1800s. Prior to the era of electricity, people (most
often the upper class) enjoyed bandstands, concert hall, public
orators and vaudeville on a regular basis . . . when they were
scheduled, and if the listeners lived in an area where they were
available. With the advent of mechanical music machines
including phonographs, organettes and music boxes, homes of
America enjoyed mechanically produced music whenever they
chose. Individuals needed no discernible vocal or instrumental
talent—the Victorian pleasures of the spoken word and performed
music came to their homes. Precursors of the today’s computer
age, these innovations caused cultural change on the American
landscape. Families and friends could now experience culture on
demand, and should there be a particular favorite, it was no
hardship to “play it again.”
The Johnson Humrickhouse Museum is currently exhibiting a wide
variety of mechanical music machines originating from the late
19th to early 20th century. Included in
this display are music boxes—some small enough to fit in the
hand, while others definitely fit into the furniture category;
hand-cranked organettes that work by cranking a paper strip
through the mechanism; and a unique and varied collection of
vintage phonographs—ranging from portable ones that were a
favorite in the trenches of WWII or one that resembles a camera
when closed, to those sporting the familiar image of a large
amplification horn. Also displayed in JHM’s Golden Gallery are
early records by Emile Berliner; wax and celluloid cylinders by
Thomas Edison—as well as his competitors—and a variety of other
musical “soft ware” such as paper rolls and strips, wood cobs
and metal and paper disks. Other fascinating phonographic
artifacts like “picture” records—vibrant circular images of the
performer that are actually playable record disks, postcard
records—mailable cards which could be placed on the turntable to
listen to, and various related paraphernalia are showcased in
the exhibit.
JHM
will also provide opportunities to hear the machines
demonstrated. Presentations are currently scheduled each
Saturday at 2, beginning on November 29, the Saturday after
Thanksgiving. These will continue to be offered at this time
each weekend through December 20. Opportunities for groups to
experience a lecture and demonstration of these wonderful
machines may also be scheduled.
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