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78 RPM Record

Artist: Harry Spencer Label:   Oxford Country: USA Catalogue: 21 Date: 1911 Format: 10" Collection:   I Own It     I Want It  Community:  1 Owns Price Guide: Valuation Page » Search eBay #AD  » Search Amazon #AD This site contains affiliate links for which we may be compensated.

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Track	Artist	Title	Composer	Rating
A	Harry Spencer	The Arkansaw Traveller		Rate

Notes

Matrix 21, take 12, recorded New York, NY, between 1901-1906.

Brooks/Rust: "This famous routine, in which a rube cracks jokes at the expense of a passerby while playing snatches of 'The Arkansas Traveler' on the fiddle, was a best seller in the early 1900s. Len Spencer recorded it for Victor and Edison, and many researchers assume that the Columbia versions, which were generally uncredited (or credited to 'Spencer and Schweinfest,' without specifying first names), were by him as well. However a 1907 Marconi catalog confirms that the most common take (10" take 12) was by Len's younger brother Harry, who made many spoken word recordings for Columbia; lists compiled by Helene Chmura from now-lost Columbia files also give the artist as Harry Spencer. Based on the forgoing, as well as aural evidence, the compiler believes that most if not all Columbia versions were by Harry Spencer. George Schweinfest, a multi-talented instrumentalist, presumably played the violin, while Harry Spencer mimicked both the rube and the passerby."

Images

Number: 2742190  THUMBNAIL Uploaded By: historyofcountrymusic Edited By: scrough Description: Oxford 21 A side label (5 patent dates = ca. 1910-1914 pressing)

Number: 2742191  Uploaded By: historyofcountrymusic Description: Reverse label

Comments and Reviews

xiphophilos 4th Nov 2022		First listed in the Fall 1911 Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalog, p. 788: Talking and Vaudeville Selections, which fits the 1910-1914 label style.
fixbutte 9th Sep 2021		To be linked with Columbia 21 (where you can find the same Brooks/Rust quote in my comment from April 2016).
Mike Gann 5th Sep 2021		Fair enough
xiphophilos 5th Sep 2021		I changed the "correct" release date, 1905, to 1906 for the simple reason that the Oxford label was in operation only from 1906. I also had left a note in the Moderator Notes that explained this change. I have also changed the period of recording now from 1901-1908 to 1901-1906 because this take could not be listed in a 1907 catalog if it had not yet been recorded. https://www.78discography.com/ only lists recording dates, not release dates.
Mike Gann 5th Sep 2021		I had the correct year of release on this record. I'm not sure why it was changed. https://www.78discography.com/Oxford1.htm
xiphophilos 4th Sep 2021		Thanks for providing the background story for this record! When the artist is uncredited on the label, you have two choices: 1) if you can figure out the artist's name, as you have, feel free to use that. 2) if you can't, as if often the case, use [no artist listed].
historyofcountrymusic 4th Sep 2021		This one’s stamped “21-12-35” across the a-side label, so Take 12.

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See Also

78 Record

Harry Spencer - The Arkansaw Traveller / Honey, Won't You Love Me Like You Used To - Silvertone - USA - 3256 (1926)

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78 Record

Harry Spencer - Address By The Late President McKinley At The Pan American Exposition - Oxford - USA - 833 (1909)

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78 Record

Charles D'Almaine - Waltz From Faust - Oxford - USA - 217 (1911)

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Brunswick Quartette - Down By The Old Mill Stream - Oxford - USA - 19410 (1911)

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