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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.
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. |
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.
Back to TopThe 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.
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.
Back to TopCorrespondence, 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.
Back to TopArrangement: 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 |
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.
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. |
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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 |
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) |
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) |
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) |
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) |
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.
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) |
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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