From 1901, an early vaudeville-style recording providing brief topical turn-of-the-previous-century
glimpses into the Boer War and of Irish integration into America.
Vaudeville Specialty (Irish comedy talk)
Company
Columbia Phonograph Company
Cylinder #
80405 (5-inch "grand" cylinder)
Category
Vaudeville series - Irish comedy talk
Title
Vaudeville Specialty Introducing Mr. Dan W. Quinn
Performed by
Dan W. Quinn
Circa
Late 1900 - early 1901
Announcement
"Vaudeville Specialty, introducing Mr. Dan W. Quinn.
Record made for the Columbia Phonograph Company of New York & London."
The versatile tenor & comic songster Dan Quinn announces and performs this 2-minute vaudeville-style routine
of Irish ethnic topical jokes and songs.
This recording is on a large 5-inch diameter Columbia Phonograph Company "Grand" cylinder.
Columbia's Grand records, originally priced $5 each in 1898,
were not selling well (nor were Edison's National Phonograph Company's 5-inch "Concert" cylinders),
and by 1901 the price had dropped to $2.50 – still a hefty price (over $70 in today's dollars).
Edison, Columbia and the other major early record companies were
fairly consistent and well organized when it came to selection titles and category descriptions.
However, minstrelsy and vaudeville recordings were often a thorn in the cataloger's system.
This month's selection is an excellent example:
the title and category can become mingled, fused, and confused.
And even today, the thorn has not lost its point: your author asks, "What is the title?" ...
To hear Vaudeville Specialty (Irish comedy talk) —
