The Guitar in America: Victorian Era to Jazz Age

Acknowledgments

- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 0 T his book began as my doctoral dissertation and I reiterate the thanks and acknowledgments I offered in the opening pages of that document several years ago. Craig Monson, principal reader on that project, has continued to go above and beyond his official duties, offering sound professional advice and pointed criticism of my ideas and writing. I do not exaggerate when I say that without his help this book would not have deserved to see the light of day. My initial research took place in and with the cooperation of numerous libraries and I thank these institutions and their staffs for their assistance. These libraries include the Music Division of the Library of Congress, Kent Library of Southeast Missouri State University, the Newberry Library, and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Much of my research, writing, and revising took place in the Gaylord Music Library of Washington University and I thank Music Librarian Brad Short and his staff for their pleasant and professional assistance. In the early stages of my research, Peter Danner and Thomas Heck, two of this country’s most respected scholars of the classical guitar, offered critical commentary and collegial encouragement. I thank them for both. The College of Liberal Arts at Southeast Missouri State University supported several research trips and I thank Emeritus Dean Martin Jones, Associate Dean Gary Miller of the Holland School for Visual and Performing Arts, and the Committee for Faculty Development for their financial assistance and professional interest. My colleagues at Southeast Missouri State University deserve my thanks for allowing me to occasionally bend their ears and for their encouraging questions. These folks include Steve Hendricks and Brandon Christensen in the Department of Music and Marc Strauss in the Department of Theater and Dance. As I began work on turning my dissertation into a book, I had the good fortune to meet two gentlemen whose collections of instruments, books, and ephemera related to the banjo in America are surpassed only by their knowledge - vii - of the subject. Eli Kaufman and Jim Bollman graciously opened their homes and their collections to me, sharing not only their spectacular holdings but their encyclopedic knowledge of the period, the music, and the personalities. As a guitarist, I suppose I can provide little in return that real banjo experts like Eli and Jim want, but I offer them my sincere thanks. I include Madeleine Kaufman in that thanks, too. In the rewriting process, I imposed on friends and colleagues to read bits and pieces of this book. Warren Anderson, a fine banjoist and professor of anthropology at Southeast Missouri State University, encouraged me to “tell the story.” I thank him for his scholarly suggestions, professional example, and our weekly lunches. Tim Brookes, an author cited in this book, played a major role in the direction of parts of my dissertation. More recently, he found the time to read enough of my book manuscript to immediately pinpoint a beginner ’s errors. His professional critique has improved the book immensely. I only hope the revision comes up to his expectations. Robert Ferguson, a friend and scholar, not only shared his unpublished research with me but also read an early draft of this book with an eye to grammatical, bibliographic, and factual detail that overwhelmed me. As I incorporated his suggestions, I sometimes wondered if perhaps Bob should have written this book. Thanks, too, to Craig Gill, Anne Stascavage, Will Rigby, and the staff at University Press of Mississippi for their encouragement and hard work. I sincerely appreciate the Press taking this project on and hope that my part in the process has met their expectations. Thanks, as well, to the Press’s anonymous reader whose comments perfectly balanced scholarly criticism with collegial encouragement. I offer a general “thank you” to other friends, colleagues, and family who supported the completion of this book. And while I wish I could shift the blame, any errors—factual, grammatical, and otherwise—in the following pages are my responsibility. I dedicate this book to Nancy Bristol and our blended/ extended family—Erin and Brian, Brendan and Sarah, and Joe. Their hard work and well-deserved successes in their respective fields continue to impress and inspire me, as I try to keep up with them. Nancy’s contribution to this book transcends her toleration of my paper trails, hours in the library, and absent-minded disregard for the day-to-day. Her patience, good humor, and encouragement allowed it to...