These are pictures of studio musicians in their house studios from the 1890's. These are probably both Columbia's studio however, as we are sure the first one is a Columbia studio picture, but the second one is up for debate. I think it's a Columbia studio picture, for several reasons.
One, that piano man. Recognize that face and figure?
Yep, that resembles Hylands pretty suspiciously...(take a look!)
The second thing I see is that I have never seen an Edison studio looking like that(mind you that Columbia was housed in and office building on the whole second floor in 1898). I have seen several Columbia pictures, and am pretty sure that that second picture is indeed a Columbia shot from 1898. Also try to notice that the two rooms in the pictures aren't really that different in appearance. In the edition of The Phonoscope that these two pictures came from, they even say that they are focusing on the record talent of the Columbia Phonograph company, and that pretty much gives it away, even if they don't particularly specify the pictures and mention them in detail. They are fascinating pictures nonetheless.
When you really dissect that studio band picture, you can really get a sense of how they balanced everything, as they are standing on tables(with chairs on tables!) and sometimes I have heard of them standing on boxes and chairs. There's only about ten people anyhow, and you wouldn't really think of that few people making those band records at Columbia in 1898, but it always varied, there were people who didn't show up, came in later, and were kicked out of their personnel, it was constantly changing. There are sometimes where you can hear that room more than others, and you can really tell that it's that room in the picture they're in. This is one of those cylinders. It's a quiet one, but you can still get the idea. You can hear it on this cylinder here as well. The thing about these two cylinders is that they were both recorded in 1898, and they must have used that studio quite a lot in 1898 to 1900, because I can still hear that same room as late as 1900. You can hear them play in that room on this(messy) cylinder here from 1900.
To step away from the Columbia orchestra specifically, here are some examples of this recording room from that photograph. These next few are by:
Vess L. Ossman, the German Irishman.
Yes indeed, that vain banjo man that had the worst temper.
This one I one I have shared before, but it's one that just happened to be recorded in that room from that picture, here you go with that cylinder that's the first one that starts just as you click on the video. It's Ossman's "A Bunch of Rags", from 1898 even though they say 1899 as the recording date. Hylands is the pianist, but I'm not really sure who the announcer is, it might be Ossman, but then it might be the recording engineer. This next one might be one recorded in that room as well, here is Ossman's "Darkie's Patrol" from 1898, with Fred Hylands on piano. Since Ossman was right at the end of the horns, his effect on the room was not always heard very well, unlike Hylands on the piano, where his distance oftentimes can be heard by the acoustics of the room. You can really hear the room on Ossman and Hylands' "Whistling Rufus" from 1899.(I still think that that is one of Ossman's best records, that exists to-day, as it captures Rag-Time better than most examples I have heard).
Since I mentioned it, I would like to stray off to some of the best examples of early recorded Rag-Time, other than Ossman's Ragged masterpiece of " A Bunch of Rags".
This first one is by the great and obscure:
Silas Leachman.
I have no idea who the pianist is. It's either Hylands or Banta.
It's a perfect unintended example of Rag-Time. When I say that, I mean that it isn't a Rag in itself, but the rendition in the accompaniment makes a Rag. Leachman must have been all for such a thing, he wasn't really a musician himself, but he liked to newest style of syncopated piano that the house pianists he was encountering played.
This next one is an example of the Columbia orchestra's mastery under Fred Hylands from 1903. Here's "Peaceful Henry"(Harry Kelly) by the Columbia orchestra. It's the first thing listed on the playlist. It couldn't be better, it's actually an authentic Missouri slow drag from 1901, recorded under the direction of an Indiana Rag pianist.
This next one is by Dan Quinn in 1901, this time with his favourite pianist Frank P. Banta. Here you go. It's a perfectly planned out record, and the accompaniment is absolutely on time with Quinn. I'm pretty sure that Banta's on the piano, as with Quinn, he always preferred Banta over Hylands. It's like this one that's also on my top early Rag-Time records, Quinn's "When Mister Shakespeare Come to Town", from the same year. I do however lean more toward Hylands on this one, because of certain things the accompaniment features. But it's still a mystery to the few collectors who have bothered to listen close enough to the piano accompaniment.
This next one is by Arthur Collins and Fred Hylands. I have shared this one several times before, but that's only because it's perfect for proving many things about records from 1901. Here's Collins' "When Mister Shakespeare Comes to Town", from 1901. Not from 1906! Now those few Collins and Hylands Columbia's are always interesting, because Collins had a knack for vocal Rag-Time, and Hylands as we know had a little more than a knack for the style. Among these odd collaborations of ego powerhouses(Collins and Hylands that is), is Collins' famous rendition of "Bill Bailey" from 1902. I would have to say that Collins' "Bill Bailey" is one of my top ten favrouite records of this time, because it's so tame and ragged, and it's "Bill Bailey", you can't go wrong with that!
To finish off, here is Bob Roberts and Hylands' Ragged specialty "Bill Bailey' from 1902, with amazingly slow and perfect accompaniment.(This one's for you John Reed-Torres!)
I hope you enjoyed this!
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