Professor Milford Fargo (of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester,
New York) was so fascinated when he first heard Ada Jones on records,
that he spent the last 45 years of his life collecting her records and
researching her life. (The latter wasn't easy. She was born in
England. Her parents brought her here when she was a child. She died
waaay too young at the age of 48 in 1922.) Despite this level of
obscurity, Milford was as tenacious as anybody could be. Through hard
work, he obtained a copy of her birth certificate and a photo of the pub
where she was born in an upstairs apartment! He was told that her
widower had "died in the '40s." But he tracked the man down and
interviewed him extensively in 1960!
There are approx. 2,212 discs, about half of which were first copies.
The rest were duplicates (there are about ten copies of "When Francis
Dances With Me!"). The collection does include the Diamond Discs,
Pathes and other vertical cut discs.
Bonus for Ada fans who are also label collectors: This collection
includes some awesomely rare labels, including McKinley, Excelsior,
Central, Clico, Eagle and Faultless. (In some cases, the labels are so
rare that only one specimen is actually in the collecton, although his
photocopied discography lists all known numbers that were issued, with
his notations reflecting whether he had the discs himself or not.)
Additional icing on the cake: The sale price includes all of Milford's
correspondence re: Ada Jones, early photocopies, i.e., the early
photocopy system, of 1890s sheet music with Ada either pictured or
credited on the cover, and two 7-inch reels of tape containing his
interviews with Ada's widower, Hughie Flaherty!
Asking $5,000.00 for this one-of-a-kind collection and, given its size,
the buyer would have to make arrangements to pick it up in New York.
For further information contact Darrell Lehman (nickja...@gmail.com).
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