This is a blog about music, photography, history, and culture. These are photographs from my collection that tell a story about lost time and forgotten music. Mike Brubaker
It's a stick. This special musical tool was artfully designed hundreds of years ago, for the string instrument family. Made of an exotic Brazilian wood that is gently bent into a subtle curve to hold taunt a ribbon of hair from a horse's tail, it is called a bow.
It's slender shape, length, weight, and material follow century old traditions of musical instrument craftsmanship.
By itself the bow makes no sound. But a violin could not sing without it.
It's still a stick.
Today I feature a small medley of photographs of unknown string players demonstrating how a bow is applied to their instrument.
There are a few differences between bows used by different string instruments. The bow for a double bass is stouter and, generally, has black horsehair which is coarser to better vibrate a bass's longer, thicker strings. The grip or "frog" is also different for bassists who sometimes follow a German technique and hold the bow in an underhand position like this musician from Meyenburg, a town north of Berlin. This cabinet card probably dates from the 1890s.
White horsehair is preferred for the other strings. It comes from white horses that are bred in colder climates like Siberia, Mongolia, Manchuria, Poland, Canada and more recently, Argentina. Every few months the horsehair wears out and needs replacing. It's very common to see string players pluck broken strands of hair from their bows. On several occasions I've seen the bow of a string soloist come undone in the middle of a concert. Usually a quick replacement from a member of the orchestra is handed over so that the performance can carry on.
The cello or violoncello needs a less heavy bow and it is played with an overhand position.
Like a bass player, a cellist saws the bow back and forth rather than up and down like violin or viola players. The highest pitch string is also on the other side of the instrument from the bow arm, the reverse from the violin and viola.
This cellist has the look of a professional musician though he is wearing just a tuxedo with black bow tie and not a formal tailcoat with white tie. The photographer is "Géza Schröter" from Leipzig, Germany. I think this cabinet card dates from around 1910.
A bow maker is called an archetier, and they are a craftsman independent from a luthier who make violins, violas, cellos, double basses. though a luthier regularly repair and re-hair bows. The style and dimensions of string instrument bows were set by the French archetier François Tourte (1747–1835) between 1785 and 1790. He introduced a consistent balance and high standard of construction for the bow that greatly improved the sound and playing action of string instruments. In the 21st century Tourte's bows are as prized and sought after as the violins of celebrated Italian violin makers like Stradivarius and Guarneri.
My opening image was cropped from this cabinet card photograph of a young woman looking directly at the camera as she plays her violin. Her standing position shows off the playing geometry of bow to strings that all string players must learn in order to master their instrument. For a violin the top E string is near the bow arm but I think from her bow's angle that she is playing the third D string. The bow would need to be more horizonal to touch the lowest G string.
The dark green card mount has only the imprinted name of a photographer– M. E. Jenkins and no city or town. So my best guess is that the woman is from someplace in America in around 1895 to 1910.
Since François Tourte's time the timber used to make a quality bow has almost always been Pernambuco wood, Paubrasilia echinata, from Brazil. The tip of the bow may have a small ivory triangle to cover where the horsehair is mounted and the opposite end's grip or frog is made of ebony wood with a screw mechanism to tighten the bow hair. In modern times both the ivory and Pernambuco are endangered materials whose export is strictly regulated by international treaties, so string players must carry documentation for their bows when travelling across foreign borders.
This young woman is the only Japanese musician in my collection. She wears a traditional Japanese kimono and is slightly turned to her left, nearly the same position as my previous violinist. However her bow arm is down and I think the bow is placed on the top E string. This is a sepia photo that could definitely be improved with color.
This small carte de visite has the name of the photographer and location written in Japanese. But drawing the characters into the Google Translate app failed to produce a satisfactory translation. Al I can add is that the seller informed me that the style of photo dates to 1907. If that is correct the violin would be unusual as Japan was isolated from Western Culture until 1853 when American naval officer, Matthew Perry, opened the nation to diplomacy and trade with the West.
Finally my last violinist demonstrates an unconventional technique by playing his instrument on top his head. He stands in front of a theatrical backdrop of a rustic country lane with a caption painted on: Varietie Bavaria. He looks like a fun guy.
Judging from the back of the photo, I believe he is a professional entertainer showing off one of his tricks and he sent this postcard to a friend, Herrn Ruland, a Musikal Unteroffizier at a military base near Rosenberg in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The violinist's was a member of a instrumental and comic troupe and his name was Abs. J. Hosemann from Augsburg in Bayern or Bavaria. His handwriting is unusual because of the block letters.
The movement of a bow follows an arc across the instrument's strings. In fact the Italian word used in music to indicate that a player should play with the bow is arco. It gives string players a physicality in making music, not unlike dancing, as the bow follows the tempo and beat of the music. The infinite variety of dynamics and tones of a bowed string instrument come from the player's tiny adjustments made to this stick. The friction from the rosined horsehair gently, or aggressively, vibrate the string to make it sound. In a way the bow is the breathe that gives the instrument a voice. To hear an orchestra string section play as one choir is a true marvel.
Here is a short YouTube performance to demonstrate how animated a string orchestra can be at times. especially when it stands like this orchestra. The music is the Allegro molto, Kammersinfonie op. 110a by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975). The orchestra is the Junge Kammerphilharmonie Rhein-Neckar — Heidelberg Youth Chamber Orchestra with conductor, Thomas Kalb in a performance at the Stadthalle Heidelberg, Jubiläumskonzert on 6.10.2018.
And for contrast with a seated string orchestra here is the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra under its leader Terje Tønnensen, playing Romanian Folk Dances for String Orchestra Sz.56 BB 68 by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók (1881–1945)
The preceding poem was the work of Richard O. Moore (1920 – 2015), an American poet associated with the San Francisco Renaissance. This movement in modern poetry and other associated artforms was also connected to poets and writers working at Black Mountain College, a private liberal arts college that operated from 1933–1957 in Black Mountain, North Carolina. The composer John Cage (1912–1992) also taught there, but I do not know if Richard Moore ever had any direct link with the college. By coincidence Black Mountain is only 15 miles from where I live now. I chose Moore's poem by chance because I thought it fit the image of this German clown band. It was published in January 1946 in Poetry, A Magazine of Verse.
The six costumed musicians pictured on this postcard are Charly Petrelly'sOrig. Clown-Capelle ~ Original Clown Band. The
clown standing center with a violin is the leader, Charly Petrelly. They seem
to be on a stage surrounded by an assortment of musical instruments. In
addition to Charly's fiddle there are several brass instruments, a blackwood
flute, drums and three trapezoidal xylophones which were a popular folk
instrument in Central Europe in the 1900s. On the left backwall is a shelf
displaying some wine and/or liquor bottles which I believe were played like a
tuned percussion instrument. There is also an upright piano with a pair of
long herald trumpets above. Hung along the top of the wall are over a dozen ribbon
awards. Perhaps commemorating prizes won at some clown contest? It looks more like a clubhouse than a theater's stage.
The postcard was sent from Bremen, Germany on 22 March 1914 to a soldier's
address in Sondershausen, a central German town in Thuringia, west of
Leipzig. The handwriting is difficult to make out clearly, as the addressee's rank looks more
like Musketier than Musiker, though neither uses an
umlaut ü. What amuses me about the message is that at least three, maybe four people, have
written a greeting in grey, red, and blue, orienting the lines along four
directions. On the front picture of the band two of the clowns have signatures
written in pencil on their white collars, so maybe the card was sent by the clowns.
Lübecker Volksbote 23 September 1913
Charly Petrelly was known as „Die fidelen Leipziger” ~ The jolly Leipziger as featured in this German theater notice from September 1913. He and his Klown-Kapelle performed at the Konzerthaus Zauberflöte ~ Concert Hall Magic Flute (Mozart's most famous opera) in Lübeck, a port city northeast of Hamburg on the Baltic Sea. They were known as Die 7 Blödsinnigen ~ the Seven Idiots, an appropriate name for a bunch of foolish clowns.
.
_ _
Here is another postcard of Charly Petrelly and his comical crew. [Pardon the image quality but I just found it online today and have not yet purchased it.]
Here the group is a quintet, not a sextet as in the other postcard. They display mostly brass and percussion instruments with three of long trumpets carefully arranged at the front. The three clowns in the center appear to be floating in the air but are actually lying on a thin tabletop. The postmark date is 14 September 1910 from Leipzig.
What kind of music did Charly Petrelly's clown band they play? Did it include singing too? I imagine their act was an absurd imitation of a real musical ensemble with lots of foolish pratfalls, weird noises, and other outlandish behavior like throwing pies. However I suspect that the humor of a clown band from 1913-14 would still make a 21st century audience roar with laughter, whereas the jokes of a standup comic from the same era would be very stale and unamusing.
To be successful entertainers Charly Petrelly's clown band needed to practice its timing, coordinate its banter and buffoonery, and hone the act to a sharp edge of absurd slapstick. Being funny in show biz is a serious business. It's all about finding the invisible balance between pathos and cheer. The world could use more clown bands right now.
Here's a suitable video to accompany this postcard.
O'Connor's performance for is noted for its extreme physical difficulty, featuring dozens of jumps, pratfalls, and two backflips. Hollywood legend states that O'Connor, though only 27 years old at the time but a chain-smoker, was bedridden for several days after filming the sequence.
The song was a last minute addition to the film and was acknowledged as "100% plagiarism" as both the music and lyrics of "Make 'Em Laugh" are nearly identical in form and style to "Be a Clown". Although Cole Porter had unchallenged reason to bring suit, he never sued for copyright infringement.
The first clue was a hat. Or to be more specific, it was an
insignia on a hat that spelt MEIER.
The next clue was less obvious, almost hidden, and not in the
hats but in a reflection.
The last clue was clear though. On the bottom border of a small
photo was a handwritten note.
Luna Park 1908
These photos were part of a large collection that I acquired from a
dealer several years ago. The man seated center in this photo played
euphonium and wore a different hat when he played in the
Washington National Guard. His name was Orville M. Snyder. and he
appeared in my story from February 2019: The Band at the Old Campground
Orville's gig with the National Guard band only occupied a couple of
weeks in the summer. During other parts of the year his
bandleader, Prof. Meier, booked various engagements around the area and this was one of them.
It was 1908 and Meier's Band was playing concerts at a new amusement park— Luna Park
in Seattle, Washington.
Amusement parks have a long, long history that goes back to ancient times. In
the 17th century they developed into "pleasure gardens" that borrowed
traditional entertainments from wine gardens, spas, market day fairs, Mardi
Gras festivals, and wild animal menageries. By the 1900s amusement parks
became a big business usually associated with huge expositions that built
fantastic wonderlands offering the public a giant spectacle of fun rides on
thrilling machines, clever games of chance, exhibits of marvels and oddities
from around the world, and endless concessions of irresistible confections and
savories. And of course, music was necessary to fill in the soundscape. Luna
Park in Seattle had it all.
The first
Luna Park
opened in 1903 at New York's Coney Island in competition with other amusement
parks at this popular seaside resort. The concept came from two showmen
Frederic Thompson and Elmer "Skip" Dundy who were at various times both rivals
and partners in this new cutthroat entertainment business. Using their experience
designing temporary parks at other "world fairs", Thompson and Dundy created a
more permanent park that featured a structure they called "A Trip to the
Moon". This so-called "dark ride" transported patrons on a guided
electric-powered vehicle on an simulated flying trip to the moon, hence Luna.
The park also included many other novelty and thrill rides and was brilliantly
illuminated at night by thousands of electric lights.
After their success at Coney Island, Thompson and Dundy and other
entrepreneurs began developing new venues around the country that borrowed the
"Luna Park" name. In 1903 a second Luna Park opened in Portland, Oregon,
followed by another in 1904 in Buffalo, New York. In 1905 there were
five new parks in Cleveland; Johnston, PA; Mansfield, OH; and Pittsburgh. Five
more new Luna Parks opened in the summer of 1906 including one in Detroit and
one in Mexico City. And in 1907 Chicago got a Luna Park and so did Seattle,
Washington.
In this closeup of the previous postcard we can see an arcade sign "Admission
Free" which is partly hidden in the background of the photo of Orville Snyder.
The small hut behind them marked "Palmistry" is also visible. This part
of the park was called the "Midway" and acted as the central hub for patrons
to pass though on their way to the other attractions.
The location was on 12 acres of shoreline in West Seattle called Duwamish Head at
the northern tip of Alki Point. One of the developers was Charles I. D. Looff, (1852–1918), a Danish master woodcarver who immigrated to America in 1870
and created a very successful business manufacturing carousels and other
amusement rides. In 1876 Looff built his first merry-go-round for a park in Coney Island
and was later hired by Thompson and Dundy to build carousels for their
parks. He has over 45 carousels around the world credited to his company.
Luna Park, Seattle WA circa 1907-13 Source: The Internet
As seen in this color postcard, the foundations of Luna Park were constructed on
pilings set into a large tidal mud flat in Elliot Bay. West Seattle is separated
from Seattle by water so a special tram line and ferry was built to bring
patrons (and the bandsmen too) directly to the park entrance. Construction
began in the fall of 1906 and amazingly was finished in less than a year to
open for the 1907 summer season.
Seattle WA Star 19 April 1907
The cost for building Luna Park was reported in the Seattle newspapers as
$500,000. It featured a "vast concrete natatorium, with tanks for men and
women, hot and cold water, salt water, etc.; a big figure-eight roller
coaster; a "merry-go-round," entirely different from the old style; the
"Canals of Venice," affording a half mile gondola ride; a "shoot the shoots'
sliding 290 feet into an artificial lake, and a score of other
attractions. A big cafe will be run in connection with the park." The park would also have its own oil-fired electrical generator to power thousands of electric lights and motorized equipment.
Luna Park, Seattle WA circa 1907-13 Source: The Internet
The carousel manufacturer Charles Looff had initially planned to send one of
his grand carousels to a park in San Francisco. But the Great Earthquake of
1906 squashed that idea and instead Loof decided to build his own Luna Park
in Seattle. This postcard shows the reverse viewpoint from the first
postcard of the park and in the center is Loof's huge carousel barn which would have been just behind the photographer of the three bandsmen.
Seattle WA Daily Times 16 May 1907
At the center of the carousel was a marvel of engineering and music. It was
called an "Orchestrion" and reputed to cost $12,000. It was essentially a gigantic player-organ,
elaborately decorated with ornate woodcarvings, that made music on hundreds
of whistle and reed pipes when triggered by a pinned cylinder or music
roll mechanism. Judging from the photo published in the Seattle
Daily Times this huge machine surely had to be installed first before the
rest of the carousel could be assembled.
Even before the park opened in June 1907 there was a sizable protest from
citizens of West Seattle. People objected to the size and location, of
course, but their most serious concern was over the park having a large
saloon serving alcohol. This would surely lead to it becoming a hangout for
an "undesirable class of persons" meaning drunks, prostitutes, and
criminals. The protest turned into such strong opposition to the park's liquor
license that the residents of West Seattle demanded that their town be
annexed by the city of Seattle in the hope that its conservative mayor, a staunch
defender of law and order, would better deal with the situation. Two days
after Luna Park opened in 1907 Seattle annexed West Seattle. However it also
annexed five other towns forcing the mayor to manage so many new obligations
that the citizens of West Seattle never got the support they expected.
Seattle WA Star 21 May 1908
In 1908 the big draw for Luna Park was Prof. Davidson who made a balloon
accent every afternoon at 3 o'clock. This was reportedly the first flight of
any kind made in the Pacific Northwest. It is interesting to note that the
Boeing Aircraft Company was founded in Seattle in 1916 by William
Boeing. Perhaps he saw Davidson's balloon or Uncle Hiram and his pig.
Luna Park, Seattle WA circa 1907-13 Source: The Internet
In this postcard we can see the bandshell where musical groups performed and
next to it is Prof. Davidson's balloon. Its size looks too small to be a hot
air type balloon. I believe all lighter-than-air craft in this era used
hydrogen for lift. The professor sensibly tethered his balloon for both
safety and practicality. The winds in Puget Sound must have caused a number
of delays.
The band hired to play at Luna Park was Ernest Meier's Military Band. In
this large 8" x 5" photo the band is seated in the bandshell with its
bandleader standing center. Along the bottom edge is written Luna Park ?.?
?.? 1908. Orville Snyder sits center right next to the tuba player.
There are fifteen bandsmen and all wear the same uniform and hat with a
MEIER insignia.
Seattle Union Record 8 December 1900
According to the 1900 US census, Ernest R. Meier was born in Germany in
September 1859 and came to America as a young man in 1876. I found reference
to a Meier's Band that played in the late 1880-1890 decades in Pittsburgh
and Indianapolis, so I suspect he moved to Seattle in around 1899-1900 when
the city was beginning a boom in industry. He advertised his band and
orchestra regularly, promoting "Music furnished for all occasions,
Up-to-date repertoire, Neat uniforms." The orchestra was for indoor dances and probably used a different set of musicians since, for instance there are no euphonium parts in orchestral music. But some of his bandsmen may have played string instruments too as this cross-over talent was a common skill set for many musicians in this era. Meier's "military" band was a type of
concert band that used more clarinets and flutes than a brass band. It also
usually had at least two horns and a bassoon to add class to the group.
Prof. Meier doesn't have a bassoon but there are two horn players seated on
the right.
Luna Park, Seattle WA circa 1907-13 Source: The Internet
In this birds-eye-view colorized photo postcard we get a good view looking
north of Luna Park's location on Elliott Bay and Puget Sound. The
photographer was on a small hill above the point. The chutes ride is on the
left next to the "Canals of Venice" and n the right is the band stand and
whirling boat ride. Prof. Davidson's balloon, looking a bit misshapen as if
low on gas, floats above the park. The balloon doesn't appear to have a
basket like Prof. Marvel's balloon in the Wizard of Oz. It looks like
it is just a human body suspended from the balloon's rigging. That's pretty
extreme even by our modern standards of thrill rides.
A second 8" x 5" photo shows the band in a different spot at the park.
Along the lower edge is written Luna Park – 08. The bandsmen are the same
men with Ernest Meier seated center holding a blackwood baton. Just behind
him is Orville Snyder, and 2nd man to his right is the bespectacled bandsman
with the brushy mustache who was sitting with Orville on the midway. He
holds a piccolo here and in the other photo is on the far left with a
blackwood flute. The third man in the midway photo is the lantern-jaw
drummer standing on the right here and back center left in the other photo.
The clarinetist seated far right is the man I introduced at the beginning whose hat remained in
focus allowing me to identify the band.
But the location for this photo was a bit of a mystery until I saw in
the back corner of this odd fake rock formation some letters. "CA?? OF
MYSTE??? In several notices for Luna Park there was a mention
of "Cave of Mystery" which I presume was a kind of "dark ride"
Seattle WA Union Record 28 March 1908
Prof. Meier and his bandsmen were members of the Seattle Musicians' Union, a
local with the American Federation of Musicians (of which I am also a
member). In 1908 it was just one of 29 labor unions in Seattle compiled in a
list by the Seattle Union Record newspaper. There were trade unions
for all kinds of workers from Bakers, Bartenders, Barbers to Typographical workers, Waiters, and Waitresses. Seattle was then an important city for American labor organizations and musicians were an important part of Seattle's workers.
_ _ _
When plans for Seattle's Luna Park were announced there was more public concern about the project than just its liquor license. The developers ignored Seattle's construction workers' unions, refusing to negotiate contracts and instead used non-union labor. In June 1907, just before the park was scheduled to open, Seattle's Central Labor Federation put Luna Park on an unfair list and called for a boycott by all its union members. The board of the musicians' union passed a resolution that all musicians were "subject to a fine of $5 for patronizing Luna Park while it is on the unfair list."
Seattle WA Union Record 28 June 1907
The first summer of Luna Park must have been both exciting and frustrating for the many people concerned about this new entertainment venue. The general public was intrigued or dismayed at the very idea of an amusement park. The developers like Charles Looff were mostly interested in bringing in the crowds and making a good return on their investment. How they managed to get this kind of complicated project finished in less than a year is a testimony to skillful planners and an army of workers, even if most of them were non-union. When the park released its notice for the opening of Luna Park on 27 June 1907, "The Nation's Greatest Playground on the Pacific Coast" it proudly listed all the various rides and features. It also prominently announced that Prof. Miner's Military Band would provide two grand concerts daily—afternoon and evening.
Seattle WA Daily Times 23 June 1907
I didn't think "Miner's" band was a misprint of "Meier's" band, as it appeared this way in other newspaper notices that called the group Prof. Miner's concert band or cornet band. The similarity was a strange coincidence that suggested some duplicity on the part of Ernest Meier. But with further research I discovered there was in fact a "Prof." Mark Minor who was both a music teacher and the leader of a boys' band and at one time the conductor of the Seattle Post Office Band. However by the end of the 1907 season the Luna Park management probably noticed that Minor's musicians were no match for the quality of real professional bandsmen. It may have helped that early in 1908 all the trade unions amicably settled their differences with Luna Park, too.
Seattle WA Union Record 28 March1908
In March 1908 the Central Labor Council of Seattle reached an understanding with Luna Park and removed it from the unfair list. I don't know how long this goodwill with unions lasted, but it at least allowed Ernest Meier to secure a steady engagement for his band that summer.
This small photo of two (though actually three) Meier's bandsmen didn't look like much when it came with the collection I bought. It was very faded and even after correcting the contrast it doesn't look like much. But I'm now pretty certain the man on the left is Orville M. Snyder, the euphonium player in Meier's band, He comrade is the E-flat clarinetist sitting next to Meier in the Cave of Mystery photo. The third man is reflected in the oval mirror and he is the photographer looking down at the camera viewfinder. In the reflection background is Luna Park's big whirling boat ride. Like the other photos this one is annotated in the same handwriting—Luna Park 1908.
The band kept to a strict schedule that likely meant playing several concerts in a day's work. They were not likely to stray far from the bandstand so where is this place with this unusual mirror? Could I find it in any of the photos of Luna Park? Indeed I could but before I reveal where it is I'll give readers a chance to find it in this next image.
Luna Park, Seattle WA circa 1907-13 Source: The Internet
Did you spot it? It's at an entrance with three arches and the sign: LOST CHILD.
I'm not certain if this was a security office to collect and protect lost children or instead a weird mirror maze. But I'm certain it was a place some of Meier's bandsmen found shade from Seattle's summertime sun.
As far as I can determine, Ernest Meier and his band left Luna Park before the end of its 1908 season and never got a return engagement. In August most of them were encamped with the Washington National Guard. When the park reopened in 1909 another band took their place.
Seattle WA Daily Times 20 June 1909
By this time the actual manager of Seattle's Luna Park was the Charles Looff's son William Looff and he came up with new ideas to keep the park popular. The balloonist was replaced by a female high diver named Spray who climbed a 60 foot tall tower to dive into a tank of water six foot square. [See my July 2017 story, The Special Swimsuit Edition, to learn why this became a fad in the 1910s] The rides were still promoted but the big attraction for 1909 was Ostriches! They were trained to drive in harness and do other tricks. [I've met ostriches before and can vouch that they are some nasty mean big birds. Not like pigeons in any way.] And the band for Luna Park was La Sousa's Clown Band. Not a class act, I think.
Luna Park, Seattle Washington, circa 1910 Source: Wikimedia
The years 1910 to 1912 were a troubled time for Luna Park and for some reason newspapers stopped printing its notices. There had been several tragic accidents at the park which led to costly lawsuits. A dance hall had opened next to the park that, and just as the West Seattle folk had feared, it brought in a disreputable clientele. Luna Park's owners also got embroiled in business disputes that required expensive litigation. It didn't help that Seattle's mayor and police chief were caught up with scandals and corruption.
Perhaps the park lost appeal because of its distance from Seattle's center. The trolley line and ferry ride took about 45 minutes, but maybe this was now too long. In this new decade more people were acquiring automobiles and a drive to West Seattle may have introduced disagreeable parking and traffic problems. The only thing at Luna Park that seemed successful with the public was its "Natatorium" where the heated swimming pool let it stay open for much of the year.
In 1913 hope for Seattle's amusement park seemed renewed when a new manager was brought on board. The rides were expanded and the business bought bigger newspaper ads promoting Luna Park's laughter and fun potential.
Seattle WA Star 6 June 1913
The clown band was replaced by Dicastro's Royal Military Band of 30 soloists. Gone were the balloonists, high divers, and ostriches. Instead an Italian Band got top billing. Admission was free but probably nothing else was. By the end of the 1913 summer season the Seattle public had found other amusements more attractive and Luna Park closed its gates for good. All the ride equipment was disassembled and shipped to other parks or scrapped. Unfortunately I have yet to find the exact date when the business went bust as after 1913 Seattle's newspapers seem to have given up reporting about Luna Park.
The dance hall, swimming pools and cafe stuck around for several more years. But in April 1931 an arsonist set the Natatorium ablaze and the last remaining structure of Luna Park was destroyed.
Many years ago, just out of college, I worked a summer at Busch Gardens, a modern amusement park in Williamsburg, Virginia. For this gig I didn't play horn in a band but instead was a member of a small quartet of strolling musicians who played Renaissance wind instruments in the park's fantasy Olde England. We wore "Renaissance" costumes made from heavy upholstery material and played "Elizabethan" and "Shakespearean" era music outdoors in front of Ye Olde Globe Theatre at the parks entrance/exit. It was 7 hours work for a six-day week that rarely attracted much attention as most people arriving at the park were in a hurry to get to the rides and beer hall. And six hours later when people were leaving most were too tired to watch us perform for more than a minute. The only perk of the job was a free pass to ride the roller coasters when our shift ended. That summer I learned a lot about the "art of performing" and about the nature of real "show business".
So as I discovered more about Seattle's Luna Park, I realized that Orville Snyder and I shared a similar experiences working in an amusement park. If I had a time machine I'd like to go back to 1908 Seattle and trade stories with Orville and the fellas in Meier's Military Band. And maybe sit in with the band and play my horn as Prof. Davidson made his balloon accension. That would be fun.
The grand carousel that once delighted Seattle children, and adults too, was
originally made for a park in San Francisco. Though it had a short life at Luna Park, the carousel was preserved and eventually made its way to Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco where it has been restored and installed at the Children's Creativity Museum. According to another recent video almost all the carousel horses are the original wooden carvings, though now with more durable paintwork, I think. Here's a short video that demonstrates how some fun never gets old.
* * *
* * *
There is one more story to tell about this collection of musical photos from Seattle. It's about the same musicians but a different bandleader. Stay tuned.
This is a web gallery of antique photographs of musicians. Most are of people whose names are now lost in time but they represent the many kinds of players, instruments, and ensembles that once defined musical culture. But these photographs also capture a moment in the history of people and places, so I write about that too.
All the photos shown here are in my personal collection.
For Best Effect Click on the Images for a Larger View
For information on my music for horn - go to the bottom of this column.
