Phonographs in Funerals

[SonnyPhono]

I was given a brown wax cylinder recently that appeared to be a home recording. I played it and took a video of the recording so I could listen to it to figure out what it was. It has some mold so is hard to hear clearly, but from what I can make out, sounds like a scripture reading at a funeral. The top rim of the cylinder is inscribed, "Ward, Maynard Dec. 1906".

I looked online a bit today and came across some interesting newspaper articles so I thought I would share some of them. I found them interesting.

Bottom right hand article on the page...

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Third column near the bottom. This one is really neat because the funeral was for a man who was a veteran of the Civil War!

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Third column near bottom of page...

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Third column, 2nd article...

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So phonographs were used to play music at funerals. Does anyone know if there is record of them being used to record at a funeral?

[Starkton]

So phonographs were used to play music at funerals. Does anyone know if there is record of them being used to record at a funeral?

I don't think that the phonograph was used to record at the funeral, but the sermons were recorded before.

The earliest of this kind I located dates from August 1890. A certain Reverend Thomas Allen Horne from Larchmont, N.Y. preached his own funeral sermon over his coffin, and his dead wife, who died eight months ago, sang the hymns.

Five years later, in August 1895, the phonograph took over the entire service of prayers, sermon, and hymns over the body of a 15-months-old child that up to a short time before her death had been on exhibition at Coney Island museums as a “fat baby.”

[SonnyPhono]

That's fascinating, Starkton. Thanks very much for the input. I just listened to the sound file again and I can make out a portion of the cylinder where he says something along the lines of, "I assure you that our men fought...". I am very curious to find out what exactly this cylinder recording is.

Does anyone have software or some way of cancelling out, or deleting the sound from the mold so I can distinguish the words a little better?

[Lenoirstreetguy]

Frank C Stanley, ( W.Stanley Grinsted in real life) the baritone on innumerable early recordings , performed at his own funeral in 1910. He died of pneumonia at the age of 42 . The Edison Phonograph Monthly reported that one of his Edison recordings was played at the service.
Len Spencer, in a similar fashion, had made a record in preparation for his own service. I'll dig up the details later, but it seems to me that the recording was essentially the entire service.

Jim

[SonnyPhono]

I would love to hear more if you can find details, Jim. Thanks for sharing. However, I listened over and over today and don't know exactly what I have. The beginning couple seconds are undecipherable which probably tells what the cylinder is. Then, there is a dictation of Hamlet, namely, a portion of Act II, Scene II. But the person changes some of the words a bit and seamlessly moves into a sort of preaching. He stops, a second voice comes in briefly and is again, undecipherable, followed by the original speaker. When he begins again, he is reciting a very powerful speech that was given by a political figure in 1852. I had never heard of the man or the speech, but I must admit it was very moving to read. He sort of changes the words in the speech just a bit to make it "his own" if that makes sense. Then, he again transitions into some other form of religious talk which is very hard to hear.

It is very interesting to hear these "non-commercial" recordings and would love to know more about the origin of this one.

[Valecnik]

Frank C Stanley, ( W.Stanley Grinsted in real life) the baritone on innumerable early recordings , performed at his own funeral in 1910. He died of pneumonia at the age of 42 . The Edison Phonograph Monthly reported that one of his Edison recordings was played at the service.
Len Spencer, in a similar fashion, had made a record in preparation for his own service. I'll dig up the details later, but it seems to me that the recording was essentially the entire service.

Jim

And where would you be "digging up" those details?

[Lenoirstreetguy]

There. I come in with the shovel over my shoulder to show you what I've unearthed.
From the Feb 1915 issue of the Edison Phonograph Monthly, the account of the Spencer funeral. Short service with only two records,buyt nothing else would be quite appropriate. Spencer's list was oversupplied with titles like Marty Maloney's Wake, Playing on the Golden Harp and Rudolph and Rosie at the Roller Rink
Jim

[SonnyPhono]

Thanks for "digging" that one out for us! I really enjoyed reading it. Of course now I have to question, where are those cylinders now?!!

[Edisone]

Interesting how the story changes from the NY Times to EPM, but that's the nature of stories: NYT says he "dropped dead last Tuesday at his booking office, 245 West Forty-second Street", not at home. While the EPM article implies that they played 2 records & that was the entire event, the NYT says "when funeral services, conducted by the Masons, had been completed.." a phonograph was rolled beside the bier and the records were played. They also state that Len's family stayed until Midnight, playing the records over and over again - EPM should have included that touching scene.

[Roaring20s]

Interesting use of the phonograph.

My wife rented a mystery show and called me to see the gramophone used in it. I laughed as I watched. Here is the theatrical use gramophone to deliver a personal request after death in Agatha Christie's Nemesis, the TV's Marple mystery. (The book just used a postcard.)

Used was an early Decca portable with a reflecting horn. A nice touch in the show, is that they used a record with a plain white label. Someone did some homework.

James.