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This is the only brown wax cylinder I currently have in my collection, I've just finished fixing the Columbia AT which means I now have a machine to safely play brown wax cylinders

Anyone have any idea on the date of this cylinder?

[youtubehd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-YV1rzr-R0[/youtubehd]

According to the sheet music, the song was published in 1895. He was recording on contract for Columbia in 1894-96 and 1898-99, so I would think it's at least possible that this was an original recording from 1895?

Unfortunately, this cylinderography and collection of catalogs makes no mention of the song, let alone Dan Quinn singing it, in 1889-96.
https://ia800605.us.archive.org/11/item ... 9-1896.pdf

I believe the wording of the announcement, ending ' . . . for the Columbia Phonograph Company' without any reference to the names of cities, indicates a fairly late example of a low-speed brown wax cylinder: 1900 or 1901.

This song was of especial interest to me, since my favourite crime writer, Margery Allingham, used it as the title of one of her novels (published 1950). She quotes the refrain of the song on the back of the title-page. Until now I have supposed that she made up the words herself! Her quotation ends with the words 'He won't be cold this winter', which (as far as I can make out) do not appear in the record.

Oliver Mundy.

I wish they had polished the lyrics a bit more to this wonderful old song. That refrain is so clever, it almost needs a different set of lyrics. I mean, the Jew jokes haven't aged well at all to say the least, and rube jokes are not entirely current...but it is still funny, the way "people now-a-days seem to think it very funny when they hear of a vi-o-lent death!"