[African Americana]

The Famous Suwanee River Quartette [cover title]

[Philadelphia? ca. 1920]. [4]pp. on a single folded sheet. Quarto. Tanned and somewhat brittle, minor edge chipping, some short closed edge tears. Good. Item #3089

A seemingly unrecorded promotional touting the talents of the now-obscure Famous Suwanee River Quartette. The group, formed in Cleveland, Ohio around 1910 and led by John Gantt, traveled extensively for almost fifteen years, and became especially well-known for their rendition of "Old Black Joe," which is mentioned here. The present pamphlet, a most ephemeral item, advertises the group with press releases, reviews, "recent press comments," descriptions of the musical strengths of Gantt as well as the other performers as a whole. The text claims that "Mr. Gantt is entitled to supremacy in this field...he is a master interpreter of the songs, melodies, and folk lore of the Southern Negro." The work is illustrated with photographs of the musicians with their instruments on both the front cover and the internal two-page spread. No copies in OCLC.

Price: $450.00