Extremely Rare Rare Circa 1898 Columbia Brown Cylinder #12604 "Home Sweet Home"

Description

Own a unique "snapshot of history" with this extremely rare, early and superior quality Columbia Brown Wax Cylinder Record #12604   - "Home Sweet Home (Whistling Song)", performed by John Yorke AtLee and recorded in 1898 . Very few copies of this record in this condition are known to still exist.
"Home, Sweet Home" is a song adapted from American actor and dramatist John Howard Payne's 1823 Clari, or the Maid of Milan. The song's melody was composed by Englishman Sir Henry Bishop (composer or arranger of some 120 dramatic works) with lyrics by Payne.  When the song was published, it quickly sold 100,000 copies.  The song was reputedly banned from being played in Union Army camps during the American Civil War for being "too redolent of hearth and home" and so likely to incite desertion
John Yorke AtLee (1853–1933) was a pioneer recording artist in the 1890s in the United States.  AtLee was one of Columbia's star artists of the early 1890s, second only to the U.S. Marine Band. Due to the Columbia Phonograph Company's early adoption of musical recording, AtLee was one of the first popular recording musicians. AtLee was known for his virtuosic whistling, a style popular in vaudeville at the time. His whistling in this recording is outstanding. His signature tune was The Mocking Bird, an 1855 song by Richard Milburn. AtLee recorded prolifically for Columbia through 1898. He originally recorded Home Sweet Home in 1891, but this version is from an 1898 recording. Other artistic whistling recordings made by AtLee for Columbia records in 1898 include Suwanee River, The Anvil Chorus, the Devils March, Chirp Chirp Polka and In the Sweet Bye and Bye.
John Howard Payne (1791-1852) was an actor, writer and finally the American consul in Tunesia where he died, not even owning a home sweet home of his own.  Sir Henry Rowley Bishop (1787 – 1855) was an English composer most famous for the songs "Home! Sweet Home!" and "Lo! Here the Gentle Lark."
Wax cylinder comes in a Columbia cylinder container that includes original cotton wrapping that predates the felt lined cylinder containers that were introduced in the 1900's. The number and name of the record are etched on the side of the cylinder versus on the end, which is typical for late 19th century Columbia Brown Wax Cylinders. The overall condition of the container is "very good", with some minor fading/wear to the label consistent with its age.  The overall condition of cylinder is quite good for a 120+ year old brown wax cylinder with some minor oxidation which fortunately has not had a significant impact on audio quality. Overall audio playback quality is  "very good" for a cylinder of this age with some background noise, consistent with brown wax cylinders that have been well maintained and but have been played more than a few times. Please take a look at the entire video and all photos before making a purchase..
Also included is a USB drive with a full video recording of this  cylinder along with song and music sheets so even if you don't have a cylinder phonograph, you can still see, listen to and sing/whistle along with this 2 minute, whistling solo with piano accompaniment.
The Cylinder will be bubble-wrapped, placed (along with the USB Drive) in a PVC container for extra protection and bubble-wrapped again/boxed for safe shipping. Ships via USPS Priority Mail. Makes a special gift for anyone interested in Americana or 19th century American music.