Rare Circa 1902 Columbia Brown Cylinder #7701 - "(Listen to) The Mocking Bird"

Description

Own a "unique piece of music history" with this rare and superior quality Columbia Brown Wax Cylinder Record #7701  - "(Listen to the) Mocking Bird ", Written by Septimius Winner (aka Alice Hawthorne) performed by Joe Belmont and recorded between 1901 and 1904 .
Septimus Winner (1827 –1905) was an American songwriter of the 19th century. He used his own name, and also the pseudonyms Alice Hawthorne, Percy Guyer, Mark Mason, Apsley Street, and Paul Stenton. He was also a teacher, performer, and music publisher. His Mother Mary Ann Winner was a relative of Nathaniel Hawthorne, hence Septimus' use of the Hawthorne name as part of his pseudonym Alice Hawthorne. In 1855, Winner published the song " Listen to the Mockingbird" under the Alice Hawthorne name. He had arranged and added words to a tune by local singer/guitarist Richard Milburn, an employee, whom he credited. Later he sold the rights, reputedly for five dollars. The song sold about 15 million copies in the United States alone. Septimus Winner was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.
Joe Belmont was the stage name of Joseph Walter Fulton (1876 - 1949) who was a whistling performer and baritone in the United States who came to be known as "The Human Bird".  He was one of the most popular recording artists in the years leading to 1900 and sang as a baritone and whistled for the Columbia Quartet along with Albert Campbell, Jim Reynard and Joe Majors.
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-1890's/early-1900's  Columbia Brown Wax Cylinders. The overall condition of the container is "very good", with some fading/staining/wear to the label consistent with its age.  The overall condition of cylinder is "good" for a 120 year old brown wax cylinder with a minor chip at the top of the cylinder well outside of the playing area, and some modest oxidation which fortunately has had a minimal impact on audio quality. Overall audio playback quality is  "very good" for a cylinder of this age with some moderate background noise, consistent with brown wax cylinders that have been generally well maintained. Please review the entire video and all photos before making a purchase.
Also included is a USB drive with a full video recording of this cylinder played on a Circa 1903 Edison Home Phonograph along with sheet music so even if you don't have a cylinder phonograph, you can still see, listen to and sing or whistle along with this this 2 minute, unique 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 great gift for anyone interested in Americana or early American music.