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Edison Blue Amberol Cylinder: " Fables Roberts" #1632 G-324

Dublin Core

Title

Edison Blue Amberol Cylinder: " Fables Roberts" #1632 G-324

Description

1913 An Edison Blue Amberol " cylindrical record, "Fables Roberts" (#1632 G-324). Lyrics by Jeff Branen. Music by J. Fred Helf. Sung by Bob Roberts. With the lower part of its cylindrical cardboard storage chamber. $9.99 from YSI Antiques & Collectibles, Youngwood, PA, through Ebay, Oct., '18.

Now here is a surprising find! One might expect, as I did, a telling of some fables. What is actually here is a song just short of four minutes in length that makes fun of "stories meant to deceive," the kinds of things husbands and wives tell each other. The repeated refrain is "In the olden days they called them fables, but they're nothing but doggone lies." This Youtube video presents the full lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEiBPWIS7LU&feature=youtu.be. This theme is of course not original. It goes all the way back to the most curious element in the description of a fable by the Sophist Theon: a fable is a "lying story that images the truth." Bob Roberts had a long career of making recordings for various companies. This was apparently his last recording for Edison. I appreciate the research work of Susan Carlson in finding helpful information about this specific cylinder, and I appreciate Sonja Carlson's good advice about handling this extremely fragile object. Click on any image to see it enlarged.

Source

$9.99 from YSI Antiques & Collectibles, Youngwood, PA, through Ebay, Oct., '18.

Date

Collection

Carlson Fable Collection

Citation

“Edison Blue Amberol Cylinder: " Fables Roberts" #1632 G-324,” Creighton University Libraries: Archives & Special Collections, accessed October 16, 2024, https://creightonarchives.omeka.net/items/show/555.

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