Finding Aid for Lloyd P. Farrar Music Instrument Collection and Personal Papers, 1850-2005 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

By Nolan Vallier and Scott Schwartz

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Collection Overview

Title: Lloyd P. Farrar Music Instrument Collection and Personal Papers, 1850-2005

ID: 12/9/92

Extent: 84.0 cubic feet

Arrangement: The Collection is arranged into four unique series: Series 1) Musical Instruments, Series 2) Personal Papers, Series 3) Published Books of Museum Exhibitions and General Histories, and Series 4) Treatises on Instrument Builders and Performance Practice. Series 1 is arranged chronologically by date of acrual. Series 2 is arranged alphabetically by title. Series 3 is arranged into two subseries: Subseries 1) Museum Catalog Books and Exhibits of Musical Instruments and Subseries 2) Published Biographies and General Histories, Both are arranged alphabetically by title. Series 4 is arranged into two subseries: Subseries 1) Publications, Dissertations, and Unpublished Manuscripts on Instrument Builders and Subseries 2) Treatises on Musical Instrument Performance Practice, Both are arranged alphabetically by title.

Date Acquired: 09/26/1995. More info below under Accruals.

Subjects: Brass Instruments, Musical Instrument Collections, Musical Instrument Makers - Europe, Musical Instrument Makers - United States, organology

Formats/Genres: Papers

Languages: English, German, Dutch;Flemish, Czech, Japanese

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The collection consists of Woodwind, string, and brass instruments by predominantly American, but some European, musical instrument manufacturers; Personal papers including notes on instrument builders, articles written about musical instruments, and photographs of musical instruments; and Books on musical instrument builders, museum collections and exhibits of musical instruments, treatises on performance practice and building musical instruments, and general histories about music in the 19th century.

Biographical Note

Lloyd P. Farrar (ca. 1932) has been interested in musical instruments since he was a child. After starting college as a geologist in North Carolina he hitchhiked across the country to the University of Illinois where he studied trombone and musicology. After joining the Phi Mu Alpha Fraternity he met his wife Doris Vogt, then a member of Mu Phi Epsilon, both were involved in musical activities at the University and they were married in 1956. At the University of Illinois he performed as the principal trombonist in the University Symphony Orchestra as well as on sackbut with the Collegium Musicum. Farrar graduated with his bachelors degree in music in 1955 and his masters degree in 1956. After his time at the University of Illinois, Farrar spent a year in the Netherlands on a Fullbright Grant studying early Dutch music. He and his wife then traveled to the University of Texas at Austin where he began his PhD in Musicology, but he never completed his dissertation. While he was in Washington DC studying at the Library of Congress, Farrar took a job teaching music history and band at Mary Washington College in Viriginia. In addition, he helped to form the nearby Prince George's Civic Orchestra in Washington DC, conducting the orchestra from 1965 to 1969. Around 1971, Farrar began to lose his sight and abandoned much of his intensive bibliographic work at the time, but continued his organological work. During the mid 1970s he collected hundreds of musical instruments as a means of correcting and expanding Lindesay Langwill's instrumental history book to include American manufacturers. Between the late 1970s and mid 1980s, Farrar was one of the country's leading organologists writing articles for The Woodwind Quarterly, The International Trumpet Guild, The American Musical Instrument Society, The Serpent Newsletter, and the American Musicological Society as well as serving on the board of governors for the American Musical Instrument Society where he chaired the committee for revisions to the Langwill Index. In 1988, Farrar examined and arranged the John Held and Chatfield Band Library at the Utah State Archives. In the late 1980s he began the Patuxent Martial Musick Collection in Colesville, Maryland, which was later transferred to the Sousa Archives in 1995. In 1996, the Farrars moved to Norris, Tennessee, where Mr. Farrar continues to collect and write about musical instruments.

Subject/Index Terms

Brass Instruments
Musical Instrument Collections
Musical Instrument Makers - Europe
Musical Instrument Makers - United States
organology

Administrative Information

Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Accruals:

Additional materials were acquired from Lloyd Farrar on September 29, 2004; January 25, 2005; March 4, 2012; and June 26, 2016.

Yamaha Bb Flugelhorn received from Geoffrey Britten on May 2, 2019.

Acquisition Source: Lloyd Farrar

Acquisition Method: Gift of Lloyd and Doris Farrar.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Music Instruments, ca. 1850-1967],
[Series 2: Personal Papers, 1939-2005],
[Series 3: Published Books of Museum Exhibitions and General Histories, ca. 1901-2004],
[Series 4: Treatises on Instrument Builders and Performance Practice, 1871-2002],
[All]

Series 3: Published Books of Museum Exhibitions and General Histories, ca. 1901-2004

Sub-Series 1: Museum Catalog Books and Exhibits of Musical Instruments

Box 3

Folder 1: "Amadeus: His Music and the Instruments of 18th c. Vienna Exhibition - Shrine to Music Museum", by Andre P. Larson, 1990: Exhibition of The Shrine to Music Museum, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, at the Dahl Fine Arts Center, Rapid City, South Dakota, February 4 - March2, 1990.
Folder 2: "American Musical Instruments of the Metropolitan Museum of Art," by Lawrence Libin, 1985: Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co., New York. Foreward: Philippe de Montebello. Preface: Henry Steinway. Book also contains loose correspondence and materials related to musical instruments.
Folder 3: "Banjos: The Tsumura Collection," by Akira Tsumura, 1984: Publisher: Kodansha International Ltd., Tokyo. First edition.
Folder 4: "The Bate Collection of Historical Wind Instruments," Introduction by Anthony Baines., 1976: Catalogue of the Instruments. The Bates Collection, Faculty of Music, University of Oxford.
Folder 5: "The Carel van Leeuwen Boomkamp Collection of Musical Instruments," by C. Van Leeuwen Boomkamp and J. H. Van der Meer, 1971: Descriptive Catalog. Publisher: Frits Knuf, Amsterdam, 1971.
Folder 6: "Catalog of the Collections - The Shrine to Music Museum Vol. 1, Arne B. Larson Collection of Musical Instruments and Keyed Brass Instruments," by Gary M. Stewart, 1980: Printer: Hill's Creative Printing, Vermillion, SD. Also contains loose copy of Farrar's review of the book. Book contains hand-written notations about the instruments.
Folder 7: "Catalog of the Collections - The Shrine to Music Museum Vol. 2, Instruments of Burma, India, Nepal, Thailand, and Tibet," by Thomas E. Cross, 1982: Printer: Hiill's Creative Printing, Vermillion, SD.
Folder 8: "Catalogue of the European Musical Instruments of the 17th, 18th, & 19th Centuries in te Ueno Gakuen Collection.", 1980: Author: Institute for the Study of Musical Instruments, Ueno Gaukuen College, Tokyo. Language: Japanese and English.
Folder 9: "A Checklist of Western European Fifes, Piccolos, and Transverse Flutes", 1977: Introduction: Lawrence Libin. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Department of Musical Instruments."
Folder 10: "David and Nina Shorey Antique Flutes", 1991: The 1991 Catalog of Antique Flutes. Private collection. Bowdoinham, ME.
Folder 11: "Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection, The: A Checklist of the Instruments", 1961: Compiled by Laura E. Gilliam & WIlliam Lichtenwanger. Library of Congress, Music Division, Reference, Washington. Contains loose notes and materials. Book also contains hand-written notations.
Folder 12: "Deutsches Museum von Meisterwerken der Naturwissenschaft und Technik: Katalog der Blasinstrumente.", 1980: Publisher: Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, Munchen. Languange: German.
Folder 13: "European Musical Instruments in Liverpool Museum,' Ed. Pauline Rushton., 1994: Publisher: Butler & Tanner Ltd., Frome and London. Also contains several loose items.
Folder 14: "Floten: Musik instrumenten - Museum der Karl-Marx-Universitat, Leipzig.", 1978: Author: Herbert Heyde. Publisher: Veb Deutscher Verlag fur Musik, Leipzig. Language: German. Also contains several loose items and notes, including book reviews of books on music instruments including this volume.
Folder 15: "Fuhrer durech das Musicinstrumenten - Museum der Karl-Marx-Universitat.", 1964: Publisher: Veb Breitkopf & Hartel Musikverlag, Leipzig. Language: German.
Folder 16: "Fuhrer durch das Musikinstrumenten - Museum Markneukirchen, ca. 1901: Publisher: Vogtland-Druck und Computersatz GmbH Markneukirchen. Language: German.
Folder 17: "Haags Gemeentemuseum: Cata losus van de muziek instrumenten - Hoorn- en trompetachtige blassinstrumenten.", 1970: Publisher: Krits Knuf, Amsterdam. Languages: Dutch and English.
Folder 18: "The Hill Collection," by David D. Boyden., 1969: Publisher: Oxford University Press, London.
Folder 19: "Historic Flutes from Private Collections," Andre Mertens Galleries for Musical Instruments, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986: Also contains several loose items.
Folder 20: "Historic Musical Instruments in the Edinburg University Collection," Vol. 2, Part H, Fascicle i: Horns and Bugles., 1992: Second edition. Editor: Arnold Myers. Contains several loose items.
Folder 21: "Die Holzblasinstrumente im Oberosterreichischen Landesmuseum" by Pillip T. Young, 1999: Published by Vereingte Druckereien und Verlags GmbH and Co. KG, Linz. Language: German and English.
Folder 22: "Musikinstrumenten Museum Markneukirchen," edited by Hanna Jordan, 1975: Published by DDR. Language: German. Includes entry tickets to the museum of Markneukirchen, a reproduction photograph of a saxophone ensemble from 1935 which is captioned "Das Saxophon - Fabriks - Orchester der Musik = instrumentenfabrik V. Kohlert's Sohne - j. 1935." Also contains a brief article in Czech on the museum.
Folder 23: "Musical Instruments in the Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection at the Library of Congress," Vol. 1 by Michael Seyfrit, 1982: Published by the Library of Congress, US Government Printing Office. Also contains correspondence between Lloyd Farrar and Robert Sheldon at the Library of Congress from July 22, 1988.
Folder 24: "Musical Instruments in the Metropolitan Museum," designed by Stuart Silver with introduction by Philippe de Montebello, 1978: Published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Folder 25: "Musical Instruments at the Victoria and Albert Museum" by Carole Patey, 1978: Published by Raithby, Lawrence and Company LTD.
Folder 26: "Our Tuneful Heritage: American Musical Instruments from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," by Lawrence Libin, 1994: Published by Brigham Young University Press.
Folder 27: "The Proud Bassoon: The Waterhouse Collection of Bassoons and Related Items," by William Waterhouse and a foreward by Lindsay Langwill, 1983: Published for the 1983 Edinburgh International Festival by Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments.
Folder 28: "Raritaten der Blasermusik: Die Blasinstrumente im Wandel der Zeit," by Herbert Heyde, Eugeen Brixel, Franz Xaver Streitwieser, and Berthold Antoniuk, 1996: Published by Musica Kremsmunster. Language: German. Also includes Correspondence between Franz Xaver Streitwieser and Lloyd Farrar.
Folder 29: "The Royal College of Music Museum of Instruments Catalogue: Part 1 - European Wind Instruments," by E.A. K. Ridley, 1982: Published by the Royal College of Music. Also includes select pages from the book " The Ridley Collection of Musical Wind Instruments in the Luton Museum," (1957) [used as a page marker between pages 10 and 11].
Folder 30: "Sachsische Museen Museum Markneukirchen," by Hanna Jordon et al., 2000: Published by Deutscher Kunstverlag Munchen. Language: German.
Folder 31: "Stad Antwerpen Oudheidkundige Musea Vleeshuis Catalogus," by Drukkerijen C. Govaerts, ca. 1970: Published by Deurne Antwerpen. Language: Dutch.
Folder 32: "Twenty-Five Hundred Historical Woodwind Instruments: An Inventory of the Major Collections," by Phillip T. Young, 1982: Published by Pendragon Press.

Sub-Series 2: Published Biographies and General Histories

Box 3

Folder 33: "1876: a Centenial Exhibition," edited by Robert C. Post, 1976: Published by the National Museum of History and Technology, the Smithsonian Institution. Also includes copy of the journal The American Guild of Organists Vol. 10 No. 11 (Nov. 1976).
Folder 34: "Arthur Pryor: His Trombon, His Band, His Music," by Loren J. Luper, 1987: Published by Kimberly Press.
Folder 35: "Catching the Tune: Music and William Sidney Mount," edited by Janice Gray Armstrong, 1984: Published by the Museums at Stony Brook, Stony Brook University.
Folder 36: "Of Civil War Era Musical Instruments and Military Bands," by Robert Garofalo and Mark Elrod, 1985: Published by Pictoral Histories Publishing. CAUTION: Contains fragile recording of Heritage Americana Cornet-Saxhorn Brass Band recording, conducted by Robert Garofalo. Tracks include: "Red, White, and Blue," "Dixie," "Dixie and Bonnie Blue Flag," and "Here's Your Mule Gallop." Also includes handwritten notes by Lloyd Farrar, photocopie of photograph of civil war era musician, and Smithsonian Press Advertisement for "The Music Men."
Folder 37: "Zur Entwicklungsgeschichte der Antiken und Mittelalterlichen Rohrblattinstrumente," by Hanz Becker, 1966: Published by Musikverlag Hans Sikorski Hamburg. Language: German.

Box 4

Folder 1: "Fred Jewell (1875-1936): His Life as a Composer of Circus and Band Music, Bandmaster, and Publisher," by Charles Phillip Conrad, 1994: Unpublished Dissertation.
Folder 2: "George Rosenkrans and the Grampian Band," by Fred E. Long, 1981: Published by Blair County Historical Society.
Folder 3: "Harpsichords and Clavichords," by Cynthia A. Hoover, 1969: Published by The Smithsonian Institution Press.
Folder 4: "Illustriertes Lexikon der Musikinstrumente," by Bohuslav Cizek, 2004: Published by Doerfler. Language: German.
Folder 5: "Keyed Bugles in the United States," by Robert E. Eliason, 1972: Published by the Smithsonian Institution Press.
Folder 6: "Music and Musket: Bands and Bandsmen of the American Civil War," by Kenneth E. Olson, 1981: Published by Greenwood Press. Contains correspondence to Lloyd Farrar dated October 23, 1984.
Folder 7: "Real-Lexikon der Musikinstrumente," by Curt Sachs, 1964: Published by Dover Publications. Language: German.
Folder 8: "Sylvester Ahola: The Gloucester Gabriel," by Dick Hill, 1993: Published by Scarecrow Press.
Folder 9: "The World of Medieval and Renaissance Musical Instruments," by Jeremy Montagu, 1976: Published by the Overlook Press. Also contains cover page for J & J Lubrano Catalog no. 36 (spring 1987).