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Erie Canal, Last Canal Boat Captain Pearl Nye Archive, [186295]

Currency:USD Category:Books / Antiquarian & Collectible Start Price:50.00 USD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD
Erie Canal, Last Canal Boat Captain Pearl Nye Archive, [186295]
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Born in 1872 in Chillicothe, Ohio, Pearl Robert Nye has been credited as the Ohio Erie Canal’s final captain. For over a decade, Captain Nye traversed the old canal, ferrying passengers from Chillicothe to Pittsburgh in his family’s boat, commonly known as “Bill Nye’s Family Circus.” While a flood in 1913 damaged the canal, and the gradual encroachment of railroads on the ferry business drove him to relocate himself and his mother to Akron, he remained committed to preserving the memory of the canal he loved; for years, he worked to publish photographs and stories of life on the water, hoping to keep the rich history of the canal alive. Nye would go on to have his photos and songs documented in the book “Scenes and Songs of the Ohio-Erie Canal”, and his stories transcribed in a book entitled “Folk Lore”. A prolific composer and transcriber of folk music, Nye knew over 700 songs, and performed them for his passengers on the canal – and decades later, for thousands at the National Folk Festival in Washington, D.C. This repertoire included original compositions by Nye, as well as traditional songs dating back hundreds of years. Nye – sometimes referred to as “The Bard of the Ohio Canal” was a repository of knowledge about the folk music traditions of his youth, and his expertise drew the attention of not only fellow folk enthusiasts, but also numerous historical societies and the Library of Congress. By the time of his death in 1950, Nye had sung recordings of 80 songs for the Library’s archives. This collection contains dozens of pages of Nye’s transcribed lyrics, along with sheet music for several of his folk tunes. It tells the story of Nye’s attempts to publish his experiences on the canal in the form of both a book and a newspaper serial through correspondence with colleagues, publishers, friends, and family. Also present in the collection is a booklet containing dozens of high-quality photographs of life on the Ohio Erie Canal, taken in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Nye’s career on the water represents the end of an era, and this collection provides a vivid glimpse into the bygone world of the Ohio Erie Canal. Nye may have been the Canal’s final captain, but through the preservation of his work, the sights, sounds, and stories of this iconic period in Ohio history survive to this day. -JRM Summary The Captain Nye collection consists of hundreds of documents c1930-50 and is organized by subject, with three main categories subdivided into smaller categories. Documents in each subcategory are arranged by chronological order. (An asterisk indicates documents that could not be arranged chronologically.) Section 1: Documents relating to canal history and the publication of Nye's book. Folder 1: Handwritten documents by Nye regarding the canal, newspaper clipping detailing Nye's life, and documents related to the publication of his book. Folder 2: Correspondence from and regarding Helen Waterhouse, journalist at the Akron Beacon Journal and co-author of Nye's book, largely regarding the book’s (continually delayed) publication, 1936-1941.* Folder 3: A 9-page handwritten letter by Nye entitled "What ‘She’ Has Done", apparently about Waterhouse. Folder 4: All correspondence between Nye and the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper, largely with photographer Louis Baus. Baus and Nye discuss the publication of Nye's story as a serial in the Akron Beacon Journal and the processing/duplication of Nye’s canal photos. Folder 5: Correspondence between Nye and various historical societies and museums, as well as the Library of Congress. Section 2: Documents relating to Nye’s musical career. Folder 1: All correspondence with the National Folk Festival Association regarding Nye's attendance, 1941-1947. Folder 2: Other music-related correspondence, such as contracts regarding the publication of his lyrics and songs. Folder 3: Nye’s songs, recorded via transcribed sheet music and lyric pages.* Folder 4: Lyric sheets to Nye’s songs not transcribed into sheet music.* Folder 5: Lyrics to “The Old Canal”, pages 3-33. Section 3: Miscellaneous documents and correspondence; Folder 1: Correspondence and illustrations relating to Nye's attempts to secure a patent for an unspecified invention; Folder 2: Official and commercial correspondence to and from Nye unrelated to his music career of or the publication of his story; Folder 3: Nye’s personal correspondence with friends and family; Folder 4: Miscellaneous newspaper clippings, ads, and flyers with no obvious relevance to Nye; Section 4: A collection of photographs depicting canal life, organized into a booklet. [ Ohio