Appalachian State University

Hello blog readers, 

"Doc" Abrams had a lifelong fascination with musical machines and instruments. Abrams collected musical oddities [one of which-- dubbed "Musical Casket No. 2"-- is included in his papers] and frequently gave lectures on his hobby of repairing old music boxes.

Image from AC.114: W. Amos Abrams Papers, 1884-1984, undated.

"A Few Words of Explanation

One year, during my senior-graduate course in the History of English Drama, Folklorist Richard Chase came to our campus for lectures and demonstrations. He suggested that we do an authentic English Sword Dance. Since these dances were a part of the development of the drama, I was happy to work with Mr. Chase. These photographs, properly labled and in order, tell the story of the dance.

Currently on the processing table this week are the Appalachian Cultural Museum Records (AC.500), an unprocessed collection of materials from the files of Appalachian State University's now defunct museum which focused on the mountains of western North Carolina.