 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Jocelyn Howell
Date: 2011-05-25 22:20
I am wondering whether anyone has any 'historic' Boosey, Hawkes, Besson etc catalogues, Edgware Newsletters or anything else, that might be of interest, to me for my research into the corporate history of B&H?
I should be delighted to hear from anyone who might be able to help.
Jocelyn
jocelyn@hallinans.net
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2011-05-25 23:00
A large quantity of B&H documents were lodged with one of the academic collections a few years back. I can't recall offhand which one but I know that Ramon Wodkowski (hope thats spelt right) has been very actively involved in looking at B&H matters and suggest you contact him.
He is actually a sponsor and occassional contributor to this forum but also has his own website that you could use to make contact.
ps.
B&H produced 2 "year books" that contain some interesting info about their operations. The first was produced in 1939 but published about 1941 and is pretty rare (I spent about 10+ years tracking my copy down) and the second came out 1957/58 and contains much useful info on their post-war setup. This one is still pretty rare though probably a little easier to find than the first one, fortunately I bought mine the actual year it was published. To best of my knowledge no further year book was ever produced.
Post Edited (2011-05-25 23:08)
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Author: Jocelyn Howell
Date: 2012-12-29 22:55
Dear Norman
Thank you. I have only just found this reply!
The archive I am working with (B&H) is at the Horniman. I have also now located a number of private collections, and have already acquired copies of the yearbooks and other material.
My research is progressing well!
Best wishes
Jocelyn
jocelyn@hallinans.net
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Author: Bill
Date: 2012-12-30 04:00
Ramon Wodkowski ("clancey") does. He has promised to scan the pages for me
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
Post Edited (2012-12-30 04:00)
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2012-12-30 18:59
William Boosey wrote a book, Fifty Years of Music (London: Ernest Benn Ltd., 1931). It's well worth reading, but be a bit skeptical, because he wrote most of this book many years after the events he describes and just two years before he died. "Fifty Years of Music" is heavy on anecdotes but often vague about dates and other specifics. Some of the anecdotes look somewhat suspect to me (not sure of their accuracy or in some cases their originality). Most of the information below comes from that book (I own a copy), from Grove's Dictionary and from Wikipedia.
The Booseys were a Franco-Flemish family whose business (begun in about 1792 as a bookstore at 4 New Bond Street in London) published books and music, and began manufacturing wind instruments in 1851. The firm moved to 295 Regent Street in London, as Boosey & Co., in 1874, and stayed there for 131 years.
Like most other music publishers, Boosey was heavily involved in concert hall management and promotion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. William Boosey first went to work both at the family firm and also at St James's Hall in 1880, for instance, when he was 16 and his uncle, John Boosey, adopted him. William Boosey then left the Boosey firm and joined another major music company and concert management, Chappell & Co., in 1894, the year after John Boosey died. William then became head of Chappell's in 1902 when Thomas Chappell died. (That information comes from "A History of Chappell Pianos" online, on piano-tuners.org, and is also clear from Boosey's book. Some sources state incorrectly that Thomas died in 1894 and that Boosey took over the firm then.) William Boosey's nephew took over from him at Boosey & Co and they remained on cordial terms. William Boosey, who had been co-managing the Pops concerts with Arthur Chappell at St James's, began managing the Ballad Concerts (established at St James's by John Boosey in 1867) in 1894 when the Ballads moved to the new Queen's Hall. The Ballads continued at St James's until 1899, then moved to Queen's Hall.
My research was narrow, into the life of William Boosey as an individual, because I'm using him as a character in some fiction. However, the way he and his colleagues migrated between companies was common at the time, and in the course of the research I noted many similar examples in passing. Therefore I think that when you're doing your research with its broader scope, it would be well worthwhile for you to look into the histories of the other major music publishers and concert promoters, such as Schott & Co. and Chappell & Co., and also the histories of the concert halls. You're going to run into Booseys all over the London music scene.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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