Rare Circa 1898 Columbia Brown Cylinder #14004 -Uncle Josh in a Department Store

Description

Own a "snapshot of history" with this extremely rare, early and superior quality Columbia Brown Wax Cylinder Record #140008   - "Uncle Josh at the Department Store", performed by Cal Stewart and recorded between 1896 and 1900 .
Cal Stewart (1856-1919) was an American comedian and humorist who pioneered in vaudeville and early sound recordings.  Stewart spent his early life working in circuses, medicine shows and vaudeville to great acclaim as "Uncle Josh Weathersby" a resident of a mythical New England farming town called "Pumpkin Center". It was on the road that he befriended Mark Twain and later Will Rogers, two men who shared similar wit in comedy. Around 1897, Thomas Edison's studios hired him to cut several cylinder recordings of his famous speeches and songs. They were well received by the public, and launched an entire series of recordings based on the Uncle Josh character. Stewart's trademark on these recordings is the easily recognizable laugh that precedes his speeches.
Wax cylinder comes in a Columbia cylinder container that includes original cotton wrapping that predates the felt lined cylinder containers that were introduced in the 1900's. The number and name of the record are etched on the side of the cylinder versus on the end, which is typical for late 19th century Columbia Brown Wax Cylinders. The overall condition of the container is "very good", with some minor fading/wear to the label consistent with its age.  The overall condition of cylinder is  quite good for a 120+ year old brown wax cylinder with some modest oxidation which fortunately has had a minimal impact on audio quality. Audio playback quality is  "superior" for a cylinder of this age with generally minimal background noise, consistent with brown wax cylinders that have been well maintained and have not been played very often. Please take a look at the entire video and all photos before making a purchase.
Comes with a theatre promotion sheet, a promotion card and transcript of Uncle Josh at the Department Store. Note that the transcript does not exactly match this recording, indicating that the transcript was made from a different performance.
Also included is a USB drive with a full video recording of this "Uncle Josh at the Department Store" cylinder so even if you don't have a cylinder phonograph, you can still see, and listen to this this 2 minute, humorous monologue.
The Cylinder will be bubble-wrapped, placed (along with the USB Drive) in a PVC container for extra protection and bubble-wrapped again/boxed for safe shipping. Ships via USPS Priority Mail. Makes a great gift for anyone interested in Americana or early American Vaudeville performances.