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E / E Record does have some scuffs ... it is rather old, after all - but plays beautifully. The fidelity of these old acoustic recordings is amazing. It comes in a vintage company sleeve which is a bit battered, and is in turn ensconced in a 10" plastic sleeve. This record, from a session in 1914, is the most exquisite ragtime played on the mandolin, and is truly essential to any serious early jazz collection.

 

This is from the internet.Re: Dr. Clarence Penney, Mysterious Marvelous MandolinistPostby hightechhobo » Sat Oct 23, 2021 2:56 pmThanks to ancestry.com and newspapers.com I have been able to find more information about Clarence J. Penney. I host and produce a weekly broadcast radio program of 1920s and 30s pop and jazz called "Rapidly Rotating Records. It is broadcast Sundays at 6:00 PM (Pacific) over KISL-FM Avalon, Santa Catalina Island, California. It is also available as a podcast and all shows are archived at www.RapidlyRotatingRecords.com. On tomorrow's show, the first segment is dedicated to Clarence Penney. Tomorrow I will post a link to the show, but here is the portion of the script having to do with Dr. Penney:Dr. Penney is getting his own birthday segment today, but a bit belated. I started researching and it got so confusing I was ready to completely give up on giving any biographical information at all and just play the records, when I unearthed a single paragraph in the August 24, 1905 edition of the Monmouth Inquirer newspaper, published in Freehold, New Jersey. It turns out the good doctor was not John Clarence Penney, but Clarence John Penney. And he wasn’t born in 1893, but on October 9, 1877 in New York City to William Penney, a bookeeper and expert cellist, and his wife Antoinette Hexter, a well known church singer. Clarence took up the violin when he was nine years old and was playing in public concerts at 15. In the late 1880s a mandolin craze began in the US and one day Clarence’s father brought home one of the instruments. Without any formal training, Clarence was quickly able to master the instrument and when he entered Columbia College he also applied for admission to the mandolin club and was enthusiastically accepted. Within a year he was elected President of the club and held the post for the duration of his time at Columbia. Penney wrote music for the club and he was able to have several of his compositions published by the famous banjoists Ruby Brooks and Harry Denton who also owned Brooks and Denton Music Publishing Company. In 1894, Columbia’s oldest performing arts tradition, the Varsity Show, began as a fundraiser for the school’s athletic teams. Penney wrote the entire score for two of the annual shows, “The Mischief Maker” in 1903 and “The Isle of Illusia” the following Year. Another of Penney’s compositions was Ingomar, an intermezzo, recorded in 1905 as a bells solo by Chris Chapman but rejected by Victor. While he was a Dr., Clarence J. Penney was not an M.D. At the time of the 1910 census, Dr. Penney was a dentist with a private practice in Manhattan. On August 19, 1918 he married Elsie C. Borroto, a New York City public school teacher and twelve years his junior, in a ceremony in Lake George, New York. In 1942 at age 64 he was still working as a dentist in the office of Dr. T. Holland Adam on East 61st St., in New York. It was through Brooks and Denton that he was introduced to the folks at the Victor Talking Machine Company and in 1914 he landed a recording contract. In four sessions, Dr. Clarence J. Penney made six sides, only three of which were issued and he never recorded again. You heard one of those sides last week, here are the other two. I hope you find the information interesting and that you will consider giving my show a listen.Glenn RobisonRecordingsCompanyMatrix No.SizeFirst Recording DateTitlePrimary PerformerDescriptionRoleAudioVictorB-252410-in.5/11/1905IngomarChris ChapmanBells solo, with orchestracomposer VictorB-1514110-in.8/24/1914TootsDr. Clarence J. PenneyMandolin solo, with pianoinstrumentalist, mandolin VictorB-1514210-in.8/24/1914Le trousseauDr. Clarence J. PenneyMandolin solo, with pianocomposer, instrumentalist, mandolin VictorB-1514310-in.8/24/1914Indianola patrolDr. Clarence J. PenneyMandolin solo, with pianoinstrumentalist, mandolin VictorB-1516310-in.8/31/1914Azalea waltzDr. Clarence J. PenneyMandolin solo, with pianoinstrumentalist, mandolin VictorB-1537710-in.11/10/1914Entr'acte gavotteDr. Clarence J. PenneyMandolin solo, with pianoinstrumentalist, mandolin Victor[Trial 1914-06-26-03]Not documented6/26/1914MedleyDr. Clarence J. PenneyMandolin solo, with pianoinstrumentalist, mandolin

DR CLARENCE PENNEY VICTOR 17694 Indiana Patrol/Toots

$14.99Price
Excluding Sales Tax

    We Use The VJM Record Grading System

    NB 45s use the LP system as below.

     

    N (78) M (LP). As new and unplayed (there are virtually no 78s that can categorically be claimed to be unplayed).

    N- (78) M- (LP). Nearly Mint, but has been played. No visible signs of wear or damage.

    E+ (78) VG+ (LP). Plays like new, with very, very few signs of handling, such as tiny scuffs from being slipped in and out of jackets.

    E (78) VG (LP). Still very shiny, near new looking, with no visible signs of wear, but a few inaudible scuffs and scratches.

    E- (78) VG- (LP). Still shiny but without the lustre of a new record, few light scratches.  LP: Some wear, scratches and scuffs, but no skipped or repeat grooves.

    V+ (78) G+ (LP) V+ is an average condition 78 in which scuffs and general use has dulled the finish somewhat. Wear is moderate but playing is generally free from distortion. Surface noise not overly pronounced. LP: Below average with scuffs and scratches on fewer than half the tracks. No skips or repeat grooves.

    V (78) G (LP). Moderate, even wear throughout, but still very playable. Surface noise and scratches audible but not intrusive.

    V- (78) G- (LP). Quite playable still, but distortion and heavy greying in loud passages. Music remains loud in most passages. Surface noise and scratches well below music level. LP: Lowest Grade. Audible scratches, etc. on more than half the tracks. Listening uncomfortable.

    G+ (78). Grey throughout but still serviceable. Music begins to sound muffled. Heavy scratches.

    G (78). Quite seriously worn and scratched, but music level is still higher than surface noise.

    G- (78). Music still prominent, but wear and scratch damage extensive.

    F (78). Most of music remains audible over surface noise, but listening now uncomfortable.

    P (78). Unplayable.

    NB: Damage to labels and jackets (LP) should be noted whenever present.

     

    Abbreviations: sfc = surface; lbl = label; nap = not affecting play; scr/scrs = scratch/scratches; lc = lamination crack; cr = crack; hlc/hc = hairline crack; wol = writing on label; sol = sticker on label; fade = faded label; gr/grs = groove/grooves; eb = edge bite; ec = edge chip; ef = edge flake; rc = rim chip.

     

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