Sepia Saturday

 

This week's prompt first inspired me to look for photos of harps, but the Library of Congress had numerous covers of Harper's magazine. Thus street musicians seemed easier. Here's what I found in their archive.

United States Resettlement Administration, Shahn, Ben, photographer. Street musicians, Maynardville, Tennessee. United States Tennessee Maynardville, 1935. Oct. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017730463/.

Pray, Eleanor Lord, photographer. Street musicians with a harp and violin in the upper yard of Dom Smith, Vladivostok, Russia. Russian Federation Russia Federation Vladivostok, 1899. [?] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2003652865/.

A Couple Cartoons

Pughe, J. S. , Artist. No rest for the wicked / J.S. Pughe. , 1897. N.Y.: Published by Keppler & Schwarzmann. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2012647686/

Pughe, J. S. , Artist. Bad for business / J.S. Pughe. , 1896. N.Y.: Published by Keppler & Schwarzmann. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2012648511/.

So not everyone appreciates street musics. I particularly like ho Pughe used street musicians to represent yellow journalism in 1896 as explained on the LOC website:

Print shows a band of street musicians comprised of yellow journalism newspaper editors/publishers; two men are playing "The War Wave" on horns labeled "Daily Sensation" (Joseph Pulitzer) and "Morning Exciter" (possibly James Gordon Bennett, Jr.), and a man (possibly Charles A. Dana) is playing a tune labeled "Rumblings of War" on a bass drum labeled "Daily Brawler", and two other men are playing tunes labeled "War Talk" and "War News". A man with one hand over his right ear is standing at the entrance to a building labeled "Business Interests" and "Commerce and Manufactures"; with his left hand he gestures toward them to stop or move on.

What?

 Waters & Son, and Business Mirror Print. Prof. Frederick Hap-e-man playing on two violins at once. United States New York, 1863. N.J.: Waters & Son. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/201365967

Hard for me to believe. 

Italian Street Musicians and Their Masters. , 1873. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2004678608/.

The life of a street musician wasn't all fun. Here's an image showing a young street musician getting beaten. I'm not sure why. However, based on reading Horatio Alger's Phil the Fiddler, Story of a Street Musician that often young boys were recruited by exploitive masters who'd employ boys as street musicians. These boys had to come back to their lodgings with a certain amount of earnings. If they made the required amount, they got to eat dinner. If not, tough luck. These masters kept most of the earnings. In the story the boy was sent from Italy with the understanding that he'd be in good hands and that the master would send his parents money periodically. The parents were in dire straits and had no means of checking on their son's wellbeing.

YouTube Street Musicians

Døvydas, "When Someone Yells Fleetwood Mac and This Singer Steals the Show," YouTube.com, July 8, 2021.

I happened upon Døvydas' street music while surfing YouTube. 

Bo Rodda, "Subway performer stuns crowd with Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide"- Chicago, Il- Blue Line, Washington S" YouTube.com, April, 2016.

When I rode the CTA, I loved the street musicians. Since the lockdown, I haven't ridden the subway much. I haven't seen any musicians down there when I have. I hope they return.