Collections of Kansas folk music and dance materials.

1. Song sheets of popular and Civil War songs, 200 items with words only, mostly printed, ca. 1890-1910.
2. Popular recordings, including 40 Edison cylinders, ca. 1890-1910, and 40 78-rpm discs, ca. 1910-1930.

1. Hymnals of various denominations, 40 items, ca. 1880-1940.
2. Popular sheet music for voice, 15 items, 1920s.
3. Recordings, including 100 Edison cylinders, ca. 1890-1910, 150 78-rpm discs, ca. 1890-1920, and 31 Ehrlich slotted discs, ca. 1900.

1. Sheet music and other printed music, ca. 1900-1955, 2300 mostly vocal items, donated by a local music teacher.
2. Popular and community song books, 350 items, ca. 1935-1955

The vision of this center, opened in 2002, is to become a national center for American Indian research, education, and cultural programs. Its archives include photographs, films, and videotapes.

Carson Robison was born in the country near Chetopa, in southeastern Kansas in 1890.  He was the first American cowboy singer on the radio.

1. Sheet music in the Carson J. Robison Collection, gifts of Mrs. Carson J. Robison, Robert Robison, and family, over 100 items.  See complete checklist at http://library.pittstate.edu/spcoll/robison1.html.

Ethnic groups that settled in Kansas: Germans from Russia, Czechs, Swedes; ms. files and recordings of beliefs, legends, poems, reminiscences, recipes.

1. 162 unpublished tape recordings, 2 ft.of ms. cards, 2 ft. of ms. sheets, regular library complement of reference books and journals.

Oral histories of family and personal experiences, including farming, teaching, war service, schools, the Depression, dust storms, etc.  Subject list is available upon request.

1. 594 unpublished cassette tape recordings with unedited typed transcriptions (quality of interviews varies).

Ethnic groups that settled in Kansas: Germans from Russia, Bukovina Germans, Czechs, and others.

1. Published and unpublished record discs and cassette tape recordings of music, interviews, speeches; student essays on family history, traditions, recipes, etc;
   manuscript materials; books and journals; photographs (copies); video cassettes.

Kansas Folklife Survey; William E. Koch Folklore and Folklife Collection, including Kansas tales, humor, proverbs, Western humor, Central Plains folksong texts, ghost tales, commercial folksong recordings; Kansas Folklife Festival documentation, emphasis on Kansas and on practicing traditional artists.

1. Includes approximately 400 tape recordings, 2,000 slides, 2,000 photo negatives, 16 linear ft. of ms. sheets, access to society's reference library.

Joan O'Bryant Collection; focus on Kansas, especially eastern section, including folk music, anecdotes, sayings, legends, customs and recipes.

1.  Includes 120 unpublished cassette tape recordings, 27,000 ms. cards, 6 linear ft. of ms. sheets, 1 videotape, 73 quilt blocks.

University of Arkansas Libraries
Special Collections Division
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701-1201
(501) 575-5577
http://libinfo.uark.edu/specialcollections/

Mary Celestia Parler Photographs (MC 896)

1. 32 photographs in 2 folders (No. 24. "Joan O'Bryant (left), Vance Randolph (center), Mary Parler (right)." 3 1/4 x 3 1/4).

Online Kansas Historical Sites

The following sites, while not focused on solely on folk music and dance, include material reflecting daily life in Kansas:

• www.kansasmemory.org An online collection created by the Kansas State Historical Society. Includes ability to search by category and keyword.
• www.kancoll.org The Kansas Collection. Contains books and historical items online, searchable.
• www.kansasmemory.org Kansas history.
• www.kansasheritage.org Early online Kansas history.