One Hundred Years Ago

[K_Dubb]

Clippings from The Rogue River Courier, (Rogue River, Oregon) February 20, 1916. (Plus more on the woman who thought she was a man.)

Good stuff!  I'm sorry to hear she got beat up in jail, though.

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

Good stuff!  I'm sorry to hear she got beat up in jail, though.

Those Sandusky girls striking for the right to wear shorter skirts sound pretty hot to trot!  If the candy store owners were smart, they'd have allowed it because adding a little "eye candy" probably would have boosted sales.

[Meister_000]

.

Wow, that's a cool find!  Places it squarely in the right period.  Though I can't imagine the Fotoplayer rattling and tooting along to anything serious; it's a comedy show on its own.

Ya, it's a nice coincidance of topics.

I think we should be cautious though to think that circus music, marches, and Major keys, were all this instument could and did do, all that it was capable of --  or that same constituted the sole repertoire of silent film musics, moods, scores, or improvisations. Ignore for a moment that the instrument happens to have a small percussion section on-board and immediately other focus' and worlds comes to light and life. To do less, is an injustice, a disservice, an insult -- and I know you know better. You got blinded by the performances of one single presenter and his purposes, skills, and tastes (and limited collection of rolls). -- and you are forgiven    just sayin . . .

[K_Dubb]

Ya, it's a nice coincidance of topics.

I think we should be cautious though to think that circus music, marches, and Major keys, were all this instument could and did do, all that it was capable of --  or that same constituted the sole repertoire of silent film musics, moods, scores, or improvisations. Ignore for a moment that the instrument happens to have a small percussion section on-board and immediately other focus' and worlds comes to light and life. To do less, is an injustice, a disservice, an insult -- and I know you know better. You got blinded by the performances of one single presenter and his purposes, skills, and tastes (and limited collection of rolls). -- and you are forgiven    just sayin . . .

According to that guy in one of his other videos, music was carefully selected with timings to match scenes in the movie and a cue sheet drawn up with appropriate sound effects noted with stopwatch timings.  It'd be an interesting exercise to compile a historically appropriate soundtrack to the movie from existing catalogs of 88-key piano rolls from the period, which are everywhere online for collectors.

[Meister_000]

According to that guy in one of his other videos, music was carefully selected with timings to match scenes in the movie and a cue sheet drawn up with appropriate sound effects noted with stopwatch timings.  It'd be an interesting exercise to compile a historically appropriate soundtrack to the movie from existing catalogs of 88-key piano rolls from the period, which are everywhere online for collectors.

I agree. And it would be interesting. More exists of the originals of this project and picture than people think (I'm convinced). I takes some desire and tenacity.

The Blue cover sheet music posted earlier is an actual piano score and I think officially approved by Blackton and Vitagraph (upper-left of cover says "By Special Permission of Vitagraph). Online, the same source has at least 4 pages of the printed music score  (apart from promo ads or front and rear cover). I'm including them below if you or anyone around can play and give it a look-see and listen. I have also found hidden in plain sight a few dozen more scene frames from the film (more on that later).

URL of sheet music:
http://digitalcollections.oscars.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15759coll6/id/21

Title    The battle cry of peace : march & one step
Description   1 piano score ([6] p.) ; 35 cm. Illustrated cover with image of Thais Lawton. "Dedicated to J. Stuart Blackton"--Cover.

Film Title   BATTLE CRY OF PEACE (Motion picture : 1915)
Subject   Silent film music [lcsh]
Creator   Brymn, J. Tim
Format   sheet music
Catalog Record   http://catalog.oscars.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=85684
Publisher   New York : Cadillac Music Co. ; London : B. Feldman & Co.
Date   1915
Source   Robert Cushman collection of sheet music
Repository   Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Language   English
Rights   Public domain material.
Description
Title    The battle cry of peace : march & one step
Description   Page 1
Format   sheet music
Catalog Record   http://catalog.oscars.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=85684
Date   1915
Source   Robert Cushman collection of sheet music
Repository   Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Language   English
Rights   Public domain material.
Full text    THE CADILLAC MUSIC CO. RICHMOND MUSlQJp. D.FELDMAN & Co london

[Uncle Duke]

Seeing as how a fair number of posts here deal with WWI, thought I'd recommend a magazine I've been reading for a couple years, "Britain at War".  Not surprisingly the monthly magazine is published in the UK by Key Publishing.  The publication isn't restricted to WWI, but there are at least 5-6 WWI articles/features per issue with many photographs.  Of particular interest here would be a monthly feature called "First World War Diary (month/year) World Map". 

[K_Dubb]

I agree. And it would be interesting. More exists of the originals of this project and picture than people think (I'm convinced). I takes some desire and tenacity.

The Blue cover sheet music posted earlier is an actual piano score and I think officially approved by Blackton and Vitagraph (upper-left of cover says "By Special Permission of Vitagraph). Online, the same source has at least 4 pages of the printed music score  (apart from promo ads or front and rear cover). I'm including them below if you or anyone around can play and give it a look-see and listen. I have also found hidden in plain sight a few dozen more scene frames from the film (more on that later).

Wow, thanks, Meister.  I will get out my glasses and play it through, banishing all thoughts of claxons and a-oogah horns.  It looks like about a standard 3-minute-or-so march.

I noticed it appears on a nine-tune roll.  Looking at the names of the other pieces, they're kind of on a similar theme.  I wonder if this might be a clue to the score.

“Automatic A-Roll No. A-326 “”Patriotic Roll”””
America Forever
Battle Cry Of Peace
Preparedness March
Wake Up, America
March Liberty
America First
Honor And Glory March
Second Regiment March
Dixie

Hard to imagine the whole thing was an unrelenting march-fest, but maybe?

http://www.chicagosouthsidepiano.com/automatic-a-rolls/

[Meister_000]

Wow, thanks, Meister.  I will get out my glasses and play it through, banishing all thoughts of claxons and a-oogah horns.  It looks like about a standard 3-minute-or-so march.

I noticed it appears on a nine-tune roll.  Looking at the names of the other pieces, they're kind of on a similar theme.  I wonder if this might be a clue to the score.

Hard to imagine the whole thing was an unrelenting march-fest, but maybe?

http://www.chicagosouthsidepiano.com/automatic-a-rolls/

Ah! Good work. A couple few in that collection are good bets or candidates at least. We have to be careful though about that primary title because, as the three covers posted show, a couple different free standing songs with lyrics were published during the period as well as pure plain score-matter all carrying the same name "The Battle Cry of Peace".

This might be fun. Hope it sounds decent!
Thanks, can't wait!

[Walks_At_Night]

Time for another giant.

In 1916 the Ford Motor Company was building Model T's in the world famous Highland Park Ford Plant located at
91 Manchester Avenue  in Highland Park, Michigan.     Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903 - he
had previously started up two other companies [Detroit Automobile Company and the Henry Ford Company] but they
were dismal failures.  The third try would be a charm - he would found a colossus that would change the United
States forever, a colossus that his descendants would be intimately involved with over 110 years later.

The Ford Motor Company's first car would be the Model A - although not the famous one that comes to mind.
They would run the models from A to S [not all models were for production, some were only prototypes] before
building the first Model T on October 1st, 1908.   The Model T or 'Tin Lizzie' would stay in production until
May 26th, 1927.  Ransom E. Olds is generally regarded as the originator of the automobile assembly line but
Henry Ford perfected it.  On October 7th, 1913, the Highland Park Ford Plant became the first automobile production
facility in the world to implement the moving assembly line.   Ford would drop production time on the Model T from
728 to 93 minutes which would drop the price of a Model T down to $350.    There would be a small price to pay
for this efficiency - only Japan Black paint dried fast enough so for most of it's production run the Model T
would be a black only rig.   With this efficiency Ford would begin to crush it's rivals.  In 1920 there would
be over 200 auto makers in the US by 1940 there would be only 17. 

Employee turnover was initially a problem that hindered efficiency - working on an assembly line is not necessarily
the most pleasant experience.  Ford solved this issue by doubling workers pay to $5 a day, instituting an 8 hour
shift and putting in a 5 day work week. (On a personal note, when Ford did this the story is my Great Grandmother offered
to walk over to the Ford plant and kiss old Henry's feet).  There was an added bonus in that Ford's employees could
actually now afford to buy their own Model T.

Here is a gorgeous 1916 Ford Model T Touring car:


Here are some Model T's being built at the Highland Park plant:




The Highland Park plant today:





This post will continue on with the history of the Ford Motor Company - I'll do a seperate post on Henry Ford and the
rest of the Ford family because that is some interesting stuff in and of itself.

In 1917, Ford would start building the River Rouge plant in Dearborn - just upstream from where the Rouge River empties into
the Detroit river at Zug Island.  The Rouge is huge 1.5 miles wide and a mile long.  At it's height it was the ultimate in
veritcal integration - it would ingest raw materials and spit out finished products [and not just automobiles as we shall see].
With the U.S. involved in WWI in 1917, Woodrow Wilson asked Ford to get involved with ship building.  Ford was against the
war but accepted.  Ford was given the task to help curtail the U-Boats. Ford's solution was "what we want is one type of ship
in large numbers."  The Ford Motor Company would end up building sixty Eagle class steel ships for the Navy.
The Rouge is still in use today - in fact it remains Ford's largest factory and builds the F-150.

Pictures of The Rouge and Zug Island:






In 1925 the Ford Motor Company would branch out into aircraft production when they bought Stought a small aircraft company.
Ford would end up building the famous Ford Tri-Motor "Tin Goose".  It was an all metal design which was unusual at the
time.   It was well-designed, relatively inexpensive, and reliable.   However Donald Douglas was building the superior
DC2 about the same time and when Ford's test pilot was killed in a crash, Henry Ford lost interest in aviation.



So at this point we have seen Ford building ships, planes and of course cars.    That wasn't all.   The Ford Motor Company
of course was also famous for their tractors.   They would build rock solid tractors from 1917 up until 1993.


Like everyone else the Great Depression would hit the Ford Motor Company hard.  However the company would survive.
When WWII broke out Ford would play it's part.  During the war they would build 390,000 tanks and trucks,
270,000 Jeeps, and over 8,000 B-24 Liberator heavy bombers.   The B-24 was the Rodney Dangerfield of the US heavy
bombers - the Boeing B-17s and B-29s seem to get more of the glory but the B-24 was a real work horse.  It would
end up being the most heavily produced heavy bomber in history - with almost 50% of them being built by Ford
at it's Willow Run plant in Michigan.  Once Ford got things working the results were shocking:
"Ford was rolling a Liberator off the Willow Run production line every 63 minutes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week".
Probably the most famous B-24 pilot was the actor Jimmy Stewart.



Ford would also setup a plant in Britain that would build 34,000 of the famous Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. 
Next to Allison, the Merlin was just about the sweetest sounding aircraft engine ever.   

Merlin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2nlGN6aS8g
Allison:
https://youtu.be/pHpTApH7Uuk?t=116

Henry Ford's son Edsel would die before the end of WWII leaving a somewhat senile Henry Ford in charge.   With
FDR threatening to nationalize the Ford Motor Company, the family intervened and Ford's grand son - Henry Ford II
would take over.   "Hank the Deuce" would be president of the Ford Motor Company from 1945 to 1960 when he became CEO.
A post he held up until 1980.   The company would have it's ups and downs - right after WWII it was losing
an unholy amount of money each month.   Henry Ford died on April 7th 1947 and it would be all up to Henry Ford II.
He would respond by hiring the "Whiz Kids".  A group of 10 former Army Air Force officers
that helped the company to implement sophisticated management control systems to govern the company, control costs,
and review strategic progress.  The most famous Whiz Kid was a guy named Robert McNamara, who would eventually
become Secretary of Defense under President John F. Kennedy.  About this same time Ford would hire an Italian
guy from Allentown, PA named Lee Iacocca.   

The bleeding would stop and The Ford Motor Company would survive................

[Rix Gins]

Great info and pics, Walks.  Thanks for all the time you put in this thread.   

[Meister_000]

Time for another giant  . . .  the Ford Motor Company

Props to the Giants, thanks Walks.

I'd never heard of the Ford Eagle-Class boats. They were smallish patrol-boats/"submarine chasers" but never saw action in WWI (after all that! Wiki says the Rouge plant was built specifically to build those Eagle boats c.1917).

I also recall that pretty tri-prop plane from the movies but never knew it was a "Ford" bird.

And the B-24s being Ford-built was also news.

And those Spitfires purring was a treat!

Here's a couple extra pics:
Thanks again.

[Meister_000]

. . . More exists of the originals of this project and picture than people think (I'm convinced). I takes some desire and tenacity.

The Blue cover sheet music posted earlier is an actual piano score and I think officially approved by Blackton and Vitagraph (upper-left of cover says "By Special Permission of Vitagraph). Online, the same source has at least 4 pages of the printed music score

URL of sheet music:
http://digitalcollections.oscars.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15759coll6/id/21

Title    The battle cry of peace : march & one step
Description   1 piano score ([6] p.) ; 35 cm. Illustrated cover with image of Thais Lawton. "Dedicated to J. Stuart Blackton"--Cover.

Film Title   BATTLE CRY OF PEACE (Motion picture : 1915)
Subject   Silent film music [lcsh]
Creator   Brymn, J. Tim
Format   sheet music
Catalog Record   http://catalog.oscars.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=85684
Publisher   New York : Cadillac Music Co. ; London : B. Feldman & Co.
Date   1915
Source   Robert Cushman collection of sheet music
Repository   Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Language   English
Rights   Public domain material.

K_Dubb, here's a higher res set of the same, about 600k each. I have now some 2 meg scans but the uploader is choking on them so I reduced them to this (and will now try again). These have MED (for medium) in the file-names.

[K_Dubb]

K_Dubb, here's a higher res set of the same, about 600k each. I have now some 2 meg scans but the uploader is choking on them so I reduced them to this (and will now try again). These have MED (for medium) in the file-names.

Thanks, Meister! These are plenty big.

You can get kind of an idea from the Preparedness March, which starts similarly with a little bugle-call figure.  Here it's played on the accordion, which, though an instrument I love dearly, doesn't exactly convey the requisite martial swagger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXqkECq55nw

Here are a few more on the list:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_r-lzhB30o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dux7EERsQw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U3XDsbquJg

[Walks_At_Night]

On February 21st, 1916  Erich von Falkenhayn -  Chief of the German General Staff launched an attack at Verdun in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France.  The
battle would last for 303 days and with some estimates placing the casualty numbers at 970,000 it is among the most horrific in human history.  The German
plan was to lure the French into a battle of attrition and drive the French Army to the point of collapse. However as usual for WWI both sides got caught up in it.

After the Battle of Verdun the region would remain in stalemate until the Meuseâ€"Argonne Offensive in 1918 when American and French forces eventually pushed
the Germans back.

The amount of artillery used was incredible and the results of it have been preserved in some places:




Map of the Batlle:


Found this podcast series that focuses on Verdun - I have not listened to it yet but here is the link:
http://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/battleofverdunpodcast

Plus Dan Carlin's WWI podcast series covers Verdun and as usual it is outstanding:
http://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/

[K_Dubb]

On February 21st, 1916  Erich von Falkenhayn -  Chief of the German General Staff launched an attack at Verdun in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France.  The
battle would last for 303 days and with some estimates placing the casualty numbers at 970,000 it is among the most horrific in human history.  The German
plan was to lure the French into a battle of attrition and drive the French Army to the point of collapse. However as usual for WWI both sides got caught up in it.

After the Battle of Verdun the region would remain in stalemate until the Meuseâ€"Argonne Offensive in 1918 when American and French forces eventually pushed
the Germans back.

The amount of artillery used was incredible and the results of it have been preserved in some places:




Map of the Batlle:


Found this podcast series that focuses on Verdun - I have not listened to it yet but here is the link:
http://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/battleofverdunpodcast

Plus Dan Carlin's WWI podcast series covers Verdun and as usual it is outstanding:
http://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/

Thanks for this, and for your magisterial Ford post, too.

[K_Dubb]

From the front page of the Morning Oregonian today:



I assume it was something like this, from 1911?

[Rix Gins]

Thanks for the report on the opening of the battle, Walks.  I knew that soldiers were to refer to it as either a Sausage-Grinder or Meat-Grinder.  Here is a good article that answered which term was used.  Looks like it was just printed up, too.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3455565/Battle-bloody-men-called-MEAT-GRINDER-One-history-s-savage-sieges-began-hail-shots-century-ago-left-250-000-dead-achieved-NOTHING.html

[Rix Gins]

Everett True, February 21, 1916.

[Rix Gins]

Clippings from the February 21, 1916 Day Book.

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

Everett True, February 21, 1916.

Then he probably clobbered Mr. Druggist for saying, "Tee Hee."

I'll have to check out the rest later, because I'm hosting a little birthday bash for my mom in a little while.  She was born ninety years ago today!

[K_Dubb]

Clippings from the February 21, 1916 Day Book.

That's got to be the first documented case of slipping on a banana peel I've ever read!  Lots of ghastly stuff there.  I wonder if poor Frank Andrews was an Arrow-collar man.

And  best wishes to Mama Ghost!

[Rix Gins]

In celebration of Robert G's mom's birthday.  Some items from the Feb. 21, 1916 Tonopah Daily Bonanza.

[K_Dubb]

In celebration of Robert G's mom's birthday.  Some items from the Feb. 21, 1916 Tonopah Daily Bonanza.

I had to look it up:  Casabianca refers to the famous "boy stood on the burning deck" poem.

[Meister_000]

Thanks, Meister! These are plenty big.

You can get kind of an idea from the Preparedness March, which starts similarly with a little bugle-call figure.  Here it's played on the accordion, which, though an instrument I love dearly, doesn't exactly convey the requisite martial swagger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXqkECq55nw

Wow, thanks for all that work. Of them all, I do like the "Preparedness March" the most. At least it has a bit of musical interest (a minor chord or phrase here and there!) and some expressive dynamics and swells too. Martial or not, I think he's getting alot out of that accordion, sounds like a theatre organ at times. Like you (if I'm hearing you right), Marches, in general, I really can't get next to. This one tune has potential though.

It would be nice to find something resembling (and suitable for use as) a distinct recognizable "theme", varriations of which could be recalled and restated throughout (at least a few times and places). I did like the scoring used behind the 30 secs of film-clip we saw from the  BBC series "Hollywood".  There, they've used a dramatic minor-key varriation of "Glory Ha-leh-lu-ya" (his truth is maching on) and it works very well. Come to think of it, that song probably is technically speaking a "march", but when minored-up and sometimes slowed down a bit it's "driving" marching minor works. So see this "Preparedness March" from minutes 1:10 to 2:34 and we have a potential "Theme" (or usable bit at least).

Thanks again

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

That's got to be the first documented case of slipping on a banana peel I've ever read!  Lots of ghastly stuff there.  I wonder if poor Frank Andrews was an Arrow-collar man.

And  best wishes to Mama Ghost!

Thanks, K!  She really liked the Fotoplayer clip I showed her!

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

In celebration of Robert G's mom's birthday.  Some items from the Feb. 21, 1916 Tonopah Daily Bonanza.

Thanks, Rix!  Mom Ghostwolf enjoyed her day and just called it a night after cake and a couple of glasses of champagne.  I showed her some items from this thread earlier, and she was very interested.  She doesn't remember Everett, though.

[Rix Gins]

Thanks, Rix!  Mom Ghostwolf enjoyed her day and just called it a night after cake and a couple of glasses of champagne.  I showed her some items from this thread earlier, and she was very interested.  She doesn't remember Everett, though.

My pleasure, Robert.  And thank you for sharing our thread with your mom.  That is really cool.

[K_Dubb]

Wow, thanks for all that work. Of them all, I do like the "Preparedness March" the most. At least it has a bit of musical interest (a minor chord or phrase here and there!) and some expressive dynamics and swells too. Martial or not, I think he's getting alot out of that accordion, sounds like a theatre organ at times. Like you (if I'm hearing you right), Marches, in general, I really can't get next to. This one tune has potential though.

It would be nice to find something resembling (and suitable for use as) a distinct recognizable "theme", varriations of which could be recalled and restated throughout (at least a few times and places). I did like the scoring used behind the 30 secs of film-clip we saw from the  BBC series "Hollywood".  There, they've used a dramatic minor-key varriation of "Glory Ha-leh-lu-ya" (his truth is maching on) and it works very well. Come to think of it, that song probably is technically speaking a "march", but when minored-up and sometimes slowed down a bit it's "driving" marching minor works. So see this "Preparedness March" from minutes 1:10 to 2:34 and we have a potential "Theme" (or usable bit at least).

Thanks again

It certainly is effective for the clip, but it sounds like a movie score from about 80 years too late.  I don't think you're likely to find anything similar from the period.  They took patriotic songs seriously back then.  I remember Grieg nearly caused a riot for setting the Norwegian national anthem in a minor key for a play, and the young Charles Ives caught hell for a minor-key variation on "My Country, 'Tis Of Thee."

As for minor-key marches, Fucik's "Attila" comes to mind, though I doubt it was ever a piano roll.  The trio section is particularly menacing; you can just see the savage heathens strutting and preening.

[Meister_000]

From the front page of the Morning Oregonian today:

Well, here's something on the "Pantalettes" at any rate -- of the 1915 "revival" kind (leggings, long and tapered "bloomers"):

Latest fashion: The pantalette (1915)

Here it is again: The pantalette â€" they are wearing ’em, too
Don’t be shocked, girls. They are pantalettes, and perfectly proper, too, we assure you.

Dame Fashion has gone and done it again, meaning that she has found another fad for Femininity to follow. This time it’s the elongated bloomer which comes down to within two or three inches of the high shoe top and prevents the need of underskirts, even though the dress skirt be full.

When the thermometer climbs, as it always does climb in September days, it’s might handy to have an easy substitute for the fluffy fulsome petticoat. Worn, as Miss Helen Spencer is wearing the new garb, with a thick corduroy skirt, it makes a capital combination. Many of these clever substitutes for the skirt are made of Indian silk and finished at the lower hem with neat little garter bands which hold them in place.

[Meister_000]

It certainly is effective for the clip, but it sounds like a movie score from about 80 years too late.  I don't think you're likely to find anything similar from the period.  They took patriotic songs seriously back then.  I remember Grieg nearly caused a riot for setting the Norwegian national anthem in a minor key for a play, and the young Charles Ives caught hell for a minor-key variation on "My Country, 'Tis Of Thee."

As for minor-key marches, Fucik's "Attila" comes to mind, though I doubt it was ever a piano roll.  The trio section is particularly menacing; you can just see the savage heathens strutting and preening.

You're meaning the scoring from the "Hollywood" series clip sounds like the 1980's. The segment I issolated from the "Preparedness" march is period correct however (obviously). And generally speaking minor key marches are very common. And "variations on a theme" are as old as music itself. And we are talking about a film that posits the invasion and concurring of the United States, plus the destruction of New York City and Washington DC (not "happy" events!). From the same year we have the "ENLIST" poster,  a "patriotic call" employing a very "unpleasant" graphical motif (to patriotic ends). So yes, they took their patriotic "stuff" very seriously indeed!