Sally Hamlin
Encyclopedia
Sally Hamlin was a child actor
and recording artist. She was the daughter of Dr. Cyrus E. Hamlin and Hattie Bennion; also the great-granddaughter of former U.S. Vice President Hannibal Hamlin
. She is a shadowy figure today, and would probably be completely forgotten were it not for a series of 78rpm spoken word
recordings she made for children in the 1910s and 1920s. Sally recorded primarily for Victor
, but also recorded a few 7" discs for Emerson Records
. These records
were readings of poetry
by such authors as Eugene Field
and James Whitcomb Riley
, classic stories such as Cinderella
and Rumpelstilskin, and even excerpts from Pollyanna
by Eleanor H. Porter
. Sally also recorded a piano solo "The Butterfly", which was never issued.
Sally Hamlin was fifteen years old when she signed a one year contract
with Victor
on April 12, 1917 and made the trip from her home at 7 Woodruff Avenue, in Brooklyn
, New York
to the Victor
recording studios in Camden, New Jersey
. During this period, her most popular sides were recorded. Sally delivered James Whitcomb Riley
's dialect poems "The Raggedy Man" and "Our Hired Girl" with natural girlish charm and they were instant successes. Her recordings of Eugene Field
's "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
" and "The Sugar Plum Tree" are notable for Sally's use of sprechstimme, particularly in the final stanzas which are accompanied by harp
ist Francis J. Lapitino. This dreamy half spoken, half sung performance is one of the earliest examples of sprechstimme in a commercial recording.
On November 1, 1926, Sally Hamlin signed another contract with Victor
, this one for a two-year period. While her earlier recordings had been made with the acoustic recording process, this group of sides was recorded electrically, and issued as Victor "Orthophonic" 78s. She re-recorded some of her previous readings, utilizing the new electrical recording process, and added some new titles such as "The Little Kitten That Would Not Wash Its Face" and Lewis Carroll
's Jabberwocky
. Among this group is her record of "The Night Before Christmas" and "The Shoemaker And The Elves
". This record contains perhaps the first instance of sampling
in a commercial recording. Sally's readings of these two famous Christmas
pieces contains musical fade-ins from other records in Victor's
back catalogue (among them, Elsie Baker
's record of "Silent Night"). Although it was surely done as a cost-cutting measure, being cheaper than hiring an orchestra
or a pianist
, it nevertheless is sampling
by definition.
None of Sally Hamlin's work has ever been reissued commercially on long-playing records
, or compact disc
s. What became of her after her last record was issued in 1929 is unknown.
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
and recording artist. She was the daughter of Dr. Cyrus E. Hamlin and Hattie Bennion; also the great-granddaughter of former U.S. Vice President Hannibal Hamlin
Hannibal Hamlin
Hannibal Hamlin was the 15th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War...
. She is a shadowy figure today, and would probably be completely forgotten were it not for a series of 78rpm spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
recordings she made for children in the 1910s and 1920s. Sally recorded primarily for Victor
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
, but also recorded a few 7" discs for Emerson Records
Emerson Records
Emerson Records was a record label active in the United States between 1916 to 1928. Emerson Records produced between the 1910s and early 1920s offered generally above average audio fidelity for the era, pressed in high quality shellac. The fidelity of the later issues compares less...
. These records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
were readings of poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
by such authors as Eugene Field
Eugene Field
Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays.-Biography:...
and James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the Hoosier Poet and Children's Poet for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively...
, classic stories such as Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
and Rumpelstilskin, and even excerpts from Pollyanna
Pollyanna
Pollyanna is a best-selling 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that is now considered a classic of children's literature, with the title character's name becoming a popular term for someone with the same optimistic outlook. The book was such a success, that Porter soon produced a sequel, Pollyanna...
by Eleanor H. Porter
Eleanor H. Porter
-Biography:She was born as Eleanor Hodgman in Littleton, New Hampshire on December 19, 1868, the daughter of Francis Fletcher Hodgman and Llewella Woolson. She was trained as a singer, attending New England Conservatory for several years, but later turned to writing. In 1892, she married John Lyman...
. Sally also recorded a piano solo "The Butterfly", which was never issued.
Sally Hamlin was fifteen years old when she signed a one year contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
with Victor
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
on April 12, 1917 and made the trip from her home at 7 Woodruff Avenue, in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to the Victor
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
recording studios in Camden, New Jersey
Camden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
. During this period, her most popular sides were recorded. Sally delivered James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the Hoosier Poet and Children's Poet for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively...
's dialect poems "The Raggedy Man" and "Our Hired Girl" with natural girlish charm and they were instant successes. Her recordings of Eugene Field
Eugene Field
Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays.-Biography:...
's "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
"Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" is a popular poem for children written by American writer and poet Eugene Field and published on March 9, 1889. The original title was Dutch Lullaby....
" and "The Sugar Plum Tree" are notable for Sally's use of sprechstimme, particularly in the final stanzas which are accompanied by harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
ist Francis J. Lapitino. This dreamy half spoken, half sung performance is one of the earliest examples of sprechstimme in a commercial recording.
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
, this one for a two-year period. While her earlier recordings had been made with the acoustic recording process, this group of sides was recorded electrically, and issued as Victor "Orthophonic" 78s. She re-recorded some of her previous readings, utilizing the new electrical recording process, and added some new titles such as "The Little Kitten That Would Not Wash Its Face" and Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
's Jabberwocky
Jabberwocky
"Jabberwocky" is a nonsense verse poem written by Lewis Carroll in his 1872 novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, a sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
. Among this group is her record of "The Night Before Christmas" and "The Shoemaker And The Elves
The Elves and the Shoemaker
The Elves and the Cobbler or The Shoemaker and the Elves is an often copied and re-made story about a poor shoemaker who receives much-needed help from elves....
". This record contains perhaps the first instance of sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
in a commercial recording. Sally's readings of these two famous Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
pieces contains musical fade-ins from other records in Victor's
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
back catalogue (among them, Elsie Baker
Elsie Baker
Elsie Baker was an American singer and actress whose career spanned the gamut from vaudeville through silent movies to Victrola to radio to Hollywood and television....
's record of "Silent Night"). Although it was surely done as a cost-cutting measure, being cheaper than hiring an orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
or a pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, it nevertheless is sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
by definition.
None of Sally Hamlin's work has ever been reissued commercially on long-playing records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, or compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
s. What became of her after her last record was issued in 1929 is unknown.
Discography
- Abou Ben Adhem/The Arrow And The Song (Victor 21823-B; 1929)
- Butterfly, The (piano solo, unreleased; 1918)
- Cinderella, Parts I and II (Victor 21697; 1928)
- Cinderella/Jack and the Beanstalk (Victor 35664; 1917)
- Duel, The/Three Bears (Emerson 7116; 1917)
- Envy (unreleased; 1917)
- Hansel and Gretel, Parts I and II (unreleased; 1917)
- It Can't Be Done (unreleased; 1917)
- Jabberwocky/The Walrus And The Carpenter (Victor 21826; 1929)
- Jack and the Beanstalk, Parts I and II (Victor 21696; 1928)
- Little Dog That Would Not Wag Its Tail, Parts I and II (Victor 21699; 1928)
- Little Engine That Could/Dear Little Hen (Victor 21824; 1929)
- Little Kitten That Would Not Wash Its Face, Parts I and II (Victor 21698; 1928)
- Little Orphant Annie/Seein' Things At Night (Victor 18381; 1917)
- Mother Goose Medley/Rumpelstilskin (Emerson 7125; 1917)
- Night Before Christmas/Shoemaker and the Elves (Victor 35939; 1928)
- Night Wind, The (unreleased; 1918)
- Old Woman And Her Pig (unreleased; 1928)
- Pollyanna and The Boy/Pollyanna Arrives (Victor 35652; 1917)
- Raggedy Man/Winkin,(sic) Blynken & Nod (Emerson 794; 1916)
- Rumpelstilskin, Parts I and II (Victor 20341; 1926)
- Teeny Tiny (unreleased; 1928)
- Three Little Kittens/There Was An Old Man/One Misty Moisty Morning (unreleased; 1917)
- The Three Little Pigs/The Duel (Victor 18685; 1920)
- Raggedy Man/Our Hired Girl (Victor 18276; 1917) (Victor 20339; 1926)
- Wynken, Blynken, and Nod/Sugar Plum Tree (Victor 18599; 1919) (Victor 20340; 1926)
- Year's At The Spring/What Is So Rare As A Day In June (Victor 21823-A; 1929)
Sources
- Almost Complete 78 RPM Record Dating Guide by Stephen C. Barr; Yesterday Once Again, 1992
- Letter from Ann McDonald, librarian, Hamlin Memorial Library dated Aug. 12, 1999
- Letter from Bernadette Moore, Archivist, BMG Music dated May 12, 1989
- Letter from Morton J. Savada, Records Revisited, NYC dated June 21, 1989
- Life And Times of Hannibal Hamlin by Charles Eugene Hamlin; Cambridge/Riverside Press 1899
- Victor Records Catalogs 1917-1922
- Victor Records October 1917 supplement (photo)
- Victor Talking Machine Company Recording Logs 1917-1928
- Victrola In Rural Schools; Educational Department, Victor Talking Machine Co. 1921 Edition.
External links
- Downloadable Sally Hamlin audio from Archive.org
- Victor Orthophonic 20000 series numerical listing
- Victor Orthophonic 21000 series numerical listing
- Emerson Records 700 and 7000 series numerical listing
- WFMU Antique Phonograph Music Program featuring Sally
- WFMU Antique Phonograph Hour featuring Sally