Guide to the Harry Oster Collection AF.003

Clark Noone

Arhoolie Foundation

2023

10341 San Pablo Ave

El Cerrito, CA 94530

Business Number: 510-525-7471

clark@arhoolie.org

URL: https://arhoolie.org/

Contributing Institution: Arhoolie Foundation

Title: Harry Oster Collection

Creator: Oster, Harry (1923-2001)

Identifier/Call Number: AF.003

Physical Description: 54.5 Linear Feet 4 document boxes, 1 half-size document box, 1 negatives box, and 926 audio tapes

Date (inclusive): 1955-1995

Date (bulk): 1958-1980

Abstract: Writings, correspondence, photographs, and field recordings created by folklorist and record producer Harry Oster.

Language of Material: English .

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Contact repository for more information on accessing Series 3: Sound Recordings.

Arrangement

Series 1: Photographs Series 2: Subject Files Series 3: Sound Recordings

Biographical / Historical

Harry Oster (1923-2001) was an American folklorist, educator, record producer, and a prominent figure in the development of the American field of folklore studies.

Oster was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to a family of Russian Jewish immigrants. He received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University (1946) and his master's degree (1950) and PhD in English (1953) from Cornell University. In 1955, Oster was appointed professor of English at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. At LSU, Oster began began making field recordings of vernacular music traditions throughout Louisiana. Most notably, in 1959 Oster visited the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, better known simply as Angola, to record blues, prison work songs, spirituals, sermons, and interviews with inmates. His recording interests also included Cajun dance music, African American old time fiddle tunes, religious gatherings, children's songs, street vendor cries, personal histories, and folktales. In addition to his research and teaching activities, Oster founded Folk-Lyric Records as a commercial outlet for his field recordings. Oster sold Folk-Lyric to Arhoolie Records in 1970.

In 1964, Oster moved to the Department of English at the University of Iowa, where he continued to record regional music traditions including Czech, German, Norwegian, Scots-Irish, Amanite, Mennonite, Dutch, and Mesquakie. Throughout the course of his career at Iowa, Oster developed a wide range of new folklore courses, including American Folk Literature, American Jewish Writers, and Blues, Ragtime, and Jazz. Oster's publications include Living Country Blues (1969) and the the Penguin Dictionary of American Folklore (2000). He was the recipient grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, Ford Foundation, and National Endowment for the Humanities.

Custodial History

Most of Oster's subject files, photographs, and audio recordings were transferred to Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records upon Arhoolie's purchase of Folk-Lyric Records in 1970. Thereafter, Strachwitz placed Oster's files in a dedicated cabinet at Arhoolie Records. Strachwitz sometimes commingled new files with Oster's originals while working on album projects related to the Folk-Lyric catalog. These files have been removed to dedicated folders within the Chris Strachwitz Collection.

In 2002, Oster's widow, Caroline Oster, donated an additional set of audio recordings to the Arhoolie Foundation. The original Oster materials were donated to the Arhoolie Foundation by Chris Strachwitz in 2020.

Preferred Citation

[Item title], Harry Oster Collection. The Arhoolie Foundation, El Cerrito, California.

Processing Information

Materials were refoldered to promote preservation. Original folder titles have been retained. In some cases, folder titles contain language that may be considered insensitive or harmful. These titles have been retained to preserve historical context.

Processed by Clark Noone, 2024.

Scope and Contents

The collection includes research files, writings, correspondence, photographs, and audio recordings created by Oster in the 1950s-1960s. Materials document Oster's efforts to document vernacular music and culture in Louisiana and Iowa, including at Louisina's Angola prison. The collection also documents Oster's activities on behalf of Folk-Lyric Records prior to its sale to Arhoolie Records in 1970.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Cajun music

Cajun music--Louisiana

Louisiana--History

Blues musicians

Music in prisons

Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola)

Folk music--Louisiana

Field recordings

African Americans--Music

Folk music--Iowa

Photographs Series 1 1955-1970

Processing Information

Negatives were separated out of original folders to promote preservation. Photographic prints were placed in protective sleeves.

Scope and Contents

The series includes photographs of musicians, social gatherings, and festivals. Among the subjects documented are Angola prison, blues artists, Cajun culture, the Isleño community at Delacroix, and the Newport Folk Festival.

box N-1, folder 1

Angola, axe swinging (negatives) 1959