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The Lambert Company of Chicago
With his invention of the celluloid cylinder, Thomas Lambert solved two problems
with cylinder records: mass production and indestructibility. Ironically,
his invention was short lived: lawsuits drove Lambert out of business within
5 years, and his cylinders are among the rarest of all records.
A treat for collectors—and an introduction for non-collectors
The Pink Lambert gathers 22 of these rare cylinders—the first
time Lambert cylinders have ever been commercially released on CD—and
packages them with liner notes relating the history of the Lambert Company,
from the innovation of the celluloid cylinder to the lawsuits that tore the
company down. The booklet also includes discographical information and images
of the cylinders. And since the songs are all gathered from a single collection—these
cylinders came as a lot of 22—you can see what records an average person
might have listened to in 1902.
A Time Not Long After the Civil War
Songs from the war were still much in the popular imagination at the turn
of the century, so that's what the recording industry gave the public. Selections
included here, such as "Dixie Land," "The
Soldier's Farewell," "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" and "Sing Me a Song of the
South," were typical fare for all the record companies of the period.
Listeners also wanted patriotic and traditional songs, and again, with numbers
such as "War Song Medley" and "Wearing
of the Green" Lambert demonstrated his desire to meet the public's
taste.
Bringing the Outdoors Inside
The earliest records—and these Lamberts are no exception—demonstrate
to us the desire of pioneer artists to move beyond the limits of the medium. They
wanted to give us live-action scenes in our own homes in a compact two minutes
of recording time. You will be amazed by the elaborate scene-scapes of "Night
Trip to Buffalo," "Steamboat Leaving the Wharf at New Orleans," "A Meeting
of the Limekiln Club" (first performed by minstrel troupes in 1886), "Farmyard
Medley," and "Finnegan's Birthday Surprise Party." (Check out Before
Radio for more of this type of material.) Be warned, however: some
of these routines express racially derogatory views. We urge historically-minded
people of conscience to sift through this material and be critical of it, while
understanding the age that produced it.
Remarkable Clarity
The wide variety of selections here attest to the innovative Lambert manufacturing
process. Pink Lamberts have a brilliance superior to wax cylinders
of the day. Listen to the cornet solos in "Wearing
of the Green (with variations)" and "Emmet's Lullaby," two early band pieces,
and witness the clarity of sound a recording horn could capture. For a true
sense of the variety available on these early cylinders, listen to the whistling
solos and bird impressions on "Bird Imitations," and "The
Mocking Bird," the comic song, "McManus
and the Parrot," the hymn, "Lead Kindly Light," and Harry
Macdonough's frolicking "In the
Good Old Summertime." In addition to presenting these rare cylinders, The
Pink Lambert gives a solid representation of what the recording industry
was releasing in its infant years.
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