[78-L] Edison Diamond Disc Enquiry.

[cgregory200 at comcast.net]

Charles Gregory Wrote:

Harry E. Humphrey, recitations, is a noted elocutionist and character artist, was born in San
Francisco in the late seventies, and began his stage career at the old Grand Opera House in San
Francisco. He has been asssociated with many prominent players, among them Frances Starr, Dorothy Donnelly, Laura Hope Crewes and William H. Crane. He supported William H. Crane in
Charles Frohman's revival of "David Harum," followed by successful seasons with A.H. Woods, Corse Payton and his own companies in Canada and Bermuda. After his return from Bermuda,
Mr. Humphrey appeared under the management of William A.Brady in "The Shepherd King."
he admirably played an important role with the big New York sucess, "Turn to the Right."


Harry E. Humphrey "On Reading and Speaking"  Along Broadway magazine

Once, while in Pittsburgh, during the period of the late war, Harry E.Humphrey, the Edison artist,
and a little impromptu talk on "The Art of Public Speaking." Almost at once, the Goverment
School for Uncle Sam's Speakers adopted his speech as a text. Mr.Humphrey is one of America's Foremost elocutionists. Mr.Edison, one of the keenest critics of  the human voice, and an expert on tone values and production, said that he "found Mr. Harry E. Humphrey's voice, delivery and
enunciation to be one of the most perfect I have ever heard." The following suggestions from him, on 
reading and speaking, therefore, should be of wide interest: "Good reading, in this country, is well
nigh a lost art. Even some of our foremost actors and many of our leading orators fail to meet the test
"What do I mean by a test? Well if you wish to get a fairly good idea of a man's personal appearance,
look at his photograph;if you wish to judge his ability as a reader,listen to an Edison RE-CREATION
of his voice. Most of our prominet men and a number of well-known actors,have been thus recorded. Almost without exception, these records show;Faulty enunciation, incorrect tone production, badly
managed breathing,and a lack of timbre in the voice that frequently detracts fifty percent from the effectiveness of the speech delivered. 
" A great reader should be what Emerson says of a poet- "A man without an impediment." The
majority of us has fallen heir to our share of impediments. Hence, the science of impediments.
Hence, the science of teaching must confine itself solely, if not entirely, to helping the student get rid of those impediments or mannerisms, which alone stand between him and perfect expression.

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: Spats <spats47 at ntlworld.com> 

> Hi! 
> 
> As I sit and listen to the fireworks (these days, they sometimes 
> celebrate 5th November Bonfire Night on the nearest Saturday) I'm off 
> to New York for about 9 days of shows tomorrow, so I don't know when 
> I'll receive the answer to these questions, but here they are, anyhow. 
> 
> I received some Diamond Discs today. Among the operatics, several had 
> the well known voice of Harry E. Humphrey on the reverse, 
> 'explaining' the musical selection. 
> 
> (1) Does anyone know much about the possessor of this stentorian 
> voice and what he had as a 'day job'? 
> 
> (2) The time gap between the recording of the music and Humphrey's 
> 'explanation' can be as short as a month, but is often up to 8-9 
> months. Does anyone know anything about the process of issuing 
> Edison's Diamond discs that would account for the sometimes long gap 
> between the music recording and the issue of the finished record. I'm 
> assuming that the 'old man' himself had to give his approval at some 
> point, but apart from that... 
> 
> Earl Okin. 
> 
> PS IF ANYONE NEAR NEW YORK CITY WOULD LIKE TO MEET FOR A COFFEE WHILE 
> I'M IN NYC, PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE AT THE LARCHMONT HOTEL IN 
> MANHATTAN FROM 9th-18th NOVEMBER. I PROMISE TO RING BACK AS SOON AS I 
> GET THE MESSAGE. 
> 
> TEL: (212) 989-9333 
> 
> To find out where I'm performing, go here... 
> There's a gig list... 
> 
> http://www.myspace.com/earlokin 
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