Cylinders zoomed on

The Singing Wax

The oldest recorded voices finally restored

As part of the project to digitize cylinders at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau near Ottawa, I had the opportunity in recent days to deliver my latest Archeophone on-site. Not only was I received in the most friendly manner, but what I saw and heard there while setting up the machine fascinated me. The Museum houses an extensive collection of cylinders, most of which were recorded by Native Americans. This includes the Marius Barbeau collection, which deserves to be presented here in more detail.

Marius Barbeau, a Canadian ethnologist (1883-1969), was interested in Canadian folklore and Native Americans. After studying law, he pursued anthropology at Oxford and later at the Sorbonne.

A warm welcome at the museum
A warm welcome at the Museum
Marius Barbeau
Marius Barbeau, pioneer of Canadian folklore, transcribing songs from a wax cylinder recording (1957)

Holding a position at the Geological Survey of Canada in 1911, he began studying the culture of the Hurons near Quebec City, followed by Native Americans in western Canada. From 1914, he collected folk songs and traditions of French Canadians. His extensive scientific publications constitute an impressive bibliography.

Working as an ethnologist-anthropologist at the Museum of Man in Ottawa until his retirement in 1948, Barbeau remained dedicated to his work until his death, producing abundant audio and written archives that he extensively used in his numerous publications on folklore, songs, and folk tales of French Canadian civilization, as well as Native Americans.

These audio archives are now part of the rich collections of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, consisting of approximately 3000 phonograph cylinders. Barbeau used the phonograph cylinders in his research from 1911 to 1948. The collection also includes cylinders from the work of other anthropologists. The oldest of these cylinders were recorded in 1898.

Notable collections of Native American cylinders include:

  • ∙ Albert B. Reagan, William H. Mechling, Wilson Dallam Wallis (Hurons, Wyandott, Iroquois, Malecite, Ojibwa, Sioux: 1911-1913)
  • ∙ James Alexander Teit, John Alden Mason, Cornelius B. Osgood (Cree, Hare, Loucheux, Sarcee, Crow, Chipeywan, Yellowknife, Dogrib: 1915-1948)
  • ∙ Diamond Jenness, Christian Leden (Eskimo cylinders: 1913-1916)
  • ∙ Regarding French Canadian folklore, collections by Edouard-Zotique Massicotte (approximately 920 cylinders) and Gustave Lanctot (24 cylinders) are also part of Marius Barbeau's collection (approximately 550 cylinders).

Many cylinders on shelves
A warm welcome at the Museum
Cylinders

These voices, captured with the intention of study and preservation, remained silent for a very long time. They resonate once again along the shores of the Ottawa River.