This essay was originally published in the 1943 OCHS Yearbook. Please note that this essay was published over 80 years ago. While still useful for general education, language may be outdated and at times offensive. The Oswego County Historical Society does not stand by the language used in this essay. To view the original document, please visit NYHeritage.org.
Paper Read Before Oswego Historical Society by James Lally, October 19, 1943 as First of a Series of Papers on “Oswego County Music”
In presenting this paper, I must begin by saying that it is incomplete. I feel that any attempt to set down the story of things musical in Oswego must, of necessity, be done in installments. The epochs, early and late nineteenth century, and early and present twentieth century, as well as the many phases, such as amateur choral and instrumental, church choirs, school music, require in themselves considerable research. Added to this, the persons of note who gave of their talents, and the persons made prominent by their musical activities in the community, make an imposing and lengthy record.
I believe that in the early nineteenth century, what the people heard in the churches in the line of choral and instrumental music was one of the chief sources of their musical knowledge and education, and a powerful means of shaping tastes and ideals. It was principally in the churches that music was listened to by the people as a whole.
Probably only there were they conscious of the classics. In contrast to our present day, when music is accessible by radio, phonograph, and in the movies, the people of the early 1800s had to find their own music, and perform it for themselves. Today we have so many group activities—school, civic, and fraternal—that time is lacking to share in all of them. In the period I am discussing, leisure time abounded by comparison, and amateur musical effort was a welcome and popular form of entertainment.
Oswego has sometimes been accused of being cold to music. I hope to demonstrate and prove in this paper, and in future installments which I hope you will permit me to present, that Oswego has a history which refutes any such accusation. I hope to show you that Oswego has possessed a colorful history of men and women who have contributed to her musical and cultural growth, and that she has numbered among her citizens outstanding musicians whose talents have brought them recognition far and wide. I have in mind, out of the earlier period, Canon Charles Winfred Douglas, Charles Frederick Dennee, Oscar Coons, Jaroslaw de Zielinski.
Music Instruction In 1833
In the early Oswego newspapers, beginning with 1819, there is little or no mention of any musical activity in the village. However, periodically there appears an article copied from some large city newspaper referring to music in some of the larger cities in the United States and in European centers. To indicate that Oswego people early were musical we take this notice from the “Oswego Palladium” of February 13, 1833: “The subscriber has taken a room lately occupied as the Bethel Room in the upper story of the Buck building occupied by G. H. Woodruff & Co., in West Oswego, where he intends to give instruction in the Science of Music. The school will commence as soon as a sufficient number of pupils shall be obtained. For further particulars inquire at the shop of Mr. Jordan in West Oswego or at the office of the National Republican”* T. T. EVANS
In the “Oswego Palladium” of June 24, 1834 we find the following:”Vocal and Instrumental Music” O. H. Parker respectfully tenders his services to the inhabitants of Oswego as Instructor of Vocal and Instrumental Music, and would be happy to wait on those who may favor him with their patronage. Lessons on the Piano Forte and in singing given at his home near the corner of Taurus and Sixth Street. “Piano Fortes tuned on short notice. “As soon as a suitable room is obtained he will commence his juvenile class in the elements of musical elocution of which notice will be given.”
In the “Oswego Palladium” of June 22, 1836: “Mrs. J. C. Emerson, organist and pianist would respectfully inform the Ladies and Gentlemen of Oswego and its vicinity that he holds himself in readiness to instruct upon the Organ and Piano. Ten dollars per quarter. “Refer to Rev- Mr. McCarty, Dr. Samuel Hart, Lieut. Snead, L. S. Lockwood. “Piano supplies to order.”
In the “Palladium” of July 27, 1836 we find: Piano Music “A large and extensive as- sortment of music for the piano has just been received consisting of songs, duets, marches, quadrilles, etc. The ladies are particularly invited to call at No. 3 Phoenix Building. B. D. and A. Lane.”
And in the Palladium of January 24, 1838: “Piano Fortes.—Four Piano Fortes of Superior tone for sale. Enquire of Holden & Vincent.”
It is obvious that there were people to teach music and to sell copies and supplies. Such advertisements appear constantly and in increasing numbers as the years go on, proving that interest in music must have developed rapidly in Oswego during the 1830s.
* The “National Republican” was a weekly newspaper published at that time in Oswego. It was owned by John Quincy Adams who had changed its name from that of the Oswego Democratic Gazette by which it had been earlier known. Adams withdrew his support after one year and the paper was suspended.
Public Concerts in 1850s
While records of the Village Board indicate that there was a village band** holding rehearsals in Market Hall during the 1840s sharing quarters with the “Oswego Guards,” public notices through the newspapers of local musical activities are notably barren until the 1850s. Beginning with this period, space is given by the newspapers to concerts by visiting artists, notices of the Oswego Band, musical instruction by various individuals. It is apparent that some one connected with the newspapers had a decided interest in music, whether on the staff of the paper, or some person employed by the pa- per to give notice of these affairs. Possibly some of the work of the teachers of the 1830s was bearing fruit.***
There is no question but that one man who participated actively, and quietly, in Oswego musical circles was John A. Barry. He came to Oswego in the early 1850s. He was born in Utica, New York, in 1827. At the age of seventeen he was organist of St. John’s Church in Utica. When he came to Oswego he opened a music store, retailing all kinds of musical merchandise. He was for a time, organist at St. Paul’s Church and later organist at various other local churches. He served as musical director and accompanist for performances of Oswego talent for many years.
Evidence of another development is contained in the following article taken from the “Oswego Palladium” on January 1, 1859: “Band From Oswego to Give Promenade Concert Ball in Pulaski During Second Week in January” “Editorial Comment—Exactly so, Stephen! Let all the youth of ye Ancient Town come forth and proclaim ye Glad Tidings! Our Band numbers fourteen instruments and discourses the best and latest music. They propose to take a pleasure trip about the time mentioned and also intend to give an entertainment at Mannsville, Jefferson County. “We hope the Pulaskians will give them a good reception, and we should like to join in the festivities of the occasion itself.”
** From action of the Village Board taken March 26, 1838 it is clear that there was a band in Oswego as early as 1835 and that the village had purchased part of the instruments. John Edwards submitted a bill for repairing the instruments in 1835.
*** Editor’s Note: John A. Barry, who became an editor of the “Palladium” in 1867, had arrived in Oswego in 1852 and opened a music store. He soon began writing for the “Palladium” and the “Times” concerning events in local musical circles. It is probable that it was Mr. Barry’s work in this connection which Mr. lally observed in the old news- papers which occasioned his remark as to evident new source of musical lore which he discovers to have become noticeable at this time.
Traveling Artists Give Concert
During the same month Miss Juvinelia Oliva, a soprano, gave a concert here to a large audience. It was “superior to any heard in a long time.” The comment was: “She possesses a pleasing figure, winning smile and pretty face, a full, strong, and musical voice, and executes her pieces, chosen with exceeding good taste, with ease, grace, and talent. The accompaniments were skillfully done, with excellent taste, and in perfect time.” The “Oswego Commercial Times” of July 14, 1859 proclaimed: “Grand Concert by Miss Caroline Bichings “We are happy to announce an entertainment of the character to be given by that talented and accomplished lady, Miss Richings, next Thursday, July 21, on which occasion she will be assisted by her father, Mr. Richings and Prof. Charles Jarvis. In addition to the gems of Italian, French, English, Scotch, and Irish composers, Miss Richings will sing La Marseillaise, Angels Bright and Ever Fair, and recite Longfellow’s Hiawatha.
“We can but believe Doolittle Hall will be thronged by her friends and lovers of artistically rendered music, believing as we do that the concert will be the best, most refined, and unexceptionable musical entertainment which Oswego has had in many years, if indeed, ever. Those who heard her in ‘The Daughter of the Regiment’ during her recent visit here, will hear her again, and we doubt not her reputation will give her a large audience.”* “Concert “Advertisement “Miss Richings announces that induced by her former brilliant and enthusiastic reception in this city she will give one concert only. “Doolittle Hall “Cards of Admission 50 cents each”
* Miss Richings was born in England, but came to America in early life. Her appearance here on the concert stage was followed later by a stage career. She sang in operas in the 1840s and 1850s at Philadelphia and in other cities.
Oswego Harmonic Association
In 1859 there appears an account of an interesting amateur organization called “The Oswego Harmonic Association.” I quote from the “Palladium” concerning a concert given in Doolittle Hall by Miss Weber, Miss Sarah Grant, Miss Eliza Smith, assisted by Messrs. Bond, Beardsley, Baker, Potter, and S. Lee Conde (then organist at the Congregational Church.) The concert was given for the benefit of the Orphan Asylum: “The concert was received by a large and discriminating audience. It was a brilliant performance punctuated by spirited and rapturous applause. Every part of the pro- gram was exquisitely rendered. It would be difficult to single out any one artist for special mention. However, we wish to say that the solos and duets by the ladies displayed peculiar beauty, sweetness, and compass of voice. The quartets by the gentlemen were exceptionally fine, and the orchestral performances would be hard to excel, here or elsewhere.”
In August 1859 a Monsieur Mayot came to this city to form a class for musical instruction. I quote: “Mons. Mayot comes highly recommended by some of the finest musical talent in the country. Private lessons will be offered in cultivation of the voice, instrumentation, singing sacred, operatic, and secular music of all styles” Two classes, junior and senior, were formed. In the junior class for pupils under fifteen years it is interesting to note that eighty pupils appeared for the first lesson of the course. The newspaper mentions that “Although he is not yet attached to the schools, patrons and teachers encourage the undertaking.” “At Monthly Musical Soirees Chantantes, assisted by talent from the city, the public will be given an opportunity to judge the proficiency of the classes.”
Soiree Introduces 150 Singers
The first Monthly Soiree of the Oswego Harmonic School was held in Doolittle Hall on October 7, 1859, in which one hundred fifty singers participated. Solos, duets, quartets, and choruses were performed. A feature of the evening was the singing of the Pro Peccatis from Rossini’s Stabat Mater by John M. Baker. The accompanist was John A. Barry, and the admission was twelve and a half cents. The “Oswego Commercial Times” reviews the affair as follows: “A large and respectable audience assembled and were thrilled with the concert and have high hopes of many to come. The bass solo by John M. Baker was an excellent rendition of this splendid piece of mus- ic. It is amazing to conceive that Mons. Mayot has accomplished so much with his pupils in so short a time. The singing of the children was something long to be remembered.”
Virgil Became Internationally Known
Notice is given in the “Oswego Commercial Times” of another teacher of this period who later became an internationally known figure, namely Prof. A. K. Virgil, who was at one time organist of the First Presbyterian Church. After leaving Oswego, he invented the instrument known as “the Virgil Clavier,” which is widely used in the leading music schools and conservatories of the world.*
Another outstanding concert of this period was one given by Miss Maria Brainerd, prima donna, at Doolittle Hall, in September, 1859. She was known to the musical world as “the Jenny Lind of America,” and “is undoubtedly one of the finest vocalists known to the musical public.” The accompanist for the concert was Mr. Clare W. Beames.
The following editorial appeared in the “Oswego Commercial Times” on September 28, 1859: “To a lover of music, it is a little surprising that, abounding as this city does in good vocal musicians, no effort has been made to organize a society for the study of high class Sacred Music. Each of our churches is supplied with able singers, male and female, and it would seem the most natural tendency imaginable for a few of the most energetic to arrange for the Choirs to be brought together for the study of the Oratorio, Sacred Cantata, etc.
“To the praise of God has been devoted the best talents of the greatest composers and we have every reason to believe that the public sentiment would cordially welcome an association which would bring forward a series of concerts through the winter from Sacred Compositions of Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Rossini, and others. Capable leaders, it is believed, reside in the city, qualified to conduct both the vocal and instrumental parts, in the most effective manner, and while such concerts would elevate and refine public taste, it would prove of lasting benefit to the persons engaged in it. The surrounding cities have nearly all such associations, and it would be extremely desirable that such a source of pure and elevating pleasure should be granted to the citizens of Oswego. It would agreeably diversify the lectures to which the people are treated during the winter, and without doubt would be found self-sustaining in a pecuniary point of view.”
* The device is a key board, similar to that of a piano, which gives forth no sound when the keys are touched It is still used for practice purposes in connection with the piano.
Oswego Philharmonic Institute
The foregoing editorial bore fruit in subsequent activities of the Oswego Philharmonic Institute which was organized in 1857. In 1858 it was incorporated. Thomas Kingsford, founder of the Oswego Starch Factory, was its first president. John B. Edwards was vice-president, Joseph B. Hubbard, secretary-treasurer, John A. Barry, musical director. The Institute had rooms in the third story of the building occupied by John Ould & Co., at the northeast corner of West First and Bridge streets. It had a membership at one time of about one hundred men and women from the various church choirs of the city and an orchestra of some fifteen. It gave several concerts to good audiences. Its programs were com- posed of choruses and other selections from the oratorios, The Creation, The Messiah, Judas Maccabaeus, and Glee and part songs of some of the best composers. One of its greatest successes was won at a concert which ended with Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus, with over one hundred voices and an orchestra of twentythree, led by J. Adams Smith, one of the finest violinists we had in Oswego. During the lifetime of this organization Oswego made quite an advance in musical culture, and the choirs of the various churches were witnesses of the fact.
Barry’s Reminiscences
I have already mentioned the name of John A. Barry. I wish to incorporate in this article excerpts from a paper read by him before the Fortnightly Club in April, 1897, entitled “Oswego’s Early Amateur Entertainments— A Reminiscence.”
“In the year of grace, 1853, when the narrator first came to Oswego, it was a town of some 12.000 inhabitants, with a fine lake and canal commerce, shipyards, a starch factory, and a number of large flour mills. In the summer the town was busy, especially about the wharves, docks, and shipyards. The harbor was full of vessels and canal craft, and the elevators were run to their full capacity. In the winter the grain and commission men, the forwarders and shipowners, had little to do but enjoy themselves socially, and balls and parties were the chief amusements of as happy a community of young middle-aged men and women, married and single, as one could find on a long journey.
“But, like all cities of its size in those days, it was almost wholly dependent for its amusement upon itself. And, as I have said, they consisted chiefly of social gatherings, dancing and sleighing parties, and suppers at Adam Oot’s at Minetto, a hostelry for many years famous for its cuisine. The shipmasters’ balls of those days were high grade affairs, scarcely a winter passing without one such, which was patronized by Oswego society. The ‘Old Guards,’ also gave famous balls, to the delight of the youth, beauty, and life of the city. So notable did those functions become, that they were often attended by guests from Syracuse, Auburn, Watertown and Utica.
Early Amusement Centers
“Sometimes a whole winter would pass without bringing to Oswego a professional show or concert. The Christie’s Minstrels were among the first that found their way here. Then intermittently Buckely’s Minstrels, Bryant’s, the Hutchinson and Baker families, and other wandering troubadors(sic). Some of these concerts were given at the old ‘Tabernacle.’ a ‘little church around the corner’ of West Second and Bridge Streets, on the Ground where the Wright and Hunt Mill now stands.* It was afterwards called ‘Franklin Hall.’ The upper story of the ‘Old Academy on West Third Street, now the High school, was sometimes used for public assemblages. These, with Market Hall, now the D. L. & W. Hall, for many years did all the amusement business of the city. Then came Doolittle Hall, Music Hall, Mansard Hall, and afterwards the Academy of Music, a transformation of Doolittle Hall. The decadence of the latter left us in a barren waste, until the opening of the Richardson Theater, one of the most beautiful and best appointed structures of its kind in the country.
* This building stood on the site today occupied by the new Oswego Theatre. Horace Greeley gave a lecture there when he first visited Oswego in the early 1850s.
“The way it began: Home Talent Opera Era “
Among the amateur musical people in Oswego in 1854, were Levi Beardsley, John Bond, George Weeks, and Henry Thornton. They formed a quartet club, and after some time gave a concert in Doolittle Hall for the benefit of the Oswego Orphan Asylum. The first part of the concert was given to solos, duets, ballads, and quartets, the second, to original burlesques and extravaganzas, the inventions of Beardsley and Bond, principally the former. He had a genius for that sort of thing, which at that time developed marvelously. What Bill Nye was to literature, Beardsley was to burlesque. He was an incarnation of the spirit of the ridiculous and absurd, and to him was mainly due the popularity that afterwards came to the various amateur organizations for public amusement, with which he was connected.
“At this first concert the quartet (which, by the way was excellent in all its parts, and would be so rated today) sang principally the compositions of Stephen Foster, which were at the time first favorites. They were simple, tuneful, and harmonious, and were sung with good taste and expression. The program contained such quartets as “Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming,” “Hard Times Come Again No More,” “Twinkling Stars are Laughing, Love,” with others of the like; operatic selections by Weeks, ballads by Henry Thornton, (his Comin’ Through the Rye” was a great hit), “Meet Me by Moonlight Alone,” a travesty on that then popular duet, by Beardsley and Bond; and the Tyrolean Warblers by the quartet, in which Beardsley did the yodeling to a queen’s taste. “There arose a heavy anxiety for another of those concerts, and it was given with decided acceptance and a change of program to an audience that packed Doolittle Hall from the platform to the doors. It would be hard to decide which was the more surprised and pleased by the success of those concerts, the audience or the singers. It was the beginning of a series of entertainments at considerable intervals by the quartet, the avails of which were given to the Orphan Asylum, then in its early days and urgent needs.
A Twenty-Four Hour Opera
“The success of the quartet club led to the creation of one of the most absurdly extravagant burlesques of which there is a record. The scheme was Beardsley’s and it was his masterpiece. (Note: It came about as the result of a wager between Beardsley and Bond that an opera could be composed in twenty-four hours. The terms of the wager were that the arranger should be given a room containing a piano, a cooler of ice water, sand- wiches, foolscap paper, a gross of full-sharpened pencils, and then let alone for twenty-four hours. As a result came the opera “Influenza de la Blatt” ) The music was taken from the operas Norma, Lucretia Borgia, La Sonnambule, Semeradime, Martha and The Bronze Horse, with original connecting gems by a local director* whose name out of consideration for a modestv which is his race characteristic, I forbear to mention. The result of this collaboration was the production of the opera of La Blatt, with John Bond as the Duke de la Blatt, Levi Beardsley as Influenza de la Blatt, daughter of the Duke, George Weeks as Count Blobski, a Russian nobleman, and Henry Thornton as Corporal Columnibus, U.S.A., in the leading parts. The Duke naturally favors the Count, while, as naturally the Lady Influenza inclines toward the Corporal, whose martial bearing and ravishing tenor have quite captivated the susceptible maiden.
“Blobski is consumed with jealousy, and in impassioned songs and frenzied recitatives warns the Duke of his daughter’s infatuation; urges his own devotion, descants upon his wealth, his illustrious lineage, the grandeur and power of the House of Blobski, one of the most ancient in the dominion of the Czar, and compares himself—the flower of his race—with the measley (sic) soldier who has dared to lift his eyes to the peerless Influenza. The Duke’s scene with Influenza after his discovery of a “clandecent” meeting between her and the Corporal, was the piece de resistance of the opera. The grand bearing of the lordly and dominant father, the blushings, the coaxings of the fair damsel, her coy but artful efforts to induce the author of her being to give her time to search her heart so that she may know whether it may be possible to kindle and keep a flame for Blobski, were all quite affecting. Finally the Duke, in a magnificent basso profundo recitative, breaks forth with: “O Influenza, ungrateful daughter, is it thus you re- quite me love? Me Cheild, me Influenza, image of thy sainted mother, tell, O tell me, Dost thou love the soldier?” Influenza—”Pa, O Pa, I dust. Slay me if thou wilt, but I love the military!” Dukg—”O madness, O despair, O golly!” “The end is peace. Influenza marries Tommy Columnibus, who turns out to be the Duke of Minetto, traveling incog., while the rejected Blobski unmasks as a Weehawken barber, with three wives extant.
* Barry.
Plot Not Wholly Original
“The plot of the opera was not quite original—no more the—music, but the acting, especially that of Beardsley and Bond, was the very ecstasy of farcical comedy. There may be some in this city now, and mayhap some who read these lines, who saw and heard the first performance of LaBlatt, and who retain remembrance of the fun of it. “The most striking feature of the affair was the dressing of the Duke of Influenza. Bond was a fine specimen of physical manhood. In getting up his dress, his mother studied pictures of the court costumes of Louis XVI, and she and her interested friends in society, succeeded in robing the Duke gorgeously. For Levi they were lavish. Influenza fairly blazed in brocade silk, Spanish lace, powdered hair, a tiara and necklace of diamonds and other jewels. She walked, talked, acted and sang the part admirably. Bond’s pomposity was phenomenal. He was gorgeous and immense.
John Bond’s “Tom Foolery”
“The Hon. Thomas H. Bond. John’s father was a man of mark in his day, and one of Oswego’s prominent citizens. He was stubbornly opposed to his son’s appearance on the stage in any capacity, and he never could be induced to see what he called “John’s tomfoolery.” Mrs. Bond, on the contrary, was quite proud of her son’s performances, and she devoted a month of active work to her costuming of John and Levi. The Bonds lived at the Munger House, on the site of the present Second National Bank.* The morning before the date set for the presentation of La Blatt, Mr. Bond pere had gone to his office. As soon as he was out of sight, Mrs. Bond called John to her room and had just arrayed him in his ducal robes, when her husband returned for a paper which he had forgotten. When he entered the room he stopped short, threw himself into a chair, and turned to Mrs. Bond with “Well, Betsey, are you trying to make a damnder fool of that boy than God Almighty has already made him?”
* Today the location of the East side branch of the First and Second National Bank and Trust Company of Oswego.
How A Faked Subpoena Helped
“At this time John Bond was a lieutenant in the Revenue Marine Service, and the hailing port of the revenue cutter—I think it was the Howell Cobb—was Oswego. Soon afterward the cutter was ordered to Boston Harbor, and the opera company lost its left bower, so to speak. Bond came here some time afterward on a short leave. There was an urgent request for a reproduction of La Blatt. Bond’s leave expired and he had to go. Beardsley was nonplussed. He was dead set for another night of the opera. He must get Bond back. Lieut. Bond was regularly served with an irregular subpoena, purporting to have been issued out of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, which commanded John Bond to be and appear on a day and hour specified, in the Court House of the City of Oswego, to give evidence in the case of Somebody vs. Somebody, and to fail not at his peril. Bond came, the opera was given with increased success.”
An off-shoot of the La Blatt Opera Company was the Timbuctoo Nightingales, an amateur minstrel organization after the manner of the Christie’s. It gave several entertainments for various charities and for a time had some vogue. Beardsley was the master spirit of the Company. It had a membership of fifteen or twenty singers, dancers, players, and farcical actors, and it gave some quite fancy performances. “The Timbuctoos” came to an untimely end, however. They had such faith in themselves and the excellence of their show, that they determined to try it on Watertown. They tried it. They played to a beggarly account of empty benches, and walked home. This closed out the “Timbuctoos,” and ended the days of the amateur negro minstrelsy for that period.
Two Famous Names of Early Period
While in this paper, I intended to end with 1860, and deal solely with music within the city, I should like to mention certain persons who were in Oswego during this period and left for wider fields. Their subsequent achievements may be said to have grown out of the formative period under discussion. They gained fame in other centers, but their presence here is of historic interest to us.
Jaroslaw de Zielinski was born in Galicia in 1847, was graduated from Warsaw Conservatory with degree of Bachelor of Music. He came to America in 1864, and served in the Civil War. After his discharge from the service he came to Oswego where he was organist of St. Mary’s Church during 1866-67. There are several people still living today who were members of a Young Ladies Choir at St. Mary’s organized by de Zielinski. In the next few years he went to New York City where he was very successful as a teacher and concert pianist. In later years his work took him to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Detroit, and to Buffalo. In 1910 he founded in Los Angeles a Music School and Trio Club. He was an editor for the Hatch Music Co., Theodore Presser Co. of Philadelphia, and was an accomplished pianist. He composed effectively for the piano and wrote numerous articles on Russian and Polish music.
Oscar Coons Born Here
Another name that has carried Oswego to all parts of the music world is Oscar Coons. Born in Oswego in 1833, and spending his entire life in music, Coons was an editor, compiler and author. He wrote and published a splendid book on Harmony and Instrumentation, compiled a Pocket Standard Dictionary of Musical Terms, edited a Catechism of Music on the plan of J. C. Lobe. Deems Taylor, internationally known composer, editor, and critic, was a pupil of Oscar Coons and in his book “Of Men and Music” devotes an entire chapter entitled “Guide and Philosopher” to the memory of this Oswego musician. Oscar Coon played second trumpet in the fa- mous Patrick Gilmour Band, later with Cappas Seventh Regiment Band, and also played trombone in the Metropolitan Opera House Orchestra.
In conclusion, I wish to say that this paper, though but an inadequate glimpse into the past, will serve as a stepping-stone to further research, and as a basis for an account of subsequent growth and development in the decades which followed.
