Re: Herbert J.Ellis -Thorough School for the Mandoline
I also have a copy of Ellis' Thorough School for the Mandoline.
It has 79 well used pages, and was used by my Grandfather at school in southern England.
I'm wondering what to do with the book as I don't play.
Suggestions would be welcome. I live in the midwest of the USA.
Re: Herbert J.Ellis -Thorough School for the Mandoline
I am sure that someone would like it.
Re: Herbert J.Ellis -Thorough School for the Mandoline
Hi I'm not sure if I am in the right thread or even in the right place but I am trying to find information on the Luton mandolin band in or around the 1940's. Is anyone able to offer any help? Or even where I would look? The reason is my grandmother was in the band around that time. Many thanks
Re: Herbert J.Ellis -Thorough School for the Mandoline
Hi Lisa,
This isn't really the right thread -- the only connection to Luton is that the original poster (in 2004!) picked up the book being discussed in a junk shop in Luton.
You may get more info by starting a new discussion thread. However, the most promising route is probably to contact the British BMG Federation (Link), who have quite a good archive of photographs etc of older UK mandolin bands/orchestras.
Good luck!
Martin
Edit with more info: there are a few useful details on the Luton Mandolin Band in the book "The Classical Mandolin" by Paul Sparks. The book is highly recommended, but the relevant pages also show up on a Google Books search for "Luton Mandolin Band". Sparks says that "The finest orchestra that Britain produced was undoubtedly the Luton Mandolin Band, founded in 1890 by Philip J Bone (...). He amassed a group of talented and dedicated musicians and trained the Luton Band to the point where it could compete with the best European orchestras."
However, the latest reference by Sparks to the Luton Band dates to a prize they won in Paris in 1912. By your grandmother's time in the band in the 1940s the band may have been quite different, although I note that Bone became president of the BMG Federation as late as 1951 (at age 78), so he may conceivably still have been the musical director in the 1940s. He was born in 1873, so only 17 when he started the band.
By coincidence, somebody in the US is currently selling a private 1955 tape recording of the Luton Mandolin Band on Ebay (Link), so the band kept going until at least that time.
Re: Herbert J.Ellis -Thorough School for the Mandoline
Some scans of my copy of Ellis' Thorough School for the Mandoline are available on my website on the following page:
Ellis' Thorough School for the Mandoline