Regarding Motherwell

There is a Folk Music Journal piece by William B McCarthy dated 1987. 'William Motherwell as Folk Collector'. I have only skimmed this, but I learned from it that Motherwell took over The Minstrelsy part-way through the process. McCarthy seems to be arguing that there was in effect a change in editorial process part-way through.


At one point McCarthy says that an introduction was promised in a piece published in one part (it seems to have been published bit by bit). If I read this correctly it would imply that there was no introduction in the original versions of the early parts at least.

This piece is on JSTOR and I think if you google you will find it. Some interesting and - rational - discussion of Harker's work in it also. As I say, I have only skimmed it, so it is worth checking what it says for yourself.