But I see no point in knocking the antiquarians collectors and their writings as "jottings", especially 100 years later. The collectors at the turn of the century were indeed bourgeois, the working class being to busy making a living to do much collecting. And recording was hardly feasible.
Max Hunter was a travelling salesman who collected between 1956 and 1972. Much of the material collected in that time (and indeed earlier) in this country is available - not least through Topic's "Voice of the People" series. And "Three Score and Ten". And through the excellent Mustrad series. Then there is the British Sound Archive. And other Topic records. We aren't exactly short of this stuff.