To Thread - Forum Home

The Mudcat Café TM
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=30426
25 messages

Info: The Shanty Book (Richard Runciman Terry)

05 Feb 01 - 09:52 AM (#390342)
Subject: The Shanty Book Part 1
From: Michael in Swansea

Yesterday a friend gave me book to look at "The Shanty Book Part 1". It's collected/edited by Richard Runciman Terry and published in 1921 by Curwen of London and Philadelphia at a cost of 6 shillings or $1.80 ($6 to £1 those were the days). The book itself is paperback, a bit bigger than A4 and contains the words and (piano) music of 30 shanties alongwith notes on each of them. The back page contains a list of other books from the publisher - Morris and Country Dances, Folk Songs and Singing Games but nothing of The Shanty Book Parts 2 onward. Anyone know of these books? How many in the set? Anything?
I've only just started to search the 'net for the publisher, found nothing yet so I thought I'd call on the world wide 'Cat for help.

Mike

ps. handwritten on the front cover is "Aberdeen Lads' Club". Ring a bell with anyone?


05 Feb 01 - 10:33 AM (#390367)
Subject: RE: Help: The Shanty Book Part 1
From: Malcolm Douglas

Apparantly there was a "Part 2", published by Curwen in 1926.  There's a set of both volumes available at the moment from a bookseller in Utrecht at around £25; a search at  http://www.bookfinder.com/  will get you the details.

Malcolm


05 Feb 01 - 10:35 AM (#390368)
Subject: RE: Help: The Shanty Book Part 1
From: GutBucketeer

I just got a copy for Christmas, but mine is much smaller. It is about 8 inches by 6 inches. If you found one for $1.80 that is an increadible steal! I think the one I was given was around $40.00 U.S. and there were no copies that we could find that were any cheaper through a bibliofind or AABE search.

I have never heard of any other "Parts" that were ever published.

Enjoy it! It truly is a rare treat and one of the "original" sources for many later Shanty books.

JAB


05 Feb 01 - 10:43 AM (#390374)
Subject: RE: Help: The Shanty Book Part 1
From: Michael in Swansea

Thanks Malcolm I'll chase that one.
Jab, I didn't find it for $1.80 that was the 1921 cover price. Anyway it's not mine.

Mike


05 Feb 01 - 11:09 AM (#390397)
Subject: RE: Help: The Shanty Book Part 1
From: Metchosin

I have a copy of the Shanty Book Part II which I purchased through The ABE Book Exchange a couple of years ago. I have never been disappointed with the Exchange or the service of any of the vendors and delivery is usually pretty quick.


05 Feb 01 - 11:10 AM (#390400)
Subject: RE: Help: The Shanty Book Part 1
From: Metchosin

I have a copy of the Shanty Book Part II which I purchased through The ABE Book Exchange a couple of years ago. I have never been disappointed with the Exchange or the service of any of the vendors and delivery is usually pretty quick.


05 Feb 01 - 11:53 AM (#390431)
Subject: RE: Help: The Shanty Book Part 1
From: Metchosin

A copy of Part I is currently available at ABE for approximately 18 £. Also there are quite an number of books by Runciman listed, including Salt Sea Ballads


05 Feb 01 - 11:59 PM (#391114)
Subject: RE: Help: The Shanty Book Part 1
From: GutBucketeer

I stand corrected. at some point it would be iteresting to compare the song lists in each.

JAB


06 Feb 01 - 01:08 AM (#391154)
Subject: Index: The Shanty Book Part II (Richard R Terry)
From: Metchosin

Shanty Book Part II contains the following:

Windlass and Capstan Shanties:

    The Black Ball Line
    One More Day
    A-roving (1)
    A-roving(2)
    The Banks of Sacramento
    The Shaver
    Paddy Works on the Railway
    Can't You Dance the Polka?
    John Brown's Body
    Whoop Jamboree
    My Johnny
    The Drummer and the Cook
    Miss Lucy Long
    Do Let Me Go
    Blow Ye Winds of Morning
    Fire Down Below

Halliard Shanties:

    Shallow Brown
    A Long Time Ago
    Won't You Go My Way?
    Hilo, John Brown
    Roll the Cotton Down
    Round the Corner, Sally
    The Bully Boat
    My Tommy's Gone Away
    Sing Fare You Well
    O Billy Riley
    Time For Us to Leave Her
    Lizer Lee
    A Hundred Years Ago
    Walk Him Along Johnny
    Hilonday
    Stormalong
    So Handy, Me Gels
    The Sailor Likes His Bottle, O

Fore-Sheet Shanty:

    Haul Away, Joe (II)


06 Feb 01 - 01:24 AM (#391166)
Subject: RE: Help: The Shanty Book Part 1
From: Metchosin

typo - capstan, there I go........... doing my proof reading after the fact.....


06 Feb 01 - 03:45 AM (#391204)
Subject: Index: The Shanty Book Part 1
From: Michael in Swansea

Thanks all, as requested Shanty Book Part 1 contains

Windlass & Capstan Shanties:

    Billy Boy
    Bound for the Rio Grande
    Goodbye,fare ye well
    Johnny come down to Hilo
    Clear the track, let the Bulgine run
    Lowlands away
    Sally Brown
    Santy Anna
    Shenandoah
    Stormalong John
    The Hog's-eye Man
    The Wild Goose Shanty
    We're all bound to go
    What shall we do with the drunken sailor?

Halliard Shanties:

    Blow, my bully boys
    Blow the man down
    Cheer'ly men
    Good morning, ladies all
    Hanging Johnny
    Hilo Somebody
    Oh run, let the Bulgine run
    Reuben Ranzo
    The Dead Horse
    Tom's gone to Hilo
    Whisky Johnny
    Boney was a warrior

Fore-sheet or Sweating-up Shanties:

    Johnny Boker
    Haul away, Joe
    We'll haul the bowlin'

Bunt Shanty:

    Paddy Doyle's boots

Mike


23 Feb 11 - 04:27 AM (#3100918)
Subject: RE: The Shanty Book (Richard Runciman Terry)
From: Joe Offer

These two books have now been published as a single volume: The Way of the Ship: Sailors, Shanties and Shantymen By Richard Runciman Terry (and if you click the link, you'll find a very generous preview at Google Books.

-Joe-


23 Feb 11 - 08:00 AM (#3101064)
Subject: RE: Info: The Shanty Book (Richard Runciman Terry)
From: Charley Noble

I have a copy of that edition and it is nicely put together.

Charley Noble


28 Feb 11 - 06:07 PM (#3104587)
Subject: RE: Info: The Shanty Book (Richard Runciman Terry)
From: GUEST

Note in Book 2 Terry mentions in the Introduction that he is "shortly publishing a historical and critical study of sea shanties."

Does anyone know where this study is, and its name?


Bruce Martin


28 Feb 11 - 06:34 PM (#3104599)
Subject: RE: Info: The Shanty Book (Richard Runciman Terry)
From: Gibb Sahib

Bruce,

I've not seen anything. He had some articles that preceded his chanty books, and he published a book on sea ballads in 1933.

I don't think anything "historical and critical" on the genre *as a whole* has been published since Hugill's 1961 book. Of course, it is only critical and historical SOME of the time :) Many fine articles have come out, but no overall book, to my knowledge (?). It is almost as if Hugill was regarded as the "last word." It really does have a place like a "bible" in that sense. And it cannibalized most earlier works; if Terry said something, Hugill was sure to have digested it and incorporated it into his monster opus.

Terry offered some very valuable collected pieces. But IMHO he did not offer much by way of "historical" or "critical."


01 Mar 11 - 08:22 AM (#3104898)
Subject: RE: Info: The Shanty Book (Richard Runciman Terry)
From: comstone

Gibb,

This is good to know. I'm researching shanties' influence on British literature 19th/20th centuries (and not finding much), so was hoping for something critical. I think I have Hugill on order from Interlibrary, will check (so thanks for reference). Terry's Book 1 has some good background, but I'll need to go deeper.

Thanks for the time,

Bruce


01 Mar 11 - 10:52 AM (#3104983)
Subject: RE: Info: The Shanty Book (Richard Runciman Terry)
From: KathyW

I also have the reprint Joe Offer mentions, it is very nice and worth owning. Also, Book 1 is available online for free through Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20774


04 Mar 11 - 04:03 PM (#3107065)
Subject: RE: Info: The Shanty Book (Richard Runciman Terry)
From: comstone

Folks, I'm beginning a separate thread elsewhere, but want to let you know I'm sharing my annotated bibliography on sea shanties, including Terry's works on them. You can access the annotated bibliography (in progress) at http://bit.ly/hRD6lu

Bruce


20 Nov 18 - 01:21 PM (#3962490)
Subject: RE: Info: The Shanty Book (Richard Runciman Terry)
From: sciencegeek

The Eastman School of Music has Part I & II The Shanty Book by Terry here is the link to the PDF files
https://urresearch.rochester.edu/institutionalPublicationPublicView.action;jsessionid=9D4450D83B5BC8741AA4216DC077BDF9?institutionalItemVersionId=24944


still hunting down part III


20 Nov 18 - 02:07 PM (#3962497)
Subject: RE: Info: The Shanty Book (Richard Runciman Terry)
From: Steve Gardham

Anyone interested in the history of published chanteys should get hold of Gibb's excellent book 'Boxing the Compass' published this year. It is an excellent guide and critique to all known collections, some of which were merely regurgitating those already published. Gibb Schreffler is the man I go to if I want to know any of the history and background.


20 Nov 18 - 02:16 PM (#3962500)
Subject: RE: Info: The Shanty Book (Richard Runciman Terry)
From: sciencegeek

from gutenberg.org The Shanty Book

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/20774/20774-h/20774-h.htm


20 Nov 18 - 03:05 PM (#3962509)
Subject: RE: Info: The Shanty Book (Richard Runciman Terry)
From: Steve Gardham

What makes you think there is a Part III? Are you referring to the single volume of Parts I & II?


27 Jul 19 - 03:24 PM (#4002318)
Subject: RE: Info: The Shanty Book (Richard Runciman Terry)
From: sciencegeek

from the Shanty Book Part II

(Introduction)As I am shortly publishing a historical and critical study of sea shanties , there is no necessity for this introduction to be other than brief


(Notes to shanty #34) Rather than delay the publication of this collection, i will hold the matter over and publish the results in my forthcoming book (referred to in the introduction) on the shanty. (page xi)

This was published in 1926, but the only other book in that period, 1927, Beyond Music's Borders was only an anthology of articles, reviews and essays done for two magazines and there was only a 4 page article about his interview of an aged sailor and his lament that someone needed to collect from these old men before it was too late and compile a definitive study of shanties.

So we are left with the mystery of what happened... the 1931 Curwin volume on Sea Songs and Ballads has a list of their other offerings and only parts 1 & 2 of the shanty book are listed along with various sheet music arrangements from Terry and another...

I've found nothing from Unwin, the publishers of Beyond Music's Borders ... and the other possibility is Routledge, but I've found nothing there so far... Terry made a voyage to Australia and returned in early 1938, only to get sick and die within a few months time.

anyone have any idaes where else to look?


27 Jul 19 - 04:10 PM (#4002322)
Subject: RE: Info: The Shanty Book (Richard Runciman Terry)
From: Lighter

It seems as though it was never published - perhaps never completed.


27 Jul 19 - 04:26 PM (#4002326)
Subject: RE: Info: The Shanty Book (Richard Runciman Terry)
From: sciencegeek

well, I'm pretty sure he had a manuscript prepared and submitted, he's pretty definite about it going to press not long after he finishes Part 2... what happened next?   would think he'd go elsewhere if the first deal fell through... maybe submit to a journal, he had many articles published on various subjects since he was a music reviewer as well musicologist...