Home / MIRCat Exchange / Peter Adams
Resources shared by...
Peter H. Adams
Collector of 19th and early 20th century
musical instrument trade literature
in the Peter Adams collection
Introduction
Peter Adams earned an undergraduate degree in music history from the University of Maryland, completed graduate coursework at the National Music Museum, completed courses in Library Science at the University of Maryland, received two Junior Fellowships at the Library of Congress, Music Division, published/authored books about organology, an article about a lyra viol manuscript, eighteen modern editions of historic lyra viol music and many original compositions, and collected 19th and early 20th century musical instrument trade literature.
An introductory essay describes the collection.
Disclaimers and notices
The photos and papers in this collection were assembled to support the contributor's diverse research projects. They vary in quality and labeling, and most are unpublished and fragmentary, but are offered for use as they are for future research.
We are not aware of any copyright restrictions, but please contact the archivist if you hold copyright of particular items and wish to request removal of them.
By accessing these materials, you agree to use them in accordance with applicable laws and ethical standards. When in doubt, seek permission from Peter Adams.
As always, please remember to credit the source if you use any of the materials in your publications.
A note about postal covers (envelopes) with advertising as an organology source
The Adams Archive holds, among other things, a substantial collection of advertising covers from 19th and early 20th-century musical instrument manufacturers. This type of material is often overlooked by organologists who are seeking primary business papers. However, these covers can frequently provide datable business addresses and images of the manufacturers’ factories. While the contents of the covers are rarely included, Mr. Adams meticulously collected significant covers and their contents. Organologists should approach the collection with caution, as advertising material may be prone to exaggeration. Nevertheless, this material should not be overlooked.
User Tips
- This collection consists of 12,784 pages in 315 PDF files ranging in size from a single page to over 1000 pages. The files are approximately sorted by theme into 15 folders.
- If you are not already familiar with the Picsio interface, see the Picsio crib sheet.
- The collection can be browsed by its arrangement of topical folders. However, almost any topic of interest could also be represented almost any other folder, so searching keywords in the entire archive is highly recommended.
- The most effective way of finding specific information:
1. Open the archive and click on "Adams" in the top line of the collapsible folder list on the left in Picsio.
2. Enter your search term or phrase in the search box
3. Open each resulting file and use the search box (or your browser search feature ctrl/cmd-F) to search again to search the needed term.
4. Use the exit button "X" in the top right to close that file to move through the other results.
