Enchanted!

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

The publisher travelled extensively, actually dying off the coast of South Africa on his final trip. Whether all these trips were for business or pleasure (or both), we’ll never know!

Image by Bob, Pixabay

The library received our second-hand copy of a music book today. It came from the USA, having first been sold in Johannesburg. There is something magical about a book, itself aimed at the Scottish diaspora, having been published in Glasgow and then spending time in TWO of the continents visited by its publisher, before returning to Glasgow today.

I know that, technically, it makes no difference to the contents. Of course it doesn’t. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m over the moon with this particular book’s life-history!

Holiday Postcard: Going Home

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

I found this in my drafts from a couple of years ago. Well, this clearly isn’t my holiday postcard. I had just sourced a picture of the boat on which one of ‘my’ Glasgow music publishers sailed home from New York. No idea how long he’d been there, nor what he had been doing! A holiday? Business? Whatever, it’s nice to imagine …

(The card is from eBay, not connected with the Glasgow publisher, I hasten to add.)

Talking of America, after attending the IAML Congress, I had something American I needed to check out. If I had FOUND something interesting in the two new databases I’d learned about, then it would have been galling to have found them after completing my book draft.

I needn’t have worried – I found not a thing. So if ‘my’ cinema pianist did write stock music for silent movies, it didn’t end up in those databases. (I have no evidence that he did – it just would’ve been so cool if he had!) Anyone know of a database of UK stock music for silent movies?!