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Contributing Institution:
Arhoolie Foundation
Title: Harry Oster Collection
Creator:
Oster, Harry (1923-2001)
Identifier/Call Number: AF.003
Physical Description:
54.5 Linear Feet
4 document boxes, 1 half-size document box, 1 negatives box, and 926 audio tapes
Date (inclusive): 1955-1995
Date (bulk): 1958-1980
Abstract: Writings, correspondence, photographs, and field recordings created by folklorist and record producer Harry Oster.
Language of Material:
English
.
Collection is open for research. Contact repository for more information on accessing Series 3: Sound Recordings.
Series 1: Photographs
Series 2: Subject Files
Series 3: Sound Recordings
Harry Oster (1923-2001) was an American folklorist, educator, record producer, and a prominent figure in the development of
the American field of folklore studies.
Oster was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to a family of Russian Jewish immigrants. He received his bachelor's degree from
Harvard University (1946) and his master's degree (1950) and PhD in English (1953) from Cornell University. In 1955, Oster
was appointed professor of English at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. At LSU, Oster began began making field recordings
of vernacular music traditions throughout Louisiana. Most notably, in 1959 Oster visited the Louisiana State Penitentiary
at Angola, better known simply as Angola, to record blues, prison work songs, spirituals, sermons, and interviews with inmates.
His recording interests also included Cajun dance music, African American old time fiddle tunes, religious gatherings, children's
songs, street vendor cries, personal histories, and folktales. In addition to his research and teaching activities, Oster
founded Folk-Lyric Records as a commercial outlet for his field recordings. Oster sold Folk-Lyric to Arhoolie Records in 1970.
In 1964, Oster moved to the Department of English at the University of Iowa, where he continued to record regional music traditions
including Czech, German, Norwegian, Scots-Irish, Amanite, Mennonite, Dutch, and Mesquakie. Throughout the course of his career
at Iowa, Oster developed a wide range of new folklore courses, including American Folk Literature, American Jewish Writers,
and Blues, Ragtime, and Jazz. Oster's publications include Living Country Blues (1969) and the the Penguin Dictionary of American
Folklore (2000). He was the recipient grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, Ford Foundation, and National Endowment for the
Humanities.
Most of Oster's subject files, photographs, and audio recordings were transferred to Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records
upon Arhoolie's purchase of Folk-Lyric Records in 1970. Thereafter, Strachwitz placed Oster's files in a dedicated cabinet
at Arhoolie Records. Strachwitz sometimes commingled new files with Oster's originals while working on album projects related
to the Folk-Lyric catalog. These files have been removed to dedicated folders within the Chris Strachwitz Collection.
In 2002, Oster's widow, Caroline Oster, donated an additional set of audio recordings to the Arhoolie Foundation. The original
Oster materials were donated to the Arhoolie Foundation by Chris Strachwitz in 2020.
[Item title], Harry Oster Collection. The Arhoolie Foundation, El Cerrito, California.
Materials were refoldered to promote preservation. Original folder titles have been retained. In some cases, folder titles
contain language that may be considered insensitive or harmful. These titles have been retained to preserve historical context.
Processed by Clark Noone, 2024.
The collection includes research files, writings, correspondence, photographs, and audio recordings created by Oster in the
1950s-1960s. Materials document Oster's efforts to document vernacular music and culture in Louisiana and Iowa, including
at Louisina's Angola prison. The collection also documents Oster's activities on behalf of Folk-Lyric Records prior to its
sale to Arhoolie Records in 1970.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Cajun music
Cajun music--Louisiana
Louisiana--History
Blues musicians
Music in prisons
Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola)
Folk music--Louisiana
Field recordings
African Americans--Music
Folk music--Iowa