The Francis Lee Utley Record Collection is the foundational holding of the Center for Folklore Studies Archives. Originally named the Archive for Primitive, Ethnic, and Folk Music, the collection was established by Francis Lee Utley in 1963 to promote the study of folk music at The Ohio State University. Since the 1980s, OSU students, faculty, and staff have used the collection primarily as a pedagogical resource for Folklore classes.
Unlike the Traditional Music Archives at Indiana University-Bloomington, Utley focused on collecting commercially produced music for the archive at OSU. The collection’s contents represent a unique resource for scholars interested the historiography of American folklore, the folk music industry, and material culture. The items are diverse in terms of genre, style, and material.
Utley acquired the beginnings of the collection on a trip to New York City in 1963, where he met with major record label executives and producers to make bulk purchase orders of back catalogues and set up regular orders for new releases. The collection’s primary holdings include 2100+ 33-inch vinyl records that were produced from the late 1940s through the mid 1980s. Utley and other center directors purchased these 33s from all over the world during the height of the second wave of the folk music revival in the United States from recording companies including Smithsonian Folkways, Vanguard, Prestige, Monitor, Elektra, and many other smaller labels. Students, faculty, and staff expanded this initial collection through subsequent purchases and donations.
The collection contains 800+ shellac 78 resin discs produced from the 1910s through the 1940s. A substantial portion of this was purchased from Ralph Auf der Heide’s personal holdings. It includes recordings from labels like ASCH, Bluebird, Brunswick, Columbia, Decca, Okeh, Stinson, RCA Victor, and others. Although many of these 78s were republished as 33s, the Center’s holdings represent the wide range of styles and geographic areas represented in the music industry during the early 20th century. The Center’s 78s also represent an interesting period in material culture since they include rare formats (e.g. 12-inch shellac 78s) and 140+ original record sleeves and folders decorated with distinctive period artwork and photographs.
The Utley Record Collection’s most unique holdings are the 160+ acetate or instantaneous discs, which contain recordings of radio broadcasts as well as one-of-a-kind recordings of events like early American Folklife Festivals, Ukrainian Orthodox Easter Services, and outpost concert recordings from the Office of War Information made during World War II.
A small number of 78s have been digitized and are available by request.
A finding aid for this collection is available upon request. Please contact cfs@osu.edu for more information.