In the relatively recent discussions about the online availability of early mandolin recordings, I didn't find a mention of an interesting and useful site called i78s:
In order to access the recordings, you must register with the site, an easy, painless operation which does not involve credit cards and will not result in unwanted emails. Once registered, you should click on the video tour button (circled in the image above) for background and for a tour of functionality. Once ready to search, if you type "mandolin" into the search box, you'll get the following screen:
While 42 hits is not exactly overwhelming, and perhaps not even whelming, it should be noted that entering the term "mandolin" does not search a subject database; rather, it is looking at titles and performer names. So, as a friend suggested to me, you will only find everything by searching performer names ... and their variants (e.g., Siegel is sometimes spelled "Seigel").
For those with broader interests, you'll certainly find relevant recordings, e.g., old time banjo, various types of ensembles, and performers of every stripe.
So, there it is. I just wanted to bring this to the attention of folks interested in early mandolin recordings. Enjoy!
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