In the american civil war period , where would the HG come from ?
what model could it be ?
who would play it ? what rerertoire ? If it was that popular at the
time , how come almost
nobody in the US knows what it is today ?
Beyond that, considering how much maintenance a hurdy-gurdy requires, plus replacement strings, we have to assume that there would have had to be a solid background of builders, string-makers, and repairmen to keep such instruments running. And wartime is not a good time for a high-maintenance instrument, when mails were irregular, and shipping slow and unsure. And it certainly was not a popular home instrument like the piano or the melodeon. (One wonders if it ever really was-- my own family cordially invites me not to bring mine at Christmas, and I am credited to be a fairly good player.) At least at the same time in England, there was sufficient social stability for the instruments to be made. I seem to remember "Old Sarah" (of Henry Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor) mentioning going through about two before her current one. One has to wonder how she maintained it. But if hundreds of blind Russian h-g players could maintain theirs, I suppose it's more than possible.
Alice
