I hope I am posting the right way; I hit "reply." reference: http://www.brama.com/art/minstrelsbk.html I don't know too much I think, but Natalie's book seems good to mention concerning this playing card. I wonder what the acorn means on the card. But at least, it's for sure the exact kind of gurdy that is classic to Poland, the Ukraine, and to Russia. In the Ukraine this sort of minstrel was blind, let's say in the 1800s. His eyes are closed in the artwork. He also has a stick and a heavy coat, and typically he was part of a larger group and had a boy to walk with him as he traveled. The stick is part of being blind and no doubt there were loose dogs that would bark at him. He lived outside and played for money. He sang duma or story songs. He was a ragged minstrel, just like the art on the card. There is a book that describes all of this. "And the blind shall sing." The Polish gurdys have the same look, by the way. It is low in tone, soft, and diatonic. More rarely, the gurdy comes up in Russian folk music. I have one CD on that possibility. And there was a slight link to church music at that time. Overall the story is somewhat sad. All this occurs totally apart from western European gurdys and songs. Here is a link that shows the book. I have it and cherish it. http://www.brama.com/art/minstrelsbk.html The gurdy in this art is a little bit bit fancy with carvings, but that small, cello look to the gurdy's body is exactly what is described in Natalie's book-- that life and organization of these blind, hurdy-gurdy players that sang.
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