Joan Sharp was Cecil Sharp's daughter. The pipe and tabor recording was possibly made sometime in the 1950's and was copied from the '78 record by the late Harry Ross. Joan played with the Benacre Band who were active in England in the 1950s and consisted of Kathleen Bliss, Elsie Whiteman, Joan Sharp and Isobel Bedlington. Joan Sharp was the first librarian at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library in Cecil Sharp House.
John Maher obtained this recording in the form of a cassette tape from the late Harry Ross, and John was not sure of the provenance. For obvious reasons we can't check with John but Roger Graham-Leigh wrote to say he has a 78rpm record of Joan Sharp and Elsie Avril, which includes the same recording of Fool's Jig, and the record was he believes was made in 1930. The catalogue number is Columbia DB226, which indicates 1930, going by the sequence of catalogue numbers in the collector's website 45world.He had contacted the EFDSS Library and they have the same record, and another with Ladie's Pleasure and None So Pretty (Columbia DB227), both of which they have dated 1930. Many thanks Roger.
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