Merle Evans papers
Collection
0055-SCPA
Merle Evans (1891-1987) was an American bandmaster and cornetist. He is best known for his work leading the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus Band. He was also the bandmaster for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. The collection consists of both personal and professional papers including correspondence, photographs, band scores, and band uniforms related to Evans's work as a bandmaster and as a cornetist.
There are no restricted files in this collection.
Materials from this collection must be used in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library's Irving and Margery Morgan Lowens Special Collections Room, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Contact the curator for an appointment: http://www.lib.umd.edu/scpa/contact
39.50 Linear Feet
English
The Merle Evans Papers covers the period from 1800 to 1989; the bulk of the materials date from 1950 to 1985. The collection consists of both personal and professional papers including correspondence, photographs, band scores, and band uniforms related to Evans's work as a bandmaster and as a cornetist.
Born in Columbus, Kansas in 1891, Merle Evans joined the S.W. Brundage Carnival Band as a cornetist at the age of fifteen. For the next ten years, he traveled throughout the United States with a number of theater and comedy shows, eventually becoming bandmaster with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. In 1919, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey circuses merged to form what they promoted as "The Greatest Show on Earth." Evans was selected as bandmaster for the newly combined circus, a post he held until his retirement in 1969. In addition to leading circus bands, Evans wrote eight circus marches and conducted several concert bands during the off season. Active throughout his retirement as a circus historian, Evans died in Sarasota, Florida in 1987.
This collection is organized into thirteen series.
The Merle Evans Papers were donated to the ABA Research Center by Evans's sister, Juanita Evans, in February 1989. A second portion of the collection was given by Juanita Evans through Kenneth Slater on June 8, 1992. Additions to the collection were made by Shirley Ryon in June 1989.
Part of the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library