File:Mrs. Wm. Wheeler LOC 21320919015.jpg

Bain News Service,, publisher.

Mrs. Wm. Wheeler 'Elizabeth Wheeler (pseudonym: Jane Kenyon) Jim Walsh of Hobbies Magazine in 1961 described Elizabeth Wheeler and William Wheeler as "the most successful husband and wife duet pair in the history of the phonograph." She was born Bess Nicholson in Kokomo, Indiana, in 1875; he was born in Shawano, Wisconsin in 1879. They married in 1904, and performed widely, doing standard ballads, light opera, and hymns. Mr. Wheeler made some solo recordings for Leeds & Caitlin, Edison and others, and then the two began their duet recordings in 1910, for Victor. "Beautiful Isle of Somewhere" was an early hit, though it did not reach the 1917 Victor catalog, where there were 17 other titles by the pair. Their final Victor recording was the most popular one, "What a Friend We have in Jesus." Mrs. Wheeler made many solo Victors beginning in 1909; she sang ballads and children's songs, and also "Elizabeth's Prayer" from Tannhauser. William Wheeler did some solo work for Pathe. They did not record after the acoustic period, and "What a Friend" was the only one of their titles to reach the 1927 Victor catalog. Elizabeth Wheeler died in 1971; William Wheeler died in 1967. (From "The Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound in the United States" / edited by Guy A. Marco / Garland Publishing, Inc. - 1993) ' [between ca. 1915 and ca. 1920]

1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.

Notes: Title from unverified data provided by the Bain News Service on the negatives or caption cards. Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress).

Format: Glass negatives.

Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.

Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

General information about the Bain Collection is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.ggbain

Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.25054