Writer, collector, and performer Becky Blackley is an autoharp expert and enthusiast. From 1980 to 1993, she served as editor of , an international journal that was dedicated to the autoharp. In 1981, she published , a book of Christmas songs arranged for the autoharp, and in 1983, , a comprehensive history of the instrument. She has recorded and produced her own music, conducted autoharp workshops across the United States, and served as a consultant to instrument makers Oscar Schmidt-International. She currently works as a Russian-to-English translator. The Autoharpoholic Harp! the Herald Angels Sing! The Autoharp Book The collection consists primarily of materials compiled by Becky Blackley while researching the history and evolution of the autoharp for the writing of . Correspondence, photographs, copies of patents, catalogues, advertisements, newspaper clippings, notes, articles, songbooks, instruction manuals, journals, recorded interviews with famed autoharp players, and sound recordings comprise the bulk of the collection. Materials also include research conducted by Doyle Moore for an article he wrote about the autoharp. Collectively, these materials trace the history of the autoharp from its earliest incarnations in the late nineteenth century to modern models manufactured in the late twentieth century. Some materials relate to autoharp inventor C. F. Zimmerman, Kilby Snow, Mike Seeger, the Carter Family (including photographs), Maybelle Carter (including interview, 1962), Ernest Stoneman (including interviews, 1962-1963), Louise Scruggs, Glen Peterson, and Archie Green. There are also copies of old-time music recordings featuring Ernest Stoneman, Welby Toomey, the Carter Family, Uncle Dave Macon, and others, and photographs of autoharps players and instruments. The Autoharp Book
