This page is devoted to the likes of Uncle Josh Weathersby, Cohen, Goldstein, Flanagan and many others who kept America laughing in days gone by.  These characters were made famous by performers like Cal Stewart, Byron G. Harlan, Ada Jones, Len Spencer, Steve Porter, Ralph Bingham, Joe Hayman, Barney Bernard and so many more.  They brought their comic talents into our homes via the talking machine as it was called then.

     Talking machines came in many sizes and varieties.  Our Victrolas, Graphophones and Amberolas alike kept us entertained in the age before radio and television.  This page is a celebration of those days.

     I am attempting to preserve these classic recordings so that future generations will be able to enjoy and appreciate them.  The end result of this preservation effort is to be a series of audio cd's, which will be restored with the revolutionary CEDAR process, the first three of which will feature the immortal character of Uncle Josh Weathersby as portrayed by Cal Stewart.  In the future we plan to offer other cd's of classic vintage comedy including the characters and performers mentioned above.

     I have assembled two volumes of Uncle Josh classics on cd and offer them on Ebay from time to time.
I am now offering them here.  These two volumes are NOT the CEDAR restored ones mentioned above.  They were transferred by me and cleaned up to an extent by using Cool Edit Pro.  They are quite listenable and a great way to get a bunch of Uncle Josh titles in one disc.  When I begin to offer the CEDAR restored volumes, I will give purchasers of the current volumes a chance to "upgrade" to the newly restored volumes for a very modest "upgrade charge".  Keep checking this page for details on the release date of the CEDAR restored Uncle Josh cd's.

Information on my current releases can be found by clicking on the links below:

VOLUME 1
VOLUME 2

ORDER FORM
PAYMENT OPTIONS

     If you have any titles that do not appear here, please contact me.  I would like to arrange to borrow or get copies of them for inclusion in future Uncle Josh compilations.  I am also looking for any other vintage comedy on cylinder or record.

     I have some Uncle Josh information here on this page as well. I have complied a database of all known Uncle Josh issues on disc and cylinder.  This is still a work in progress and your help would be appreciated.  If you see any mistakes or have any additional information, please contact me.  It is my hope to publish this database/discography in the near future and I will give written credit to anyone who provides information for this purpose.

View my Uncle Josh/Cal Stewart Database (a work in progress).

     You may also view a picture of Cal Stewart (Uncle Josh).  I can always use more photos of Cal.  If you have any, again, please contact me. 

View a picture of Cal Stewart/Uncle Josh.

View another picture of Cal Stewart/Uncle Josh.

I have the text of "Uncle Josh Weathersby's Pun'kin Centre Stories", first published in 1903.

View the text of "Uncle Josh Weathersby's Pun'kin Stories" in Rich Text format.

You may read a biographical article on Cal Stewart by Tim Gracyk here.
The article is from his book, "The Encyclopedia Of Popular American Recording Pioneers:1895 - 1925"

View Tim Gracyk's bio on Cal Stewart.

I have an old stereoptican card featuring Uncle Josh that was provided by fellow Uncle Josh collector Carl Swanstrom.

View the Uncle Josh stereoptican card.

Here are some phonograph links you may find interesting:

Antique Phonograph & Record Information
Nauck's Vintage Records
Graham Newton's Audio Restoration
Michigan Antique Phonograph Society