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American Recording Pioneers / Photo Feature

JACK KAUFMAN'S SCRAPBOOK

Our thanks to Phil Kaufman for the generous loan of his grandfather's scrapbook, which contains clippings, photos, and other memorabilia from 1910 into the mid-1920s. Phil has served as personal road manager to such greats as Emmylou Harris and Joe Cocker, and was in-house confidante to the Rolling Stones during the recording of "Beggar's Banquet" and "Let It Bleed." His escapades are chronicled in Road Mangler Deluxe (with Colin White), available on his website at www.phkauf.com.

Related articles: A Prehistory of the Kaufman Brothers  |  The Avon Comedy Four

Inside cover of the scrapbook, containing Jack Kaufman's marriage notice and a telegram
sent to him on the road in Toronto, announcing the birth of his son.

 

(Left, above arrow) Jack Kaufman's wife, Rosina Clarke Kaufman (stage name, Olive York. (Right) Jack Kaufman's son Jules, c. late 1910.

 

An early Kaufman Brothers ad picturing Jack (left)
and Phil (right), c. 1910–11. Prior to signing with
Orpheum, they toured on the Pantages circuit.

 



The Kaufman Brothers were a favorite of newspaper caricaturists. These examples date from
c. 1911–12 (upper row and lower row, left) and 1914 (lower right, right). "Palestine" refers to
Palestine, Texas, where the brothers supposedly learned their Southern accents.
 
 

In the early days of their act, the Kaufmans regularly toured from coast to coast, but as the itinerary
on the left shows, they later played closer to home. Neither piece is dated, but both probably
date from 1914, based on their position in the scrapbook. The misspelling "Kauffman" was
common in newspapers.

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All materials courtesy of Philip Kaufman. Please e-mail the publisher for permission
to reproduce or distribute images on this page.

Article © 2008 by Allan Sutton.
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