File:Salisbury Family Orchestra, Valparaiso, Indiana, circa 1911 - Postal Cover.jpg

English: Postal Date: Circa 1911

Scott Catalog Number of Postage Stamp: Not applicable Collection: Steven R. Shook

SENDER: None

RECIPIENT: Roy Denny

REMARK: Inserted within this postal cover are four pages of handwritten lines for Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew.

One of Valparaiso's most noted musical organizations was the Salisbury Family Orchestra. Led by Joseph M. Salisbury and his wife, Abbie, the family performed professionally for seventeen years. When the youngest Salisbury child was about five years old (circa 1900), the family began to give public performances. The family disbanded in June 1917, giving several farewell concerts in Valparaiso. After disbanding, some members of the family then joined other organizations and were involved in vaudeville work. Agents for the family included Ernest Butler, Edgar Dowdell, and John Manion. Joseph and Abbie Salisbury were both killed when a South Shore electric train struck their automobile in The Pines subdivision in Pine Township, Porter County, on May 1, 1932.

Copyright 2011. Some rights reserved. The associated text may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Steven R. Shook.