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Jim Costa, 67 (as of 2016), is a native of Summers County, and an accomplished traditional musician and storyteller. He is also an avid collector and expert of 18th and 19th century farm tools and objects of rural life, including Hammons family fiddles, spinning wheels, cast iron cookware, and blacksmith tools. Costa has been building this collection throughout his life, and he restores many of the old tools and instruments himself. In addition to his public presentations on music and material culture, Costa appeared in the 1987 John Sayles film Matewan.In the summer of 2016, University of North Carolina folklore graduate student Zoe van Buren spent two months with Costa, conducting oral histories and documenting his extensive collection. Read more about van Burens work here: https://wvfolklife.org/2016/09/06/thats-a-grand-story-to-tell-documenting-jim-costas-collection/Zoe van Buren's website:https://zoevanburen.wordpress.com

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Railroad hammers in Jim Costa's collection, 19th century

Identifier:
4224.CostaJim.Photo.045.6.6.16
Title:
Railroad hammers in Jim Costa's collection, 19th century
Date:
2016-06-06
Creator:
van Buren, Zoe
Contributor:
Costa, Jim (Banjoist)
Description:
Jim Costa, 67 (as of 2016), is a native of Summers County, and an accomplished traditional musician and storyteller. He is also an avid collector and expert of 18th and 19th century farm tools and objects of rural life, including Hammons family fiddles, spinning wheels, cast iron cookware, and blacksmith tools. Costa has been building this collection throughout his life, and he restores many of the old tools and instruments himself. In addition to his public presentations on music and material culture, Costa appeared in the 1987 John Sayles film Matewan.In the summer of 2016, University of North Carolina folklore graduate student Zoe van Buren spent two months with Costa, conducting oral histories and documenting his extensive collection. Read more about van Burens work here: https://wvfolklife.org/2016/09/06/thats-a-grand-story-to-tell-documenting-jim-costas-collection/Zoe van Buren's website:https://zoevanburen.wordpress.com
Subject:
Collectors and collecting, Railroads--Equipment and supplies, Antique collecting for men, Railroads
Rights:
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Location:
Summers County (W. Va.)
Format:
image/tiff
Source:
A&M 4224, West Virginia Folklife Program Collection