Materials about Andresen and the state of old-time music in the Duluth region are best
revealed in the manuscript materials in the collection. These include published accounts of
Andresen's activities, the original manuscript of his article "Traditional Music of
Wisconsin," Andresen's writings, and a small body of correspondence. More than 200 photos
and postcards can be found in the collection. Most images document performances by Andresen
and other old-time musicians and were removed from their original files for preservation.
Evidence of Andresen's career as a graphic artist is represented throughout the collection
with information on typography and the School of the Associated Arts.
The Andresen manuscript materials are organized into four series: general files,
Scandinavian files, subject files, and music folios. The Scandinavian files and music folios
are organized alphabetically by musician. Photographs now listed in the Graphic Materials
series were removed from subject file folders; notes in the folders indicate that photos
were removed.
The Andresen recordings are organized by record type: 45-rpm discs, LP discs, and audiotape
reels. Information on the 78s can be found by searching the 78-rpm Sound Recordings
Collection on the Mills Music Library website (a paper inventory also resides in Box 28). A
paper inventory of the 45-rpm recordings resides in Box 28. The collection holds all but 12
of the 94 Northland Hoedown radio programs Andresen produced, and each 30-minute program
focuses on a particular regional musician or style. The audiotape reels have been
transferred to digital audio WAV files.
