For research in dulcimer history, I would like to know more about a
vaudeville performer of the 1910s whose act was "Uncle Sam and His
Singing Strings," or maybe just "Sam and His Singing Strings." In
1977, I happened to talk to this man's nephew, who told me about him.

Sam (last name not known, would like to find it) was born in or
around Kiev and learned to play the dulcimer (Yiddish, tsimbl) there.
He also played the xylophone and piano and perhaps other instruments.
His act included a piano prop which collapsed when he played the
opening notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. After it collapsed, he
would play the dulcimer. He toured around the U.S. and also in
Australia.

What might be the best sources to try to find out about this man?
Would I have to go through old _Billboards_ or other obscure
vaudeville magazines? Or is there a better way?

Paul Gifford