# J. Elmer Spyglass

James Elmer Spyglass (November 1, 1877 – February 16, 1957) was a singer, who lived most of his lifetime in Europe and later worked for the Consulate General of the United States, Frankfurt.

## Life and career

He was born in Springfield, Ohio. In 1897 he became a founding member of St. John's Missionary Baptist Church in Springfield. After that, he dedicated his life to music and became a cabaret singer. He was chorus director at Bethel A. M. E. Church in Pittsburgh until 1901. He was a baritone vocalist and in 1905, he graduated from the Toledo Conservatory of Music. He also attended Western Pennsylvania University. At the Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he accompanied a 25 piece orchestra and a 200-member choir in singing Strauss's "An der schönen blauen Donau".

### Career as singer in Europe

In 1906, he went to Europe and established himself as an interpreter of "Negro Spirituals". For 20 years, he sang in the Netherlands to cheering audiences. He performed primarily in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Scheveningen and The Hague. It was not until March 1925 that he came to Germany for the first time, appearing in Hamburg at the Haus Libelle. He toured all over Europe and learned to speak several languages fluently, and he sang not only in these languages but also in dialects. In Paris, for example, he performed with Mistinguette and Sarah Bernhardt, and in Berlin with Otto Reutter. In Munich he was a partner of Lisl Karlstadt and Karl Valentin. In Frankfurt he performed at the Klein cabaret (formerly Zu den bösen Buben, 'To the bad boys') in Kaiserstr., the Intimes Theater and the Trocadero.
In 1930, he retired to Sachsenhausen, a suburb of Frankfurt. He continued to live freely in Germany during the war, although he was an "enemy" as an American and as a person of color he was considered to be an "inferior race" by the Nazis. The German authorities had not caused him any problems. However, he had to appear at the police station every week. His house in Sachsenhausen was bombed in 1944, and he changed his residence to Schwalbach.

### After World War II in Germany

After World War II, Spyglass became an interpreter and receptionist in the US consulate in Frankfurt. His job was to greet visitors to the consulate—many of them intending to become emigrants to the US—and to direct them to the appropriate office. Spyglass was fluent in five European languages, so he opened up language classes and taught English to local townspeople for a number of years.
In 1947, he had an interview with Will Lang Jr. of Life to discuss his life and his role as a receptionist. According to Lang, Spyglass's "pleasant coffee-colored face" greeted everyone who came "to do business with the US." Lang mentions that the consul general, Sidney B. Redecker, was one of the few people who addressed the "colored man" by his first name, Elmer. "To others he is known respectfully as 'Mr Spyglass.'" Will Lang's article appeared in Life on November 3, 1947.

### Last years

On November 9, 1954, Spyglass became an honorary citizen of Schwalbach, Germany. Spyglass died February 16, 1957. The American Consul General, John Burns, the mayor, councilors and many of Schwalbach’s citizens attended his memorial service. His ashes were returned to Yellow Springs, Ohio where his remnant was buried beside his parents.

## Spyglass Prize

On January 8, 1995, a student in Schwalbach was the first to receive the "James Elmer Spyglass Prize" for contributions to intercultural relations.