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Huntington Library Sheet Music Collection: Finding
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ephSMC
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Table of contents
Title: Huntington Library Sheet Music Collection
Dates (inclusive): 1792-1982
Bulk dates: 1820/1920
Collection Number: ephSMC
Extent:
approximately 3800 items in 35 boxes and 28 volumes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Prints and Ephemera
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: The Huntington Library Sheet Music Collection chiefly illustrates the physical and thematic development of sheet music printed
in the United States from the late eighteenth century
through the early twentieth century. The collection includes over 3800 items, the bulk of which spans the years 1820-1920.
Language: English.
Note:
Finding aid last updated on February 13, 2015.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities.
The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the
researcher.
[Identification of item]. Huntington Library Sheet Music Collection. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
The provenance of individual items within the collection is primarily unknown.
The collection has been developed gradually since 1923 through donations of single items and donations and purchases of scrapbook
volumes containing sheet music.
Processing/Project Information
An item-level list of the collection was created in August 1997 by Cathy Cherbosque and a brief online finding aid was created
in 1999. Diann Benti
combined and updated this finding aid in January 2015.
The Huntington Library Sheet Music Collection chiefly illustrates the physical and thematic development of sheet music printed
in the United States from the late eighteenth century
through the early twentieth century. The collection includes over 3800 items, the bulk of which spans the years 1820-1920.
Musical genres included are English and
American theatre music, comic opera, patriotic songs, Scottish and Irish melodies, “Englished” versions of Italian opera,
contemporary topical themes (such as the Civil
War, including a small number of Confederate imprints), and modern Broadway music. Subjects and themes covered include sentimental
songs, especially courtship and maternal
relationships; songs offered in tribute (e.g. to Washington, Lincoln, Bonaparte; Jenny Lind, etc.); and patriotic songs, especially
of the Civil War. Major and minor
publishers are represented. Cities most prominently featured as publishing centers include Boston, Philadelphia, New York,
and Baltimore; there are also imprints from
Cincinnati, Chicago, Milwaukee, San Francisco, St. Louis, and New Orleans. A significant portion of the collection is illustrated
which, along with the themes and
lyrics of the songs themselves, provides further insight into the attitudes and values of the American people over time.
Related materials in the Huntington Library
Beyond the Sheet Music Collection which is housed in the Prints and Ephemera Division of the Rare Book Department, sheet music
has also
been catalogued in numerous locations in the Rare Book Department. Other catalogued material include:
Librettos, Song Books, Song Sheets, and Broadsides.
The collection consists of individual pieces arranged chronologically by publication date within folders, and then alphabetically
by song title. These are stored flat in boxes.
A portion of the items have been bound into numbered scrapbooks, reflecting the tastes and musical interests of various compilers.
Items without a date are arranged alphabetically by song title in a “n.d.” (no date) sequence. These are housed in a separate
“no date” box.
Please note that in some cases, the publication dates are only approximate dates assigned by the cataloger.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Dramatic music -- United States.
Dramatic music -- England.
Patriotic music -- United States.
Songs, Irish.
Songs, Scots.
Operas.
Sentimentalism -- Songs and music.
Courtship -- Songs and music.
Motherhood -- Songs and music.
Love songs.
Topical songs.
Celebrities -- Songs and music.
Music -- Pictorial works.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Songs and music.
Broadway (New York, N.Y.) -- Songs and music.
Confederate States of America -- Songs and music.
Sheet music.
Songs.