Huntington Library Sheet Music Collection: Finding
Aid
Finding aid prepared by Cathy Cherbosque, Krystle Satrum, and Diann Benti.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Prints and Ephemera
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 1997
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.
Overview of the Collection
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.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
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.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Huntington Library Sheet Music Collection. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Provenance
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.
Scope and Content
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.
Arrangement
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.
Indexing Terms
Subjects
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.
Forms/Genres
Sheet music.
Songs.
Box 35
Undated (also a small amount of British sheet music)
Volume 1
1852-1866
25 items. Volume labeled "Fannie M. Moody."
Volume 2
1849-1864
41 items. Volume labeled "Lou E. Hodgen."
Volume 3
British sheet music, 1880-1890
18 items; pieces inscribed to Rosa Alexander between 1886 and 1888. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. A. Valentine, December 1884.
Volume 4
British sheet music 1896
1 item; piece inscribed to Georgina Strong.
Volume 5
1842-1851
36 items. Inside front cover labeled "Alice Baskervill." Gift of Mrs. Kenneth W. Wood, September 1997.
Volume 6
1848-1865
43 items. Inside front cover contains inscription of Alexander Thomas Leonard, Jr. (1929) and bookplate of John Smeyla.
Gift of Dr. Leon J. Whitsell, September 1993.
Volume 7
1828-1840
37 items. Volume labeled "C.A. Stewart." From the Brock Collection.
Volume 8
1833-1836
29 items. Volume labeled "M.S. Hereford."
Volume 9
1859-1882
25 items. Decorative binding.
Volume 10
1884-1898
25 items. Music with stamp of "The Wiley B. Allen Co." of Portland, Oregon. Volume labeled "Instrumental."
Volume 11
1840-1850
33 items. Volume labeled "Mary A. Church" From the Brock Collection.
Volume 12
1844-1858
23 items. Volume labeled "H.A. Nichols."
Volume 13
1830s
48 items, with cover for "Symphonien von L. van Beethoven" at front. Volume labeled "Harriot A. Stanton."
Volume 14
1854-1871
32 items. Volume labeled "A. Eva Paige." From the Brock Collection.
Volume 15
1860-1870
27 items. With hand-drawn label on flyleaf: "Anne M. Carter."
Volume 16
1820s-1830s
40 items. Volume labeled "Harriet A. Stanton.
Volume 17
1850-1860,
36 items including some Germand and French pieces. Volume labeled "Emmie G. Nichols."
Volume 18
1885-1900
46 items. Volume labeled "Vocal."
Volume 19
1885-1898
27 items. Volume labeled "Music."
Volume 20
1842-1853
42 items. Guitar music. Gift of Mrs. Albert E. Rapp.
Volume 21
1838-1858
32 items. Volume labeled "H.A. Nichols."
Volume 22
1850-1866
34 items. Music primarily published in New Orleans, Louisiana. Purchased from Mrs. Paul W. Brown.
Volume 23
1832-1837
46 items. Volume labeled "Julia K. Watson." From the Brock Collection.
Volume 24
1846-1869
23 items. Volume labeled "Fannie M. Moody." Purchased from Marie H. Duvall.
Volume 25
1849-1865
40 items. Volume labeled "Flora C. Clark." Gift of Elizabeth Connor, August 1958.
Volume 26
1840, 1853-1861
38 items. Volume labeled "Delle Evangeline Fortier."
Volume 27
1840s-1850s
67 items. Purchased from Peter Adams, July 1997.
Volume 28
1837-1850
56 items, with three handwritten pieces in pencil: "The Maid of Monterey" by J.H. Hewitt (page 68); "Go Forget Me Why Should
Sorrow" by Mozart (page 71); and "When it's Springtime in the Rockies: A Charming Walk Song" (pages 125-6, 129-30). Volume
labeled "Jeannie Haseltine." Purchased from Thomas V. Lange, September 1997.
