Jay T. Last sheet music collection, approximately 1794-approximately 1960s, bulk approximately 1820-approximately 1899

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Summary

Abstract:
The Jay T. Last collection of sheet music began with the collecting efforts of physicist and Silicon Valley pioneer, Jay T. Last. It contains around 37,419 musical scores related to various aspects of life in nineteenth and early twentieth century America, and to a lesser degree Britain and Europe. The collection is comprised of musical scores dedicated to entertainment, industry and professions, the military, people and culture, travel, politics, science, sports and leisure, transportation, and miscellaneous songs. The collection contains American popular music and materials that document changes in American graphic design from the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries. It also serves as a significant record of visual culture within the Last Collection.
Extent:
319 Linear Feet (264 boxes)
Language:
Materials are mostly in English, with some French, Italian, and Spanish.
Preferred citation:

[identification of item]. Jay T. Last sheet music collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The Jay T. Last sheet music collection consists of approximately 37,419 scores dating from 1794 to the 1960s. It includes a wide range of American popular music styles, as well as some British and European popular music. The collection encompasses ballads, comic songs, minstrel scores, military scores, patriotic melodies, ragtime compositions, Broadway tunes, rhythm and blues hits, and 1960s surf music. The scores comprise various editions of lyrical and instrumental compositions, some of which have ornately lithographed covers and bear the signatures of composers, performers, and artists, as well as sellers' marks. It's important to note that this collection contains historical images and language that some library users may find harmful, offensive, or inappropriate.

The Jay T. Last collection is an archive of printed paper artifacts that documents American lithographic, social, and business history. The collection began in the early 1970s when physicist and Silicon Valley pioneer, Jay T. Last moved to Southern California and started collecting citrus box labels he found at local flea markets and rummage sales. As his collection grew, Last realized that these labels conveyed important information about commercial printing, graphic design, and social history, and he expanded his collection to include other forms of American visual culture. Today this collection contains more than 250,000 prints, posters, and ephemera of nineteenth and twentieth century American origin and represents works by more than five hundred lithographic companies.

Biographical / historical:

Jay Taylor Last (October 18, 1929-November 11, 2021) was an American physicist and a pioneering figure in Silicon Valley. He was a connoisseur of African art and California watercolor art and possessed a profound interest in the history of lithography. Born in Butler, Pennsylvania to Frank and Sarah Last, Jay displayed a fascination for both the humanities and sciences from an early age. Subsequently, he received a scholarship to attend the University of Rochester in New York, where he obtained his bachelor's degree in Optics in 1951.

He earned a PhD in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) in 1956, then went west to work at Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, a pioneering high tech company near Palo Alto, California founded by Nobel prize-winning physicist Dr. William Shockley. In 1957, Last and seven of his lab partners, known as the "Traitorous Eight," defected from Shockley to establish Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation in San Jose.

Last retired from the technology sector in 1974 but continued to advise tech companies while focusing more time on collecting art and ephemera. His fascination with color and optics inspired him to collect citrus box labels he discovered at flea markets starting in the late 1960s, which kindled his interest in the history of commercial lithography. His passion for the arts and sciences was evident in his support of the Huntington Library through investments in digitization projects and professional development opportunities for staff. Last passed away in Los Angeles, California at the age of ninety-two.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Jay T. Last, 2005; 2010-2019; and 2023.
Processing information:

Processed by Nichole L. Manlove in September 2024.

Arrangement:
Organized into the following series:
  1. Series I. Nineteenth century, approximately 1794-approximately 1900; bulk (approximately 1820-approximately 1899)
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

IN PROCESS COLLECTION. The twentieth century materials are undergoing processing and are unavailable until further notice. Please contact Reader Services for more information.

Terms of access:

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]. Jay T. Last sheet music collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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