2019-05-07 Guide to the Collection of Bound Sheet Music Printed in the United States, circa 1850-1874 SPEC.RARE.CMS.0240 Finding aid prepared by Beth Crowner Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections

1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210

2019 April This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2019-05-07T13:37-0400 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Collection of Bound Sheet Music Printed in the United States SPEC.RARE.CMS.0240 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 0.73 Cubic feet circa 1850-1874 Music in the 19th century in America focused on subjects such as historical events, political elections, migrations of people, social and reform movements such as temperance, love, and religion. Patriotic anthems were particularly popular, especially during the Civil War. Music was often featured at social gatherings and dances, and songs such as Dan Emmett’s "Dixie," were made popular through minstrel shows. The Collection of Bound Sheet Music Printed in the United States contains four volumes of sheet music dated circa 1850-1874, composed for the piano, a piano and guitar duet, or piano with vocal accompaniment. Each volume appears to have been artificially bound from sheet music published in the United States. The volumes contain mainly American songs, such as songs used during the Civil War, as well as polkas and music by popular European composers. (4) flat boxes English, Italian, Latin Arrangement of Materials

This collection is arranged chronologically.

Acquisitions Information

Purchased, 1982; Other unknown accessions

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Collection of Bound Sheet Music Printed in the United States, SPEC.RARE.CMS.0240, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University

Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.

Use of Materials

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.

Processing Information

Processed by: Beth Crowner, 2019 March; Finding Aid written by: Beth Crowner, 2019 March

Historical Note

Music in 19th century America focused on subjects such as historical events, political elections, migrations of people, and social and reform movements such as temperance, love, and religion. Patriotic anthems were particularly popular, especially during the Civil War, which ran from 1861-1865. Music was often featured at social gatherings and dances, and songs such as Dan Emmett’s "Dixie’s Land," or "Dixie," were made popular through minstrel shows.

Scope and Contents

The Collection of Bound Sheet Music Printed in the United States contains four volumes of sheet music dated circa 1850-1874, composed for the piano, a piano and guitar duet, or piano with vocal accompaniment. Each volume appears to have been artificially bound from sheet music published in the United States, with some song lyrics appearing in Latin and Italian in addition to English. The volume labeled "E.A. Peck" is dated circa 1874, contains color plates, and includes music such as "Ave Maria," "The Temperance Army" by J.M. Kieffer, and the "Lament of the Irish Emigrant" by William R. Dempster. The "Music" book bound in green is dated circa 1868-1871, and contains 2 Italian arias and works from several famous composers, including music by Stephen C. Foster, Billy Emerson, and a collection of waltzes by Johann Strauss. Several popular songs from the Civil War are also present, such as Dan Emmett’s "Dixie’s Land." The volume labeled "Ellie Dovey" is dated circa 1864, and contains over a dozen piano and guitar arrangements, 3-4 pieces solely for the guitar, and Stephen C. Foster’s "Beautiful Dreamer." The volume titled "Vocal Music" contains a collection of polkas from circa 1850-1854, including scores for the "Sea Serpent" polka and "La Grange" polka.

General Note

All volumes have widespread foxing stains on their pages.

Emmett, Daniel Decatur, 1815-1904 Foster, Stephen Collins, 1826-1864 Strauss, Johann, 1804-1849 Bound sheet music Guitar and piano music--United States--19th century Guitar music--United States--19th century Piano music--United States--19th century Polkas--United States--19th century Popular music--Southern States--19th century United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Songs and music "Vocal Music" 1 circa 1850-1854 "Ellie Dovey" 2 circa 1864 "Music" 3 circa 1868-1871 "E.A. Peck" 4 circa 1874 General Note

Binding is split and should be handled with care.