Holdings Fine Arts and Applied Arts University Bands Hunleth Music Store Sheet M... Finding Aid Holdings Fine Arts and Applied Arts University Bands Hunleth Music Store Sheet M... Finding Aid By Dan Andree, Jessica Ballard, Carol Berthold, Cory Davis, Celia Faux, Jessica Lapinski, Matthew Mayton, Garrett McComas, Katie Nichols, Somer Pelczar, Holly Pletka, Allison Repking, and Nolan Vallier
Title: Hunleth Music Store Sheet Music and Photograph Collection, ca. 1880-1986
ID: 12/9/123
Primary Creator: Hunleth Music Company (1901-1974)
Extent: 39.5 cubic feet
Arrangement:
Organized in ten series: Series 1: Autographed Prints, ca. 1880-1950; Series 2: School Wind Band Music Octavos, ca. 1880-1970; Series 3: Mandolin Sheet Music and Method Books, 1888-1969; Series 4: Banjo Sheet Music and Method Books, 1900-1960; Series 5: Hawaiian and Steel Guitar Music and Method Books, 1898-1970; Series 6: Guitar Sheet Music and Method Books, 1891-1969; Series 7: Autoharp and Zither Sheet Music and Method Books; Series 8: Gibson School of Music Records, 1889-1937; Series 9: Accordion, Bandonian, and Concertina Sheet Music and Method Books. Series 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 are organized in two sub-series within each series, Sub-series 1: Sheet Music and Sub-series 2: Method Books. Content of all Series 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 arranged alphabetically with untitled materials at the beginning. Series 8: Gibson Music School is organized alphabetically by title for sheet music and method books. Correspondence, advertisement, and minutes have been placed at the beginning. Series 9: Accordion, Bandonian, and Concertina Sheet Music and Method Books is organized alphabetically by composer. Series 10: Silent Film Sheet Music arranged in numerical order as assigned by the Hunleth Music Co.
The original order is no longer evident, except for Series 10. Series containing music have been structured to mimic a music store model in which sheet music and method books are separated by principal instrument. Series order listed in order of processing.
Date Acquired: 02/01/1974
Subjects: Accordion, Autoharp music, Bands (Music), Banjo music, Business Records, Correspondence, Guitar music, Hawaiian guitar music, Mandolin music, Music stores, Photographs, Teaching Methods, Zither music
Formats/Genres: Sheet music
Languages: English, Russian, German, Spanish;Castilian, Italian, French
Consists of unsold published sheet music and method books that were part of the Hunleth Music Company (St. Louis, MO)'s unsold stock when the store closed in 1974. It documents the types of published music typically sold to musicians and band ensembles in the U.S. Midwest during the first half of the 20th century. Also includes a small number of collector photographs documenting Midwestern classical music and opera performers at the turn of the 20th century and records related to local music teacher Robert Lehrmann (1879-1948) and the Gibson School of Music (1889-1937).
The University of Illinois purchased nearly 750,000 pieces of unsold sheet music and unsold 78-rpm sound recordings after the Hunleth Music Co.'s closure in 1974. This collection reflects only a portion of the store's unsold inventory.
After 27 years as proprietor of the Standard Pulley & Foundry, Frank J. Hunleth, sold his shares in the company and opened the Hunleth Music Company in 1901, at the encouragement of his son, Joseph F. Hunleth. Frank J. Hunleth purchased a building located at 9 South Broadway, Saint Louis, Missouri, which was previously owned and occupied by A. T. Walo's Music Company. In 1908, Frank J. Hunleth's sons, Joseph F. Hunleth and Alois J. Hunleth, assumed management of the store. The Hunleth Music Co. moved to a larger building at 516 Locust Street in 1915, where it remained for nearly 40 years. Joseph F. Hunleth traveled to Europe yearly to buy music and instruments for the Hunleth Music Co., introducing Midwest musicians to music published outside the country. He bought sheet music in such a high volume that U.S. publishers would show him scores before deciding whether to publish them to guarantee sales. After the Locust building was purchased by First National Bank in 1952, the store moved to 415 North Broadway, where it remained until it closed in 1974. Joseph and Alois Hunleth operated the company as partners until Alois's death from a heart attack in 1959. Joseph continued to operate the company as sole owner until his death in 1968, when ownership of the company passed to Joseph's widow, Violet B. Hunleth. She retained ownership until the company's closure in 1974. The building housing the music company was demolished to make way for the Mercantile Center between 1975-1979, a redevelopment project that was never completed.
The Hunleth Music Company's store consisted of five floors of music instruments and sheet music, making it an important hub for the music trade in the Midwest. Hunleth Music Co. also dealt in rare instruments and specialized in imported violins from makers in Germany, Italy, and France. It carried Victor, Columbia, and Brunswick sound recordings; Victorolas; and radiolas; and it had its own radio department, indicating that the store not only served musicians but also music listeners. The store also sold tickets for concerts and performances for acts like Bily May and Count Basie at the Casa-Loma Ballroom in Saint Louis connecting the store to St. Louis local music scene. Hunleth Music Co. was the gathering site for musicians both unknown and well-known, such as Fritz Kreisler, Jascha Heifetz, Mischa Elman, Yehudi Menuhim, and Rudolph Ganz. According to a long-time employee, it had "the gemutlicheit of the easy-going business" that attracted customers to the "wonderful family-like organization." In its heyday the Hunleth Music Co. held over a million copies of sheet music and the largest collection of 78-rpm sound recordings in St. Louis.
Accordion
Autoharp music
Bands (Music)
Banjo music
Business Records
Correspondence
Guitar music
Hawaiian guitar music
Mandolin music
Music stores
Photographs
Teaching Methods
Zither music
Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music
Acquisition Source: J. F. Hunleth Music Store.
Acquisition Method: Purchase of unsold stock upon closure of the J. F. Hunleth Music Store, 415 N. Broadway, St. Louis, Missouri. The band octavos were transferred from the Press Building basement to the Center in November 2017, and the banjo, mandolin, Hawaiian and steel guitar, zither, and autoharp sheet music was transferred from the Press Building on April 16, 2018. The accordion, bandonian, and concertina sheet music and method books were transferred from the Press Building on December 6, 2018. The silent movie music was transferred from the Press Building on January 8, 2019.
Ann D. Diers, 21 Folk Spng Arrangments for Autoharp Guitar or Zither. Pieces include: "The Old Lady Swallowed a Fly"; "Grandma Grunts"; "The Riddle Song"; "I Know Where I'm Goin'"; "Simple Gifts"; "At the Gate of Heaven"; "Were You There?"; "All Through the Night"; "Christmas Eve is Here"; "Sandy Land"; "Marching to Pretoria"; "Ol' Texas"; "The Winter it is Past"; "Ye Banks and Braes O' Bonnie Doon"; "Down in that Valley"; "The Bird Song"; "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier"; "I Know My Love"; "O Waly, Waly"; "Go 'Way from my Window"; "Holla-Hi, Holla-Ho";
George F. Root, "Abegail at Carmel"; Verdi, "Adia March"; Pierre Latour, "Airy Flight Waltz"; Bohm, "Alpine Flower"; Claude Melnotte, "Angels' Visits Song" with "Hymn";
Dorothy Davis, Autoharp Accomaniments to Songs from Music Everywhere. Pieces include: "Alouette"; "Down in the Valley"; "Lead Through that Sugar and Tea"; "If I Could Fly"; "Polly-Wolly-Doodle"; "The Green Dress"; "Strike Up a Waltz Tune"; "Pretty Margarita"; "Sing Together"; "Sinclair Bold"; "La Cucaracha"; "Palapala"; "The Sailor" (O Marinheiro); "Aloha Oe"; "An Old World Tune"; "A Fall Lullaby"; "Farewell to Santa Lucia"; "The Holly and the Ivy"; "Shool"; "Wake Up, Day is Breaking"; "Hail and Farewell"; "Ivan Skivitsky Skivar"; "Old Brass Wagon"; "Joy to the World"; "Full Chorus!"; "Ring, Ring the Banjo"; "The Seasons"; "A Night Voyage"; "A Picture in Memory"; "Noah's Ark"; "The White Dove"; "The Music of the Bells"; "In a Boat"; "Over the Meadows"; "Riches and Power"; Country Evening"; "Queen of the Night"; "Weather"; "If I had the Wings"; "The Shepard's Pie"; "Sing-a-Ling-a-Ling"; "Bavarian Tune"; "Minka"; "A Ladies of Cadiz"; "An Olf Legend"; "Fiesta"; "The Arkansaw Traveler"; "The Steer Roper"; "Tramp Away!"; "Cape Cod Chantey"; "La Cuisiniere"; "Song of Hope"; "Lincoln and Liberty"; "Shuckin' of the Corn"; "Si Senor"; "The Little Pie"; "The Forest Ranger"; "San Serverino"; "Chickadee"; "Danza"; "Autumn Fancies"; "So Far Away"; "Sunday"; "Cielito Lindo";
Unidentified, "Beautiful Moonlight"; Millocker, "Beggar Student Waltz"; Gus Williams, Behind the Parlor Door"; George W. Persley, "You'll Weep When I am Dead"; Lamotte, "Bella Waltz"; J. H. McNaughton, "Belle Mahone"; H. M. Estabrooke, "For You We Are Praying at Home"; E. Mack, "Bertie's Waltz"; John R. Sweney, "Betty and the Baby"; A. P. Danks, "My Little Lost Irene"; Unidentified, "Bluemelein Blau Und Grau"; Unidentified, "Rosalie"; Suppe, "Boccaccio March"; Desormes, "Boulanger's March"; Unidentified, "Campaign March"; Lanner, "Morning Star Waltz"; Millocker, "Carlotta Waltz"; Unidentified, "Cast Aside"; A. J. Abbey, "The Christian's Hope; Or, 'Tis Sweet, Oh! Sweet to Die"; Unidentified, "In the Shadow of the Rock"; Unidentified, "Come Back to Erin"; Will L. Thompson, "Come Where the Lillies Bloom"; H. E. Gordon, "Con-E-Maugh"; Mendelssohn, "Consolation"; Unidentified, "There's Music in the Air"; Barcarolle, "Ensenore"; Emmet, "Cookoo Song"; Unidentified, "Daisy Bell"; Cherry, "Dear Little Shamrock"; Unidentified, "My Old Wife and I"; Unidentified, "Den Schoenen Heil"; Bernhard Fritz, "Der Geigerfranzl Aus'm Bohmerwald" (Marsch); Unidentified, "Der Guit Kamerad"; Unidentified, "Nun Ade, Du Mein Lieb Heimatland"; Unidentified, "Plantation Echo"; Unidentified, "Der J�¤ger Abschied"; Unidentified, "Zweite Hursharfe"; Unidentified, "Der Liebes Kuss, Von F. Wagner"; Unidentified, "Die Capelle"; Unidentified, "Der Soldat"; Unidentified, "Forschen Nach Gott"; Wilhelm, "Die Wacht Am Rhein"; Unidentified, "Der Wirthin Toechterlein"; Unidentified, "Donra Waltz"; Unidentified, "Down on the Farm"; Unidentified, "Dream Faces".
Carl Faust, "Erinnerrung An Petersdorf"; Jakobowski, "Erminie March"; M. Clark, "Ethel Waltz"; Robert Thallon, "Evening Song"; Foley Hall, "Ever of Thee"; Unidentified, "Mabel Waltz"; Pierre Latour, "Fairy Step March"; Chassaigne, "Falka" (Selections); George Boardman, "Farewell Marguerite"; Bucalossi, "Fedora Waltz"; Unidentified, "The First Love"; Mrs. M. S. B. Dana, "Flee As a Bird"; Robert Thallon, "Florence Gavotte"; Giese, "Floweret Forget-Me-Not Gavotte"; Wilhelm Popp, "Forget-Me-Not (Vergissmeinnicht)";
Frances Hall's Christmas Songs for the Autoharp. Pieces include: "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"; "O Tannenbaum"; "Deck the Halls"; "O Little Town of Bethlehem"; "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"; "Christmas Eve is Here"; "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"; "The First Noel"; "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen"; "Shepherds at the Cradle"; "O Come, All Ye Faithful"; "Jingle Bells"; "Pat-a-Pan"; "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"; "The Friendly Beasts"; "Up on the House-Top"; "The Holly and the Ivy"; "Coventry Carol"; "OLeave Your Sheep"; "Although You Are So Tiny"; "Chrit Was Born on Christmas Day"; "We Three Kings of Orient Are"; "Angels We Have Heard on High"; "Away in a Manger"; "Ring Out Ye Bells"; "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas"; "Lo, How a Rose E're Blooming"; "What Child is This?"; "Silent Night"; "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks"; "Fairest Lord Jesus"; "Joy to the World!";
Unidentified, "Frohe Botschaft"; Unidentified, "Schier Dreissig Jahre Bist Du Alt"; Unidentified, "Guter Mond"; Watson, "The Frolic of the Frogs Waltz"; Unidentified, "Gallopade of the Note-Monopol"; Unidentified, "Der Madchenfeind"; Will L. Thompson, "Good Night Gentle Folks"; Louis, "Happy Little Folks March"; Louis, "Happy Little Folks Polka"; Louis, "Happy Little Folks Waltz"; Unidentified, "The Harp That Once Thro' Tara's Halls"; Unidentified, "Love's Young Dream"; Neil Moret, "Hiawatha"; Unidentified, "High School Cadets March"; Unidentified, "Hobe Ultersfreuden"; Unidentified, "Home Again"; Unidentified, "Auld Lang Syne"; Unidentified, "Homeward Bound"; Unidentified, "Alletta"; Unidentified, "Greenville"; Unidentified, "I Like the Home"; Unidentified, "Robinson Crusoe" (Waltz); Unidentified, "You Know That Very Well"; Unidentified, "Inaguguration Polka"; Unidentified, "Scottish Polka"; Charles G. Klier, "In Wilder Hast" (Gallop); E. Jakobouski, "Join in Plesure"; Lichner, "Joy and Good Fortune"; Unidentified, "Joy Bells Right To-Day"; Handel, "Angels Ever Bright and Fair"; Adam Geibel, "Joys of Spring"; Angle I. Blaney, "Jeffries' Yacht Club Waltz"; C. L. Ward "Juliette Waltz"; Unidentified, "Passaic Waltz".
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