Finding Aid for David Woolf Sheet Music Collection, 1861-1978 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

By Carol Berthold

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Collection Overview

Title: David Woolf Sheet Music Collection, 1861-1978

ID: 12/9/170

Primary Creator: David Woolf (ca. 1920 - ca. 2010s)

Extent: 0.75 cubic feet

Arrangement: There was no original order. Therefore, programs, song and instruction books and materials are grouped by the type of material and then alphabetically by folder title. Sheet music is organized alphabetically by title.

Date Acquired: 03/11/2021

Subjects: Harry Partch

Formats/Genres: Musical instruments, Music instruction, Sheet music, Song books

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Consists of Playbills and souvenir programs from selected musicals and ballet performances; songbooks and hymn books; instruction books and charts for dancing and learning ukulele, banjo and flute; photographs of instruments built by Harry Partch; publications about organizing folk games, plays, minstrel shows and music; instructional books for learning to play the flute and the clarinet; and sheet music, mostly of popular songs of the 20th century..

Biographical Note

David Woolf (born ca. 1920s) was a professional musician. His wife, Roslyn Mae Boxerman Woolf, was a graduate of the University of Illinois, the second graduate of the modern dance program. David and Roslyn were married on June 29, 1952, They lived in the Chicago area.

Subject/Index Terms

Harry Partch

Administrative Information

Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Acquisition Source: Mick Woolf

Acquisition Method: Gift

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1],
[Box 2],
[All]

Box 1

Folder 1: Ballet: Pieces Performed by Anna Pavlova, ca. 1920: Brief descriptions of ballet pieces performed in 1920 by Anna Pavlova. With photos.
Folder 2: Instruction Book: Peters' Improved School for the Future, 1862: J.L. Peters, New York.
Folder 3: Instruction Books: Winner's Primary School for the Flute; Winner's Perfect Guide for the Flute, 1861, 1872: Oliver Ditson & Co., Boston, 1861. S. Brainard's Sons, 1872.
Folder 4: Instruction Book: Lazarus Clarinet School - A New and Modern Method for Clarinet, 1905: For Boehm and Ordinary System. Paul De Ville (Carl Fischer, New York).
Folder 5: Instructional Materials: Flute, Ukulele, Banjo, Ukulele - Banjo, 1917-1957: Basic and Trill Charts for the Boehm Flute, E.C. Moore (E.C. Moore, Kenosha, WI), 1957. The At-a-Glance Illustrated Self Instructor for Ukulele and Ukulele-Banjo (William J. Smith Music, New York), 1927. The Original Guckert's Chords for the Ukulele, E.N. Guckert (Union Music Co., Toledo, OH), 1917. Easy Method How to Play the Tenor-Banjo (William J. Smith Co., New York), 1926. Winn's How to Play Melody on the Uke and Banjo - Uke (Winn School of Popular Music, New York), undated.
Folder 6: Instructional Materials: Dancing, 1924-1951: The World of Fun Series of Records for Folk Games, Larry Eisenberg (Methodist Publishing House: Nashville, TN, 1951): Lists recordings and directions for dancing to the recordings. Gymnastic and Folk Dancing, Vol. V, Clogs and Jigs, Mary Wood Hinman (A.S. Barnes and Co., New York, 1924): Instructions and diagrams for specific dances.
Folder 7: Photographs of Instruments Build by Harry Partch and Heard in His Recorded Music, 1957: Also includes details on each instrument: date and place built, size, materials used, tones.
Folder 8: Playbills: Programs from Plays, Operas, Ballets, Special Events, ca. 1920s-1956: Includes: Chicago Stagebill, "Lady Windermere's Fan," by Oscar Wilde, Sunday, Feb. 1, 1948. Chicago Stagebill, "Ballet Theater" (I. Swan Lake, II. Peter and the Wolf, III. Fancy Free), Dec. 31, 1949. Chicago Stagebill, "Ballet Theater," Opera House Spring Season, 1951 (I. Swan Lake, II. Rodeo, III. Caprichos, IV. Helen of Troy). Chicago Stagebill, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," Jule Styne, lyrics by Leo Robin, Sept., 1951. Chicago Stagebill, "Ballet Theatre" (I. Les Demoiselles de la Nuit, II. Schumann Concerto, III. Caprichos, IV. Les Patineurs). Kungsholm Miniature Grand Opera Theater, "I Pagliacci," undated. "An Evening of Ernest Bloch Music," March 31, 1956. Ruth St Denis, Ted Shawn and Denishawn Dancers, Souvenir Program, ca. 1920s
Folder 9: Song Books, 1926-1929: "A Purim Songster,' A.W. Binder (Bloch Publishing Co., New York, 1929. "The Jews in Egypt," Operetta, Samuel E. Goldfarb, libretto by Samuel S. Grossman (Jewish Songster Publishing Co., Brooklyn, NY, 1926).
Folder 10: Talent Show Material: The Entertainer, Series 10, 1935: Songs, skits, minstrel shows, plays.