Chicago Sheet Music Collection, 1845-1871 | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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Collection Overview

Title: Chicago Sheet Music Collection, 1845-1871

ID: 01/01/MSS00115

Primary Creator: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Library

Extent: 6.0 Cubic Feet. More info below.

Arrangement:

Arrangement reflects original ordering by the University Library in 15 volumes, which is primary ordered chronologically by acquisition date, then alphabetically by composer last name and title of the composition within volumes.

Volume 1: alphabetically by composer last name then title.

Volumes 2-5: chronologically by publication date across volumes (v. 2 1849-1861, v. 3 1862-1865, v. 4 1865-1871, v. 5 1871- undated) then alphabetically by composer and title within each volume.

Volumes 6-7, 9-11 contain imprints ordered alphabetically by composer last name and title across volumes in the following order: v.6 (A-E), v. 7 (F-K), v. 11 (L-O), v. 9 (R-V), v. 10 (W).

Volume 8 and volumes 12-15 are ordered alphabetically by composer last name and title within each volume.

The physical collection has been rehoused into 20 boxes, ordered continuously by item based off of the original call and volume numbers. See the finding aid for a box/item listing.

Date Acquired: 08/01/1939

Subjects: H. M. Higgins (Publisher), Higgins Brothers (Chicago, Ill.), Lyon & Healy, Music publishing -- Illinois -- Chicago, Root & Cady, United States - History - Civil War, 1861-1865

Forms of Material: Sheet Music

Languages: English, French, German, Italian

Abstract

A collection of 19th century sheet music printed in Chicago, Illinois before the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Chicago Sheet Music Collection is a collection of 19th century sheet music printed in Chicago, Illinois before the Great Fire of 1871. It consists of a wide range of popular music from the time, including popular vocal and piano pieces, songs, ballads, waltzes, polkas, marches, comic pieces, opera selections, and parlor music. Thematic strengths include the American Civil War; stage shows and productions by comic actors, opera stars, minstrel performers, and family singing troupes; Chicago businesses and social organizations; and social issues such as temperance, reconstruction, and women's suffrage.

The items in the collection were predominantly published by the Chicago firms Root & Cady, H.M. Higgins, Lyon & Healy, and the DeMotte Brothers and their associated national imprints. Consisting of approximately 850 items, the collection was assembled by the University of Illinois Library between 1939-1943. Volumes 1-5, 8, 12, 14 and 15 contain music published and printed in Chicago, while volumes 6-7, 9-11, 13, and 15 contain imprints published in other American cities with Chicago distributors.

Collection Historical Note

In 1939, the University of Illinois began collecting sheet music printed in Chicago before the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 in response to renewed interest in the academic community regarding Chicago’s role in music publishing during the Civil War and before the Fire. The Fire devastated the Chicago music industry, destroying the storefronts and inventories of most of the publishing houses. As a result, only one pre-Fire firm survived into the 20th century and information about the scale and national reach of the Chicago music publishing industry was largely forgotten. Between 1939 and 1943, the University Library amassed over 850 pieces of sheet music that either were printed in or would have been available in Chicago before 1871.

In 1941 the University Library hired a student assistant from the Library Science program to catalog and arrange the collection, Dena J. Polacheck Epstein (1916-2013). Epstein, who had a bachelor’s degree in music was inspired to write her master’s thesis, Music Publishing in Chicago before 1871: the Firm of Root & Cady, 1858-1871, using the Illinois collection, which was later serially published in the Music Library Association of America Notes journal between 1944-1946 and in a revised book edition in 1969, which has remained an influential work in the study of early American music publishing. Epstein later became a noted Music Librarian at the University of Chicago and an ethnomusicologist, best known for her foundational scholarship into early American Black folk music and her 1977 book Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War.

Sources:

Epstein, Dena. Interview by Chris D’Arpa. 14 March, 2008. Voices of Illinois Oral History Portal, University of Illinois Archives. https://www.library.illinois.edu/voices/collection-item/dena-epstein/, Accessed 28 February. 2023.

Epstein, Dena Julia Polacheck. “Music Publishing in Chicago Prior to 1871 : the Firm of Root & Cady, 1858-1871”. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1943.

Epstein, Dena J. Polacheck. Music Publishing in Chicago before 1871 : the Firm of Root & Cady, 1858-1871. Detroit: Information Coordinators, 1969.

Epstein, Dena J. "Music Publishing" in Encyclopedia of Chicago, Chicago: Chicago Historical Society, 2005

University of Illinois Library. Annual Report 1939-1940. University of Illinois Archives, 35/1/801.

Subject/Index Terms

H. M. Higgins (Publisher)
Higgins Brothers (Chicago, Ill.)
Lyon & Healy
Music publishing -- Illinois -- Chicago
Root & Cady
United States - History - Civil War, 1861-1865

Administrative Information

Repository: Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Alternate Extent Statement: 20 boxes (853 items)

Access Restrictions: The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions:

The RBML reproductions policies can be found here:

http://www.library.illinois.edu/rbx/collections/reproduction-services/

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study scholarship or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would damage materials or involve violation of copyright law.

Acquisition Source: Purchased

Acquisition Method: Acquired between 1939-1943 through purchase installments from various rare book dealers including Edward H. Terry, L. E. Dicke, Fred Lockley, Wellman and Harry Dichter.

Related Publications: Epstein, Dena J. Polacheck. Music Publishing in Chicago before 1871: the Firm of Root & Cady, 1858-1871. Detroit: Information Coordinators, 1969.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1],
[Box 2],
[Box 3],
[Box 4],
[Box 5],
[Box 6],
[Box 7],
[Box 8],
[Box 9],
[Box 10],
[Box 11],
[Box 12],
[Box 13],
[Box 14],
[Box 15],
[Box 16],
[Box 17],
[Box 18],
[Box 19],
[Box 20],
[All]

Box 11

Volume 9

Item 27: "I'm lonely since my Mother died: song & chorus," comp. and lyrics by H.S. Thompson, 1863: Piano, voice. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).
Item 28: "Consider the lilies" (from Sabbath Evenings. A collection of songs, duets, trios and quartets), comp. and lyrics by Topliff, 1854: Piano, voice. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).
Item 29: "The Burman Lover: Oh come with me in my little canoe," comp. and lyrics by Louis Tripp, 1851: Piano, voice. Published by D.P. Faulds & Co. (Louisville).
Item 30: "Do not heed her warning," comp. Henry Tucker, lyrics by Thomas Manahan, 1866: Piano, voice. Published by C.M. Tremaine (New York).
Item 31: "Early Spring waltz," comp. J.W. Turner, 1870: Piano. Published by C.H. Ditson & Co. (New York).
Item 32: "The Fairy Wedding Waltz," comp. J.W. Turner, 1863: Piano. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).
Item 33: "Fairy Land Schottisch," comp. Van der Weyde, 1854: Piano. Published by Horace Waters (New York).
Item 34: "La Clochette," comp. Charles Voss, before 1871: Piano. Published by Wm. A. Pond & Co. (New York).
Item 35: "Yohn Schmidt, or, the Dutchman's Philosophy: a comic song", 1858: Piano, voice. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).

Volume 10

Item 1: "Bird of the Greenwood," comp. Wm. Vincent Wallace, lyrics by Felicia Hemans, 1866: Piano, voice. Published by Wm. Hall & Son (New York).
Item 2: "Bobolink Polka," comp. George William Warren, 1855: Piano. Published by O. Ditson & Co. (Boston).
Item 3: "The Andes: March di Bravura," comp. George William Warren, before 1871: Piano. Published by Wm. A. Pond & Co. (New York).
Item 4: "The Whirlwind: tarantelle imitative," comp. George Wm. Warren, 1863: Piano. Published by Wm. A. Pond & Co. (New York).
Item 5: "Wearing of the Green," comp. Dion Boucicault, arr. S. Behrens, lyrics by Dion Boucicault, 1865: Piano, voice. Published by Chas. W.A. Trumpler (Philadelphia).
Item 6: "Polacca Brillante," comp. C.M. von Weber, before 1871: Piano. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).
Item 7: "Don't be sorrowful, darling: song and chorus," comp. J.P. Webster, lyrics by Alice Cary, 1862: Piano, voice. Published by J.L. Peters (New York).
Item 8: "Lorena," comp. J.P. Webster, lyrics by H.D.L. Webster, 1857: Piano, voice. Published by J.L. Peters (New York).
Item 9: "Sweet By and By," comp. J.P. Webster, lyrics by S. Filmore Bennett, 1868: Piano, voice. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).
Item 10: "La Harpe Aeolienne: for piano," comp. James M. Wehli, 1870: Piano. Published by C.H. Ditson & Co. (New York).
Item 11: "Marches des Amazones," comp. James M. Wehli, 1865: Piano. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).
Item 12: "Polka de Concert: pour piano," comp. James M. Wehli, 1865: Piano. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).
Item 13: "Sans souci: galop di bravura," comp. James M. Wehli, 1871: Piano. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).
Item 14: "La Coquette: Schottische de Salon," comp. Oscar Weil, before 1871: Piano. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).
Item 15: "Blue bird polka redowa" (from New Repertoire of Parlor Music and Dances as performed by Hassler's Orchestra, arranged for piano by Mark Hassler), comp. Weingarten, arr. Mark Hassler, 1865: Piano. Published by W.A. Trumpler (Philadelphia).
Item 16: "Beautiful Bells Waltz," comp. and arr. J. S. Knight, 1868: Piano. Published by C.H. Ditson & Co. (New York).
Item 17: "A motto for all. Never trouble trouble, till trouble troubles you," comp. W.F. Wellman Jr., lyrics by Geo. Cooper, 1871: Piano, voice. Published by C.H. Ditson & Co. (New York).
Item 18: "The Two Roses: song," comp. and lyrics by Werner, 1871: Piano, voice. Published by C.H. Ditson & Co. (New York).
Item 19: "Grand March Heroique," comp. B.A. Whaples, 1863: Piano. Published by Blelock & Co. (New York).
Item 20: "Lela Trefaine" (from 6 Beautiful Songs by A.B. Whiting; no. 3), comp. and lyrics by A.B. Whiting, 1866: Piano, voice. Published by C.J. Whitney (Detroit).
Item 21: "Concert March" (from Musical Photographs. A Collection of the most popular and beautiful melodies of the day, arranged as teaching pieces by D. Angelo; no. 54), comp. Wollenhaupt, arr. D. Angelo, 1864: Piano. Published by Wm. A. Pond & Co. (New York).
Item 22: "The Jewel Schottisch," comp. H.A. Wollenhaupt, 1853: Piano. Published by Firth, Pond, & Co. (New York).
Item 23: "Murmuring Zephyrs: Mazurka Brillante pour piano," comp. H.A. Wollenhaupt, 1863: Piano. Published by Wm. A. Pond & Co. (New York).
Item 24: "La Rose: romance favorite de L. Spohr," comp. L. Spohr, arr. H.A. Wollenhaupt, 1863: Piano. Published by Wm. A. Pond & Co. (New York).
Item 25: "Boz Schottisch," comp. J. Henry Wolsieffer, 1867: Piano. Published by G. Andre & Co. (Philadelphia).
Item 26: "Brilliant Jewels: A medley introducing popular melodies," comp. and arr. Addison P. Wyman, 1868: Piano. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).
Item 27: "Leaf by leaf the roses fall: Brilliant Variations" (from Brilliant Variations), comp. A.P. Wyman, 1868: Piano. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).
Item 28: "Widow in the cottage by the sea: arranged with brilliant variations" (from Brilliant Variations), comp. A.P. Wyman, 1871: Piano. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).
Item 29: "Evangeline: arranged with brilliant variations" (from Brilliant Variations), comp. Addison P. Wyman, 1869: Piano. Published by S. Brainard & Sons. (Cleveland).
Item 30: "Bell Waltz" (from Sparkling Jewels. A series of progressive and amusing pieces by Addison P. Wyman; no. 10), comp. Addison P. Wyman, 1867: Piano. Published by J.L. Peters (New York).

Volume 11

Item 1: "The First Kiss Waltz = Le Premier Baiser," comp. Georges Lamothe, before 1871: Piano. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).
Item 2: "Delta Phi Galop," comp. J.M. Lander, 1866: Piano. Published by Wm. A. Pond & Co. (New York).
Item 3: "From the inmost soul: aus tiefster seele" (from Compositions by Gustav Lange; op. 117), comp. Gustav Lange, before 1871: Piano. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).
Item 4: "The last waltzes of a maniac" (from Beautiful Leaves: A collection of favorite rondos, marches, quicksteps, waltzes, polkas, etc.), 1866: Piano. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).