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Jay T. Last sheet music collection
Nineteenth century
Travel

Visual Materials

Travel

Description

The Travel subseries is comprised of sheet music dating from 1824 to 1899 and is dedicated to travel within the United States (U.S.) and abroad. Numerous scores focus on U.S. travel destinations like California, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Additionally, there are scores dedicated to foreign travel destinations such as Canada, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Switzerland.

The collection also includes multiple scores dedicated to New York State and City, featuring a first edition copy of "New York, or Oh! What a Charming City!" published in 1831 by G.M. Bourne in New York. The cover of this edition showcases one of the earliest American lithographs of the city. Lastly, there is a small section of scores dedicated to historic hotels, primarily in Massachusetts, Missouri, and New York (The Astor House), along with a small representation of hotels in Canada.

Type

Visual Materials(Opens in new tab)

Date

approximately 1824-1899

Call number

priJLC_SMUS

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Creator

Last, Jay T(Opens in new tab)

Provenance

Gift of Jay T. Last, 2005.

Gift of Jay T. Last, 2010-2019.

Gift of Jay T. Last, 2023.

Restrictions

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

Rights

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 permission rests with the researcher.

Find out more

View in the Library catalog(Opens in new tab)

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Travel
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The Travel subseries comprises sheet music dating from 1900 to 1962 and is dedicated to travel within the United States (U.S.) with a small number of scores dedicated to travel abroad. The scores focus on destinations, including California, New York, Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America, England, Europe, Mexico, and Polynesia. This subseries also includes a folder of travel-related scores with inconspicuous destinations.
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Industry and professions
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The Industry and professions subseries comprises sheet music published between 1900 and 1992. Materials cover a broad range of topics, including education, fashion, finance, firefighting, food and beverage, horticulture, household, maritime, film, printing and publishing, and industry. Topics to note include odes to Berkeley, Stanford, Princeton, the University of Washington, Yale, as well as aspects of academic life. There are also scores dedicated to fashion, highlighting a variety of trendy clothing styles worn during the 20th century. The scores devoted to finance and firefighting focus on currency, firefighters, and the Iroquois Theatre fire of 1903 (Chicago, Illinois). Scores devoted to horticulture and the household focus on flowers, plants, and household items. Other scores cover popular food choices and beverages, including Budweiser beer, as well as grocery stores and eateries. The maritime scores featured in this subseries place emphasis on seafaring life and steamships. Included topics are the Panama Canal, the steamers Island Queen, Virginia, Lusitania, Titanic, and Whippoorwill. The scores centering on other industries highlight the New York Press and the Pittsburgh Gazette. Lastly, the subseries incorporates a number of scores dedicated to titans of industry, including Miracle Man dedicated to American inventor and businessman Thomas Edison, The Copper King dedicated to American businessman and author Thomas W. Lawson, and The Steel King dedicated to American steel magnate Charles M. Schwab.
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The Politics subseries holds sheet music dating from 1825 to 1893, and mainly contains sheet music dedicated to the legal, political, and social landscapes of 19th-century America with some focus on foreign legal, political, and social landscapes as well. Many of the scores focus on the Democratic, Republican, and Whig parties, U.S. Congress, governors, and presidents such as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, William Henry Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland, James A. Garfield, Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and William McKinley. Other notable figures include Henry Clay, Governor Silas Wright of New York, and Daniel Webster. The subseries also includes scores dedicated to foreign affairs and dignitaries from Canada, Europe, Great Britain, the Middle East, and South America, including Napoleon Bonaparte, Henry VIII, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, Prince Edward II, King Charles I, and Abdul Assiz the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Lastly, there is a small section of scores dedicated to the Reconstruction era, the temperance movement, and poverty, along with a small representation of police forces and postal workers throughout the U.S. Key scores to note are "Get Off The Track!" an emancipation song performed by the Hutchinson Family Singers, and "The Prize Banner Quick Step," a Whig Party campaign score composed and arranged by D.H. Haskell.
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Nineteenth century
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