Visual Materials

Miscellaneous songs

Description: The Miscellaneous subseries comprises scores between 1900 and 1949 that focus on romance aside from marriage and subject matter that may not fall neatly within the previous seven subseries.
Type: Visual Materials(Opens in new tab)
Date: approximately 1900-1949
Call number: priJLC_SMUS
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.

Miscellaneous songs

Visual Materials

The Miscellaneous subseries comprises scores published between 1802 and 1896 whose subject matter may not fall neatly within the previous ten subseries.

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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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Military

Visual Materials

The Military subseries comprises sheet music published in the United States between 1900 and 1945. The scores shed light on aspects of World War I and World War II. Also included are scores dedicated to the American Civil War, foreign military campaigns, and other aspects of military life. A portion of scores, though military-related, are also patriotic in nature. Scores about World War I (WWI) touch upon bravery; enlistments, deployments, and homecomings; the French people, liberty; nostalgia; romance; branches of the United States military; patriotism; and the Red Cross. There are scores about the battle of Marne; General John J. Pershing, the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I; and Kaiser Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia. Also included are scores by popular Canadian composer and lyricist Lieutenant Gitz Rice, including Dear Old Pal of Mine, and Keep Your Head Down, Fritzie Boy. The scores within the World War II (WWII) category were published between 1939 and 1945 and have a similar message as those covering WWI, but with a heavy focus on victory. Subjects specifically covered include artillery, branches of the U.S. military, enlistment, homecomings, Kaiser Wilhelm II, patriotism, romance, war bonds, and the Women's Army Corps. (WAC). To note are comic songs der Fuehrer's Face, from the Walt Disney motion picture Donald Duck in Nutzi Land, written and composed by Oliver Wallace, and G.I. Jive, originally composed and performed by Johnny Mercer. Also included is the score Nimitz and Halsey and Me!, dedicated to five-star fleet admirals Chester W. Nimitz and William Bull Halsey, Jr. Other scores within the subseries focus on the American Revolution, the American Civil War, the Mexican War (1846-1848), the Second Boer War, and the Spanish-American War.

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Transportation

Visual Materials

The Transportation subseries comprises sheet music published between 1900 and 1956 and focuses on innovative modes of transportation in twentieth-century America. This includes airplanes, airships, automobiles, balloons, cable cars, jitneys, motorcycles, railroads, rolling chairs, streetcars, taxis, and wagons. Included are scores about American aviator, officer, and author Charles A. Lindbergh (1902-1974).

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Industry and professions

Visual Materials

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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Comic songs: A-L by title

Visual Materials

The Jay T. Last sheet music collection consists of approximately 34,950 scores dating from 1794 to 1998. It includes a wide range of American popular music styles, as well as scores published outside of the United States. The collection encompasses ballads, blues, comic songs, jazz, minstrel scores, military scores, patriotic melodies, pop, ragtime compositions, religious hymns, rhythm and blues hits, show tunes, soul music, and 1960s surf music. The scores comprise various editions of lyrical and instrumental compositions, some of which are ornately designed and, in some cases, bear the signatures of creators and performers. Many of the scores have sellers' marks printed on the covers. Some of the names found in the nineteenth-century series overlap with those in the twentieth-century series. It is also important to note that this collection contains historical images and language that some library users may find harmful, offensive, or inappropriate.

priJLC_SMUS

Miscellaneous songs

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Miscellaneous songs

Travel

Military

Transportation

Industry and professions

Comic songs: A-L by title