Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 7: Sports

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0300.S07
Creators:
DeVincent, Sam, 1918-1997
Dates:
1834-1983
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
11 Boxes
Repository:
Sam DeVincent loved music and art and began collecting sheet music with lithographs at an early age. Series 7: Sports contains 1,254 pieces of sheet music and song folios. Most of the sheet music is either piano or piano/ vocal arrangements. An overview to the entire DeVincent collection is available here: Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music.

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
Some of the subseries in Series 7: SPORTS are identified utilizing DeVincent's original subject terms. In addition, the archivist has introduced other subseries titles Gambling and Games of Chance; Olympics, Sleighs and Sledding. This series contains 1,254 pieces of sheet music and song folios. Most of the sheet music is either piano or piano/ vocal arrangements. The material dates from 1834 to 1983. Some nineteenth-century imprints are not dated.
The song sheets in this series are arranged into sixteen subseries and alphabetically there under. The largest subseries are Baseball (7.1) with 301 items and Football (7.4) with 239 items . The Football subseries contains mainly University and College football songs. The items in the folders are arranged by the name of the University and/or College and there under alphabetically. These institutions of higher learning are listed in the finding aid at the beginning of each folder. A small number of football and sports songs may be found in the University and College song Folios, which are located in unprocessed boxes under DeVincent's topical title "University and College."
Nineteenth-century lithographic illustrations may be found on song sheets in several subseries including Fishing (7.3), Football (7.4), Hunting (7.8), Ice Skating (7.9), and Sleighs and Sledding (7.14). Pieces of music from operas "Der Freischutz" by Weber and "Cinderella" by Rossini may be found in the Hunting subseries. The Motion Picture Production folder in the Ice Skating subseries (7.9) contains mainly songs from Ice Review movies with Sonja Henie.

Arrangement note

Arrangement note
Arranged in 17 subseries.
  • 7.1: Baseball
  • 7.2: Boxing
  • 7.3: Fishing
  • 7.4: Football
  • 7.5: Gambling and Games of Chance
  • 7.6: Golf
  • 7.7: Horse Racing
  • 7.8: Hunting
  • 7.9: Ice Skating
  • 7.10: Olympics
  • 7.11: Ping Pong
  • 7.12: Roller Skating
  • 7.13: Skiing
  • 7.14: Sleighs and Sledding
  • 7.15: Sports, Miscellaneous
  • 7.16: Tennis
  • 7.17: Ephemera

Administration

Author
NMAH Staff
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
This collection was purchased by the Smithsonian Institution in 1988 from Sam and Nancy Lee DeVincent.

Digital Content

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Using the Collection

Preferred Citation note
The Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use note
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Materials in Other Organizations

Materials in Other Organizations
Sam DeVincent Collection of American Sheet Music, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
This collection contains duplicates of materials in the Smithsonian collection, as well as materials acquired by Mr. DeVincent after the donation to the Smithsonian. The phonograph records described above were transferred to the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Donald J. Stubblebine Collection of Musical Theater and Motion Picture Sheet Music and Reference Material, 1843-2010 (AC1211)

Forms Part Of

Forms Part Of
An ongoing, updated list of DeVincent topical series is available via the Smithsonian finding aid portal.

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu