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Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Guide to the Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 19: Art and Literature
Summary
- Collection ID:
- NMAH.AC.0300.S19
- Creators:
-
DeVincent, Sam, 1918-1997
- Dates:
-
1830-1983undated
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
12 Boxes
- Repository:
Sam DeVincent loved music and art and began collecting sheet music with lithographs at an early age. Series 19, Art and Literature contains approximately 860 pieces of sheet music and other materials documenting popular attitudes towards art and literature in the United States. 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
Series 19, Art and Literature, 1830-1983, undated, contains approximately 860 pieces of sheet music and other materials documenting popular attitudes towards art and literature in the United State. The dates always refer to copyright of the music and not to the subject on the cover, songwriter's life, or other events. In addition, there are two folders of ephemera arranged in the same subseries order as the music listing, which is described following the Container List.
Subseries 1, Art and Artists, 1839-1977, undated, these songs and instrumental compositions reference fine arts and famous artists such as da Vinci.
Subseries 2, Cover Artists and Early Lithograph Covers, 1830-1931, undated, sheet music cover artists are the largest part of this section, which also includes daguerreotypes, die cut chromolithographs, and early lithographs. More than half of the items in this subseries are E. T. Paull covers. Also see Series 9.4 with images of men and women on the covers.
Subseries 3, Photography, 1848-1966, contains songs with "picture" in the title and songs about photography.
Subseries 4, Carving and Whittling, 1906-1947, most of the titles are about carving. Also see Series 12.1, Plants and Animals/Trees.
Subseries 5, Books, Diary, and Stories, 1849-1983, undated, contains songs about books and diaries; author Charles Dickens; and imaginary characters such as brownies, elves, fairies, gnomes, imps, and midgets.
Subseries 6, Poets and Poetry, 1836-1969, undated, contains songs about poets and poetry, including several with lyrics by, or inspired by, poets such as Browning, Longfellow, Riley, Shakespeare, and Tennyson.
Ephemera: Two folders are in Ephemera Box 67.
Material related to this series within the DeVincent Collection may be found in Series 9, Family and Community Life and Series 12, Plants and Animals.
Arrangement note
Arrangement note
Arranged in 7 subseries.
- 19.1: Art and Artists
- 19.2: Cover Artists and Early Lithograph Covers
- 19.3: Photography
- 19.4: Carving and Whittling
- 19.5: Books, Diary, and Stories
- 19.6: Poets and Poetry
- 19.7: 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
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
Series 19: Art and Literature forms part of the Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music .
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
