SAM DeVINCENT COLLECTION OF ILLUSTRATED AMERICAN SHEET MUSIC, ca. 1790 - 1987
#300

Container List

Series 1: TRANSPORTATION, ca. 1800-1980

by: Karen Linn, 1989

Subseries 1.1: Aeronautics, ca. 1850-1980

A - H, Airplanes, Vocal, ca. 1900-1979

Box 1

Folder

A, A - B
B, C - F
C, G - I'M
D, IN - K

Box 2

Folder

E, L - N
F, O - S
G, T - U

Box 3

Folder

H, V - Z

The bulk of the material is from the 1910s to the 1930s. Most of the sheet music has cover illustrations with airplanes. Many songs and covers feature a fanciful courtship and marriage theme. There are a few military items, but most depict airplanes used for leisure and travel. For military aeronautics, see Series 2: Armed Forces. A few European imprints are interspersed. (ca. 330 items)

I, Going Up, 1917;

All items are selections from the 1917 theatrical show Going Up with music by Louis A. Hirsch and the lyrics by Otto Harbach. (7 items)

J - L, Airplanes, Instrumental, ca. 1900-1979

Folder

J, A
K, B - R
L, S - Z

All of the music is for solo piano except for two accordion pieces. The 1910s is the most represented decade with many marches, waltzes, hesitation waltzes (including several copies of one by Arthur Pryor), two-steps, and some ragtime music. Sheet music dating after 1940 is mostly moving picture music or piano teaching aids. There are a few pieces with an armed forces theme. For military aeronautics, see series 2: Armed Forces. Most covers feature illustrations of airplanes. (ca. 125 items)

Box 4

M, Aeronautics, Professional Copy, 1910-1971:

This music was published for professional use and has no cover illustrations. The military material has been kept in this folder and series and is particularly rich with songs from World War II. Almost all the songs are about airplanes; also included are one song each for helicopters, parachuting and rockets. All items are piano or piano/vocal except for one band music conductor's score. (59 items)

N, Aeronautics, Instrumental Ragtime, ca. 1910-1919:

These pieces were designated as ragtime music by Sam DeVincent. Most are labeled as "ragtime," but some are called marches and two-steps. (13 items)

O, Women and Airplanes, ca. 1910-1949:

The bulk of the material is from 1910s to the 1920s. This folder does not include specific women air pilots (see folders P and T), rather it has images of women flying airplanes, riding in them, and wing walking on them (also one Rosie the Riveter and one song and cover about female flight attendants). Almost all have cover illustrations of women and airplanes. (37 items)

P, Air Pilots, Women, ca. 1910-1940:

This sheet music is dedicated to and/or has cover photographs of actual women air pilots. Also see folder T on Amelia Earhart and the first item in folder Q for Bessie G. Halladay. (6 items)

Q, Air Pilots, Men, 1909-1945:

These sheets are dedicated to and/or have illustrations or photographs of actual men air pilots. There is only one song to the Wright brothers, the following pilots have several songs in the folder: Art Smith, Charles Levine, Clarence D. Chamberlin, Capt. Hermann Koehl, Col. J. Fitzmaurice, and Baron E.G. Von Huenefeld. See also folders R-S and U-AA. (24 items)

R, Byrd, Richard E., 1926-1935: (6 items)

S, Corrigan, Douglas, 1938:

"Non-Stop" or "Wrong-Way" Corrigan's flight to Ireland (when he had intended to fly to the west coast of the U.S.) inspired these songs. (9 items)

T, Earhart, Amelia, 1928-1939: (4 items)

U, Rickenbacher, Eddie, 1919:

Both songs refer to his World War I military flying. (2 items)

V - AA, Lindbergh, Charles, 1927-1936:

Box 5

V, A - D
W, F - K
X, L Click here to view sample
Y, M - S
Z, T - Z
AA, Folios

These folders contain sheet music, two song folios and two music magazines. Charles Lindbergh was of particular interest to Sam DeVincent and this part of his collection is especially rich. The largest number of songs commemorate Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic flight of 1927. At a time when the New York City publishing houses dominated the popular sheet music industry, this event inspired small firms all across the country to print commemorative songs (for example: The Eagle of the Sea--"Montana's Official Lindbergh Song" published in Deer Lodge, Montana). The geographical diversity in this part of the collection is probably not equaled elsewhere. Many of the non-Northeastern imprints retain the older ballad form telling the story of Lindbergh's flight in Anglo-American folk style. Next to these songs are the Tin Pan Alley creations of composers such as Gus Kahn and George M. Cohan. Other song topics include Lindbergh's marriage to Anne, the birth of their son, the 1932 kidnapping of the Lindbergh child, songs about alleged kidnapper Bruno Hauptman, and even one song about the 1936 execution of Hauptman (published in Iran, Texas). (ca. 200 items)

BB - DD, Balloons, 1854-1963:

Box 6

BB, A - F
CC, G - R
DD, S - Z


The bulk of the material is from the 1890s to the 1920s. Items from the 1950s to the 1960s are moving picture music. Two covers from World War I depict military use of dirigibles. Five European imprints are included. Many of the pieces are instrumental (piano) marches, two-steps, or ragtime music. Some covers feature photographs of actual balloons or dirigibles or the battered remains of a wreck. Science fiction songs about space flight by balloon are also included. (ca. 125 items)

EE, Aeronautics Folios, 1912-1946:

Included in this folder are Ferde Grofe's Aviation Suite, a Christmas Cantata called Santa's Santaplane, band parts for the Air Force March and five song folios. (8 items)

Box 7

FF, Helicopters and Gliders, ca. 1930-1980:

Ten of the items in this folder are piano teaching aids. There is one accordion piece and one military glider piece written by Cole Porter in 1943. (16 items)

GG, Parachuting, 1898-1976:

Most of the items in this folder have a military theme and the bulk of the material is from the 1940s and 1950s. (12 items)

HH, Aeronautics, Fantastic and Fictional, 1886-1967:

The songs and covers in this folder range from the fantastic (such as Sally Field as the Flying Nun), to the speculative (Shall We Ever be Able to Fly? from 1894), to science fiction songs. See also folders on ballooning and space flight for science fiction songs. (7 items)

II - JJ, Space Flight, ca. 1920-1980:

II, A - MA


JJ, MO - Z

The bulk of material is from the 1960s. There are songs commemorating actual space expeditions and astronauts such as the lunar landing and the flight of John Glenn as well as science fiction songs. There are many songs from moving pictures and piano teaching aids. (70 items)

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