Does anyone have a list of what I should look for when buying vintage sheet music?
I have come across a very large collection of sheet music and would like to be a little more informed before making purchases. Some of these items date back as far as the 1910’s up into the 1960’s.
Look for condition – sheets with tears, rips, or dog-ears are not as desirable. Make sure that pages that should be attached to each other are attached.
Look for well known titles.
Look for well known composers. Gershwin, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Rodgers and Hammerstein, etc. are examples from the golden age of songwriting.
Look for sheets that have well known performers pictured on the front, especially if the songs are from early in their career.
Look for copyright date. If there is only one copyright date at the bottom of the page chances are it is the original edition. If anything says revised edition, copyright renewal or has additional copyright dates then it is probably a reprinting – not that it’s bad, especially if you like the music or can’t find any other editions.
If you could find a mint copy of a famous song from the early 1900’s by a famous composer with his or a singers picture on it with the original copyright date, then you would have a nice collector’s piece.
Don’t overlook the unusual items either. I once found a copy of “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic” by Bratton , copyright 1907. Not a well known composer or song but most people have probably heard it at some point in their life especially if they ever watched old cartoons!
Hope this gives you some guidelines. Wish I could be there to look over your shoulder and grab a few gems myself. Have fun.
Musician,composer,teacher.
Sheet Music: Dating Entertainment for Women
|
|
Violin, Sing the Blues for Me: African-American Fiddlers 1926-1949 $15.52 Nearly essential for anyone interested in old-time music, Violin, Sing the Blues for Me may be quite simply the best single-disc anthology of the early 20th century black string-band movement available today. The emphasis here is on the bluesy fiddle playing heard between 1926 and 1949, but the music boasts reams of diverse styles and playing that is simply impossible to pigeonhole. Andrew B… |
|
|
Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings $9.05 Gene Autry is known as the Christmas Cowboy and this special digitally remastered Christmas collection was produced in conjunction with the Gene Autry Estate. This release is like no other Gene Autry Christmas collection. Not only does it contain every original Columbia Records Christmas song he recorded, but it also features in the eight-page booklet rare art from the original record release… |
|
|
Cafe De Paris $12.98 … |
|
|
The Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection (Babes in Arms / Babes on Broadway / Girl Crazy / Strike Up the Band) $36.99 No Description Available.Genre: Feature Film-DramaRating: NRRelease Date: 25-SEP-2007Media Type: DVD… |
|
|
Astaire & Rogers Ultimate Collector’s Edition (Flying Down to Rio / The Gay Divorcee / Roberta / Top Hat / Follow the Fleet / Swing Time / Shall We Dance / Carefree / The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle / The Barkleys of Broadway) $99.98 Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 10/24/2006… |
|
|
Vintage Snare Drums – The Curotto Collection: Volume 1: Rare American-Made 1900s to 1940s $8.86 Move over guitar collectors, it’s time to give the drummers some ink. One of the world’s most valuable collections of vintage snare drums is presented in this beautiful, full-color gift book. The snare drum collector’s market is heating up, becoming the n… |
|
|
Norman’s Rare Guitars: 30 Years of Buying Selling & Collecting $35.77 Norman’s Rare Guitars features some of the guitars from one man’s collection — a look at the last 30 years of buying, selling, and collecting guitars. It includes 276 pages of breathtaking full-color images of the finest collection of vintage guitars in… |
Tags: history, library, music, reference, sheetmusic