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upbeat than what came before.
While exploring just a few
months ago, I realized the period
between (1900 -1920) is also
very good.
After the 1920s, a major
change occurred as the focus
turned from the song itself to its
performers. The singers, movies,
or plays the songs came from were
featured more and more and the
artistry less and less.
Among the most interesting
early sheet music were published E.T. Paull
by E.T. Paull, who also composed
the music. These were published from the late 1800s
through the 1920s and used the old lithography but with
more colors and graphics than most others. Irving Berlin
had his own publishing company too.
By the 1950s, the singers were the primary focal
Irving Berlin in his
point and those who were collecting were probably more music publishing office
followers of the singers and musicians.

On Display
In this article, I am showing pieces from my collection
from the three-time periods listed above.
Below are a few names of sheet music from the 1800s
including three E.T. Paulls from the 1890s. The Minnehaha
dates to the 1850s, Lilac Waltz 1889, the Mermaid Polka
1850, Lida Lee 1877, and Lorena 1857. Lorena, one of the
best-known songs among the Civil War troops, is a song
of separation from a loved one. Most of the pieces from this
period survived by being bound into a book and
later separated.
-A Warm Up in Dixie -Lilac
-Huskin Dance -We’ll stand by the Flag
Below are four examples from 1900 to 1920, all
produced in the larger format size, that cover the first
World War. There were many military or patriotic songs
published in 1917 and 1918.
-Alexander’s Ragtime Band
-They Called it Dixieland
-I’m on my way to Mandalay
-The Homecoming March
These next examples are from the 1920s. The first, My
Blue Heaven, was the best selling song of its era and heavily
covered. It is an acquired taste as it sounds very different
than anything today and even back then.
-My Blue Heaven -Kiss Me Goodnight
-Sweetheart Land -Old Man Sunshine

Research
There is not a lot of literature for American sheet music
from the 1920s and earlier. The best I have found is the Leon
Levy collection at Johns Hopkins found online at levysheetmu-
sic.mse.jhu.edu. This collection has over 29,000 different
pieces, much of which is online. (Click on this linked paragraph
to learn more.)

Jeremy Blum collects vintage advertising and space-age items.
He is a Board Member of the Antique Advertising Association of
America. He has also created spaceagedesign.org which includes
much of his space-age collection.
This article originally appeared in the January 2021 issue of
Checkerboard, published by the Antique Advertising Association
of America, and reprinted with permission from AAAA and the
author, Jeremy Blum.

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