Houghton’s Historical Sheet Music Collections have a wealth of music about Ireland; many songs are American, whether adaptations of traditional Irish tunes, or songs from Tin Pan Alley, Broadway musicals or vaudeville. Here are some examples in honor of Saint Patrick’s Day. [chorus] The minstrell boy to the war has gone, and bold Jack Donoghue…
Carlyle’s bequest
Upon the death of the Scottish philosopher, novelist, historian, and mathematician Thomas Carlyle in 1881, a portion of his personal library was left to Harvard – the only public bequeathal in Carlyle’s will. The annual report of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College for that year quotes the relevant passage, which reads in part:…
Three Hamlets film series
The Harvard Film Archive and Houghton Library are partnering to screen three critically acclaimed adaptations of Shakespeare’s most enduring play, beginning with Laurence Olivier’s 1948 classic on Monday, March 21 at 7pm. Join curators Dale Stinchcomb and Peter Accardo for a free pre-show tour of the exhibition, Shakespeare: His Collected Works at 6pm in Houghton…
How Old Will You Be in 1984?
This post is part of an ongoing series featuring items recently cataloged from the Julio Mario Santo Domingo Collection. At the height of the Vietnam War, a time often remembered for the vigorous anti-war protests from young adults, particularly college students, Diane Divoky edited an anthology collection of pieces from underground high school newspapers from…
Queen Liliʻuokalani’s composition “Aloha ʻOe” and American sheet music about Hawaiʻi
In honor of Women’s History Month, we invite you to look at some examples of sheet music composed by Queen Liliʻuokalani of Hawaiʻi. The Historical Sheet Music Collections are home to a great number of songs about Hawaiʻi, many of them written by popular music composers in the period following the annexation of the islands…
New on OASIS in March
Finding aids for five newly cataloged collections have been added to the OASIS database this month: Processed by: Irina Klyagin Guy Sheppard costume designs, sketches and caricatures (MS Thr 1310) Processed by: Jennifer Lyons Modern American theater programs (MS Thr 1138) Randall Thompson music scores (MS Thr 1202) Photographs of theatrical performers and sets (MS Thr 1248)…
Benzedrine for Breakfast
This post is part of an ongoing series featuring items recently cataloged from the Julio Mario Santo Domingo Collection. Benzedrine for Breakfast is the autobiography of Noreen Price, who lived quite an unconventional life. Born in South Africa by accident because her Dutch mother missed the boat while visiting relatives there. Noreen was schooled in a…
Write Me In!
This post is part of an ongoing series featuring items recently cataloged from the Julio Mario Santo Domingo Collection. Dick Gregory is an African American comedian, political activist, humanitarian, and nutritional consultant. His political comedy was groundbreaking for its take on race relations and other social injustices during the civil rights movements of the 1960s….
Full freedom, not an inferior brand
The centerpiece of Houghton’s current exhibition, Shakespeare: His Collected Works, is a life-size poster from the 1943 Broadway production of Othello starring Paul Robeson. Paul Robeson was the son of an escaped slave who became his generation’s most outspoken defender of civil liberties. A graduate of Rutgers and Columbia Law School, he was a distinguished athlete,…
Male impersonators in early 20th century American sheet music
In the aughts and teens of the 20th century, a few female vaudeville performers, British and American, had great success with male impersonation acts. In performance, they sang romantic love songs (as boys or young men), comic songs and bragging songs. Here are a few examples of their songs as published sheet music. Florence (or…