Classical Music  » COLLECTING SHEET MUSIC

COLLECTING SHEET MUSIC

Why do people collect sheet music? There are several reasons

why. First and foremost, all of us have a favorite song. No

matter what walk of life you are from, you have at least one

song that brings back memories of days gone by. Whether the

memories are good or bad, the song has still become a part of

your history.

Many people collect sheet music, especially from the early

1900's, because of the beautiful artwork on the front covers.

There were many artists that worked for different music

publishing companies, and some of these artists also went on to

design for Walt Disney, and other very well known companies. If

you examine the cover of many of these old pieces of sheet

music, you will be able to find where the artist signed the

artwork. This always increases the value of the piece to a

collector. You will find names like Starmer, Pfeffer, Barbelle,

and the mysterious "Rosebud" signature, which is generally...

and the mysterious "Rosebud" signature, which is generally

thought to be the work of several different artists that worked

for Harry Rosenbaum. This mark usually consists of a rose shape

within a circle, with several different variations on the basic

symbol, because of the different artists involved.

The music of the late 1800's and very early 1900's are sometimes

collected for the style of printing on the covers. These

earliest pieces usually had very ornately lettered front covers,

using different fonts and line graphics that are highly sought

after by some areas of collectors. Not as beautiful to look at

as far as the later Art-Deco styles, but still beautiful in

their own way. Most were printed using only black ink on white

paper, because the color printing process had not been developed

well at the time.

Then you have the collectors that long for the "good old days",

when families would gather around the piano in the family room,

and sing the favorites of the time. Jazz and swing numbers, as

well as waltzes are quite popular, especially if they have a

photo of the artist that featured the song in a recording on the

front cover.

I collect sheet music for all the reasons I have just discussed.

The memories, the history of the writers and musicians, the

period of history the songs represent, and of course the artwork

on the covers are all an obsession with me!

We invite you to visit Laura's shop: Ice Originals -

Collectibles, Jewelry and Artistic Designs.

http://www.tias.com/stores/iceorig/

About the Author

Laura Thykeson, of "Ice Originals II" ~ Collectibles, Jewelry and Artistic Designs" is an Artist and collector.Also a published poet,She works in oils, acrylics, enamels, ceramics, clay, makes jewelry, as well as colllecting.

Well known as a local artist, her work is now all across the US, thanks to wholesalers. She is totally self-taught. Her love of collecting stems from her artistic view of the world.