Barcarolle (From Tales of Hoffman)

A minimalist Art Deco cover on this 1935 sheet music. Phil Baker is looking pretty sharp there.

My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua

 

1934. Cover art by D.G.

The photo insert was printed and interchanged with the portraits of several different musicians. This one has Ted Fio Rio.

I've Got You Under My Skin

Appears to be an airbrushed cover illo. Copyright 1936 but this copy was published in 1945.

The Sad Sweet End of the Day

From 1906. The calligraphy of the series title dominates, while the actual content title is underlined in a list. But the Jazz Age awaits.

What's the Use o' Feelin' Blue?

A simple and elegant line drawing and a nice image of the era by W.R. Cameron on the cover of this 1926 piece.

Carolina Moon

Sydney Leff illustrated this cover, published in 1929. But another homegrown artist "enhanced" this piece by drawing horns on pioneer crooner Gene Austin.

Lovin' Dad

Published in 1921, this is another rare example of sheet music from Washington State. The cover was illustrated by Porter M. Griffith (1889-1969) and, quite frankly, this image doesn't really work in terms of creating a warm, loving portrait. In fact, it is a bit dark and creepy. The cat is a nice touch, though. I'm figuring those are pipe makin's on the side table?

When I was in high school I had a nodding acquaintance with a fellow in my class named Pete Blecha, who went on to become a figure in the Pacific Northwest music universe. Pete contributed a wonderful essay on the Morrison Music Company on HistoryLink. Here's a LINK.

The back cover lists other works from Morrison.

What Do We Do On a Dew-Dew-Dewy Day

This 1927 piece has the mysterious "R.S." as the artist's credit. Apparently these initials are pretty common in the sheet music world and have been the subject of conjecture. Conventional wisdom settles on Rosenbaum Studios, run by Morris Rosenbaum who employed a group of illustrators. These artists included William Wallace Denslow, Emil James Bistran, Harold Guenther Breul, Mortimer Flaum (hi Morty!), Reinhold William Gundlach, and James Murray Mitchell.

Hi! Li'l Feller

Copyright 1909 but published 1923. Here's your Art Deco Rorschach test of the day. I say this design could morph quite easily into a screaming skull with googly eyes driven well past the point of insanity. But I'm only on my second cup of coffee this morning.

Twelve O'Clock at Night

Malcolm Perret illustrated this 1923 sheet music cover.

Mother's Good Night Kiss

What this sheet music lacks in cover graphic pizzazz is made up for with the back story. The composer and lyricist (Samuel Phelps Totten and T.J. O'Connor) autographed this 1922 piece in Chehalis, Washington, a twin city to Centralia, Washington, where my great-grandmother Jennie Hoss lived. As the only real musical member of the family in 1922, I'm sure it was she who acquired this piece.

The very first bit of sheet of music I scanned and posted here was another Totten work.

Since he was so local, I became interested in Totten, and tracked down his obituary on page 13 in the June 14, 1970 issue of the Daily Olympian.

So many connections. The Liberty Theater later became the Olympic Theater, which is how I remember it. Today the site is home to the Washington Center for Performing Arts.  I spent more than one summer week at Camp Thunderbird. And Marlene Selene was one of my high school classmates.

Apparently Mr. Totten was instrumental in leading the Washington State Employees' Retirement Board in the early years. Quite a career switch! He's the gentleman on the far right. The man standing third from left is John J. O'Connell, who made an unsuccessful bid for Governor in 1968.

I discovered Samuel P. Totten was buried near my office in Tumwater. So on this very rainy day I paid a visit to the cemetery and paid my respects. I actually have an uncle and aunt buried nearby!

Small world.

When I'm Looking at You

Copyright 1929, published 1930. Uncredited cover artist.

A song from the early talking motion picture The Rogue Song, a movie that included Laurel and Hardy as comic relief. This is considered a "lost film" since no complete print of it has survived.

The back cover includes some other popular songs from soundtracks of the pioneer "talkies." 

Anniversary Song

1946 sheet music for a song from the movie The Jolson Story. The back cover includes other movie scores.

Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms

Quite an awkward title on this 1935 piece of sheet music. Cover art was by Chicago artist James Axelrod. The back cover includes some fun images for other products from Calumet. That is a very young Freddy Martin. I found two other versions of this score cover online with different photographs in the inset. One had a different picture of Martin, and the other had Kay Kyser.