Music History is a Beautiful Thing
Image taken from presentation This past weekend, on October 10 th , I held the Barbara A. Cooke Musical Theater Collection Showcase . This was my opportunity to highlight one of the Archive’s special collections to the public, who might have been unaware of its existence. This event was in cooperation with Chicago Area Archivists and Chicago Open Archives: Collecting and Connecting . Alumna Barbara Cooke gave a wonderful presentation on the history of sheet music, which she separated into three different time periods: the Vintage Era (1860-1880), the Victorian Era (1880-1900), and the Golden Age (1900-1935). Selection of sheet music covers from 1900-1935 The Vintage Era produced sheet music with basic and functional covers, primarily in black and white. These pieces are very rare because it was expected that a sheet would be thrown away when the song’s popularity faded. The Victorian Era was heavily influenced by European ideas, especially from England’s Queen Victor...