Music Trade Review

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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
UNCLE SAM'S NEW MUSIC LIBRARY.
Something of the Special Division Devoted Exclusively to Musical Publications Which Forms
Part of That Remarkable Institution, the Library of Congress—The Great Work Being
Done by Oscar G. T. Sonneck—Interesting Resume of Conditions by Waldon Fawcett.
Manufacturers and publishers in the music trades
and allied lines have not as yet shown a disposition
to take the fullest advantage of the opportunities
and facilities of Uncle Sam's great music library
at Washington. But the time is coining when
they will probably avail themselves to the utmost
of the resources afforded, for there is a growing
appreciation in trade circles of the assistance that
may be obtained through this governmental char-
nel. Heretofore there has been a suspicion on
the part of many of the practical men of the
music trades that the Federal storehouse of mu-
sical knowledge had to do only with what might
be termed the theoretical and sentimental and his-
torical sides of this broad subject, but gradually
many of these men are coming to understand that
there is much in the lore of the art that can
be made of tangible value to the present-day pro-
moters of the industry.
Uncle Sam's music library is a part of that
remarkable institution the Library of Congress at
over to this special division and the present era of
systematic development entered upon. Such has
been the progress made that it has lately been
found necessary to extend or enlarge the quarters
of the music division on the first or basement floor
of the library building.
Additions are made to the collections of the
Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. F
Where Uncle Sam's music division is located,
music division by three different means: First,
gifts and international exchanges; second, pur-
chases—either in the form of individual works or
large collections, and, third, accessions through the
medium of the copyright system. The United
States statutes require the deposit with the Libra-
rian of Congress of two copies of every musical
composition upon which application for copyright
is made and one of the two copies is, in each in-
stance, turned over to the music division. It will
readily be appreciated that the privilege of making
a "search" in these collections is an invaluable one
to certain musical interests, for instance, the music
publisher who desires to ascertain what composi-
tions of a given class have been published; what
use has already been made, if any, of certain titles
Copyright by Waiuon l-aweeu.
he may have in mind for his prospective publica-
Herbert Putnam,
tions, etc.
Librarian of Congress, who has general supervision over the
music division.
Similarly the old and rare books on musical sub-
the seat of government. It is remarkable, in a jects are of distinct helpfulness to designers of
way, considering the comparative youth of the pianos, etc., who desire to scan the instrument de-
American nation, that the Library of Congress signs of former periods of the world's history with
comprises the third largest collection of books in the object of ascertaining what details of design,
the world—indeed, if up-to-date statistics were ornamentation, etc., might profitably be copied or
available it would probably be found that it is ex- adapted and what other details, in the light of
ceeded only by the book collection of the British experience, should be avoided. Then again we find
Museum. But even more remarkable—considering in this treasure trove a wealth of indirect inspira-
the long start which Europe had in musical mat- tion for the man who would fain invent a new
ters—is the fact that the music division at Wash- type of musical instrument or devise some dis-
ington has collections of music, librettos, opera tinctly novel modification of existing models of
scores, musical reference works, etc., which in some the standard instruments.
In order to facilitate ready reference, all the
respects surpass anything abroad. It is the com-
pleteness of the files, etc., as much as anything else items in the vast musical collections at Washington
which is calculated to render Uncle Sam's music are classified, indexed and catalogued by means of
an elaborate but very effective system embodying
the best features of the schemes in force in the
various leading libraries of Europe and America.
One advantageous feature of the plan is that
searchers are allowed access to the shelves, and
the unique system of arranging the books and
music makes it a comparatively simple matter for
any applicant to discover just what he is seeking.
That the musical public is beginning to take ad-
vantage of the facilities of this storehouse of mu-
sical knowledge is attested by the fact that, on an
average, 10,000 books, pamphlets and compositions
are supplied annually to more than 3,500 readers.
For the convenience of these readers a pianoforte
has been installed and is frequently used.
At the present time Uncle Sam's music division
Reading Room
contains considerably more than half a million
In Uncle Sam's music division. Library of Congress,
Washington, D. C.
volumes and pieces of music, the bulk of which
division valuable to any firm or individual interest has been acquired during the past eight years.
in the music trades that must needs rely upon Additions are made to the collections at the rate
of about 20,000 publications each year and the col-
research work for any required information.
The music division at Washington was estab- lection, considered as a whole, is, numerically, the
lished in 1897, when the collections of books, manu- largest in the world. One of the most notable
scripts, prints and periodicals belonging to Con- acquisitions of the music division came through
gress were removed from the Capitol building to the purchase a few years ago of the Albert Schatz
the splendid $6,000,000 structure erected especially collection of more than 12,000 opera librettos. This
to house the accumulation. However, it was not was followed last year by the purchase of one of
until 1902 that all the books on music and musical the greatest "finds" in musical history, namely, the
manuscripts in the library—in short, everything manuscript of the Albert Schatz history of opera.
pertaining to the whole broad subject—were turned This monumental work, which represents the fruits
of forty years' labor, is in the form of a card index
comprising more than 100,000 cards, and on which
are detailed the whole chronicle of opera from the
year 1541 to 1900, there being given not merely the
full title of each opera, the general character of
the work, the names of the composer and librettist,
but also the date and place of the first perform-
ance and, in many instances, the original cast. An-
other conspicuous collection in the music division
is that of 1,800 orchestral scores of operas—a col-
lection which ranks as the largest of the kind in
existence.
It is the aim of Oscar G. T. Sonneck, the chief
of the music division, to make this unique adjunct
of the Government an "intelligence office" and
"bureau of information" for all persons having to
do with musical development in any form. Ac-
cordingly, whereas a wealth of material of his-
torical value has from time to time been purchased
abroad, it is the aim to specialize, in a sense, on
the music of America, and especially on American
music. An illustration of the working out of this
policy is found in the recent publication of a report
on "The Star-Spangled Banner" and our other pa-
triotic songs which may be accepted as the last
word on the much-disputed questions as to the
origin, etc., of these songs.
Similarly there has just come from press a com-
prehensive catalog *of orchestral music which
The Stacks, or Shelves,
Containing music, musical books, etc., at the music division
of the Library of Congress.
represents years of work on the part of Mr. Son-
neck and his assistants and which will be followed
by catalogs of opera scores and librettos. An-
other project lately undertaken has to do with
chronicles of the work of eminent American com-
posers. As a starter, there will be compiled a
bibliography of the compositions of McDowell. It
Oscar G. T. Sonneck,
Chief of the music division of the Library of Congress.
is hoped that in time there may be taken up the
preparation of the most complete and most ex-
haustive chronicle yet undertaken of the evolution
of the various branches of the music trades—par-
ticularly those branches such as the piano industry
(Continued on page 8.)