Exhibits: Irish Themes in Sheet Music

History of Sheet Music

Pre-1900 | 1900 - 1917 | 1917 - 1919 | 1920s - 1930s | 1920 - Present | Cover Art Decline | Sunday Supplements

Pre-1900

Prior to 1900 the majority of sheet music was published in black and white lithograph engravings or scrollwork.

1900 - 1917

Most of the sheet music in this era was published in a large 13 1/2" by 10 1/2" size. They used the entire color spectrum. The addition of pictures of the singers, which now could be heard on records and the radio, were added in hopes of more sales through their popularity.

1917 - 1919

A smaller 10" by 7" format was published due to a wartime paper shortage.

 

1920s - 1930s

A more stylized graphic art started after World War 1. From the 1920s to the 1930s we see an art deco influence, angular line drawings, silhouetting, and airbrush techniques. Artists were infatuated with orange-blue, orange-green, orange-purple, orange-black combinations.

 

1920-Present

Sheet music was printed in a standard format size of 12" by 9" from 1920 on.

Cover Art Decline

With the onset of the radio in 1920 and the eventual blossoming of the record and movie industry, sheet music sales plummeted and the decline in artistic covers commenced. Cost pressures discouraged publishers from hiring artists to create covers. As radio and movies became prominent, many singers and movie stars became national idols. Their portraits were placed wherever they could to get the most exposure. By the 1930's it was not unusual to see a singing or movie star's portrait on a song sheet cover.

Sunday Supplements

Since the interest in popular music was so high in the 1880s, William Randolph Hearst began publishing popular songs in a supplemental sheets in his Sunday newspapers in order to boost circulation. Other newspapers followed suit. While publishers and songwriters initially objected, the copyright laws at the time allowed it. This practice lasted until about 1908. Some Sunday supplement songs were actually composed for the newspapers. Many of the covers are comical and it is assumed that they were drawn by newspaper staff cartoonists.

 

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