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Some people use the term “collector” when viewing Dr. Crew’s amazing political sheet music collection; however, he believes the term “hoarder” is probably more accurate. Prior to embarking on a life-long collector’s odyssey, his interests included music, politics, and history. History and politics were reflected in his choice of government for his college major and history as his minor, while music was his spare time personal passion (trombone in high school band and banjo, guitar, and accordion in his spare time).
His sheet music collecting started in 1972 when he found himself wandering around an antique shop in Tallahassee, Florida. He noticed several campaign buttons for the 1900 campaign of McKinley and Roosevelt. The store owner indicated that he had a trunk full of items in the back of the store: There were scores of old campaign souvenirs including buttons, ribbons, banners, and a large stack of sheet music. Dr. Crew bought the entire lot. At home he began sorting through the items; and the sheet music stuck out as particularly interesting. He remembers a piece of Teddy Roosevelt sheet music, awash in bright colors, with his portrait almost jumping off the page, and he concluded that sheet music was a wonderful way to combine his love of politics, history, and music into one inexpensive collectible.
Today, Crew’s collection of political-related items exceeds 13,000 pieces, including the nation’s largest collections of music related to George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and with over 450 pieces, Theodore Roosevelt. The collection led Dr. Crew to author four published bibliographies on political sheet music and formed the basis of his PhD in music history from the University of Sunderland (UK).
Read Dr. Crew’s essay on sheet music as public discourse here.
See below to view items from the collection.
Political cartoon featuring Theodore Roosevelt and President Taft singing different verses of “Maryland, My Maryland.” There is a young lady in the adjacent window holding a banner reading “Maryland Delegates.”
Dr. Danny O. Crew Theodore Roosevelt Sheet Music Collection
1912
Sheet music for “Sussex By the Sea,” a military march originally published in 1907. The song was re-purposed to commemorate a speech given by Theodore Roosevelt in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in November 1917, in support of Canada’s Victory Loan program. The cover includes the text, “Sung with tremendous success by Frank Oldfield at the Roosevelt Victory Loan Meeting at Toronto Armories before an enthusiastic audience of 20,000 people,” and a quote by Shakespeare, “A merry heart goes all the day Your sad tires in a mile-a.” The second page contains the full lyrics.
Dr. Danny O. Crew Theodore Roosevelt Sheet Music Collection
1917
Sheet music for “American spirit,” a march and two-step published for the 1904 presidential campaign. The cover features a young woman wearing a hat with a large badge.
Dr. Danny O. Crew Theodore Roosevelt Sheet Music Collection
1904
Sheet music for “For the Honor of Uncle Sam,” featuring a drawing of Theodore Roosevelt shaking hands with President Wilson in the presence of Uncle Sam. Below the main figures is a badge with a young soldier gesturing to a sitting, older man. Roosevelt was a proponent of American intervention in World War I and was a persistent critic of Wilson’s inaction. The lyrics are patriotic in nature and have nothing to do with Roosevelt or Wilson.
Dr. Danny O. Crew Theodore Roosevelt Sheet Music Collection
1917
Sheet music for “Teddy is the man,” a 1904 presidential campaign song. The cover features oval photographs of the Republican presidential ticket, President Roosevelt and Senator Fairbanks.
Dr. Danny O. Crew Theodore Roosevelt Sheet Music Collection
1904
Sheet music for “Rough Riders,” a song celebrating the exploits of Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. The song is dedicated to Roosevelt and features a black and white illustration of him and two other cavalrymen in mid-charge on the cover.
Dr. Danny O. Crew Theodore Roosevelt Sheet Music Collection
1898
Sheet music for “Roosevelt’s Rough Riders Two-Step,” a song celebrating the exploits of Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. The song is dedicated to Roosevelt and features a black and white illustration of him, and three other cavalrymen, in mid-charge on the cover.
Dr. Danny O. Crew Theodore Roosevelt Sheet Music Collection
1898
Pamphlet of campaign songs supporting the 1900 Republican presidential ticket of President McKinley and Governor Roosevelt. The songs are presented without notation and set to popular tunes. The cover is a simple black and white design with oval portraits of McKinley and Roosevelt.
Dr. Danny O. Crew Theodore Roosevelt Sheet Music Collection
1900
Celebratory music written for President Roosevelt’s successful negotiations to end the Russo-Japanese War. The song is dedicated to Roosevelt, which is noted at the top of page three.
Dr. Danny O. Crew Theodore Roosevelt Sheet Music Collection
1905
Sheet music for “Majestic,” which was published as a newspaper supplement and issued as part of a contest to write an essay on the life of Theodore Roosevelt. The contest was sponsored by “The Voice of the Air” radio show and offered the winner a Majestic Radio as first prize.
Dr. Danny O. Crew Theodore Roosevelt Sheet Music Collection
1929
Collection of campaign songs for the 1900 McKinley-Roosevelt presidential ticket. The book contains twenty-one songs which are patriotic and campaign oriented. Theodore Roosevelt is referenced in “The Major and the Rough Rider” and “Roosevelt Marching Song.”
Dr. Danny O. Crew Theodore Roosevelt Sheet Music Collection
1900
Sheet music for “Teddy,” a souvenir from the 1912 Republican convention. The cover features a drawing of Theodore Roosevelt and the back cover has a cartoon of Roosevelt and William H. Taft in a ring with a number of hats representing state primaries on the mat. There is also a facsimile letter from Roosevelt to the composer, Minnie M. Seymour, complimenting her verses.
Dr. Danny O. Crew Theodore Roosevelt Sheet Music Collection
1912
Celebratory music written for President Roosevelt’s successful negotiations to end the Russo-Japanese War. The song is dedicated to Roosevelt, which is noted at the top of page three.
Dr. Danny O. Crew Theodore Roosevelt Sheet Music Collection
1905
Sheet music for “Josephine,” a song from the Charles Frohman Presents production of The Sunshine Girl. The cover features a drawing of a young woman by Harold H. Smith. There is a list of other titles available from the show at the bottom of the cover.
Dr. Danny O. Crew Theodore Roosevelt Sheet Music Collection
1912