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Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 17: The Human Condition, Physical, Mental, Behavioral

National Museum of American History

Object Details

Creator
DeVincent, Sam, 1918-1997
Provenance
This collection was purchased by the Smithsonian Institution in 1988 from Sam and Nancy Lee DeVincent.
Creator
DeVincent, Sam, 1918-1997
See more items in
Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 17: The Human Condition, Physical, Mental, Behavioral
Summary
Sam DeVincent loved music and art and began collecting sheet music with lithographs at an early age. Series 17, The Human Condition--Physical, Mental, Behavioral contains approximately 1,000 pieces of sheet music and other materials documenting the development of and popular attitudes towards the human condition in the United States. An overview to the entire DeVincent collection is available here: Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music.
Extent
9 Boxes
Date
circa 1833-1987, undated
Archival Repository
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier
NMAH.AC.0300.S17
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Citation
The Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Arrangement note
Arranged in 5 subseries. 17.1: Physical Health 17.2: Happiness 17.3: Crazy, Foolish 17.4: Rubes 17.5: Ephemera
Rights
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Scope and Contents note
Series 17, The Human Condition --Physical, Mental, Behavioral, 1833-1987, contains approximately 1,000 pieces of sheet music and other materials documenting the development of and popular attitudes towards the human condition in the United States. The dates always refer to copyright of the music and not to the subject on the cover, songwriter's life, or other events. In addition, there is one box of ephemera arranged in the same subseries order as the music listing, which is described following the container list. Subseries 1, Physical Health, 1833-1982, undated, covers doctors, nurses, The Red Cross, eyes (including blindness), disabilities, lisping, stuttering, body weight, nudity, drugs, and general health. Subseries 2, Happiness, 1845-1978, undated, includes songs with gay, happy, laugh, and smile in the titles; also songs about whistling, fun, tickling, and being cheerful. Subseries 3, Crazy, Foolish, 1904-1973, undated, has two folders with crazy and fool/foolish titles; and one folder the cheerful, fun, humor, joy, and tickle songs. Subseries 4, Rubes, 1888-1938, contains one folder with titles and/or images of the unsophisticated type. Ephemera contains DeVincent's 'see' notes referencing other parts of the Collection, articles, promotional materials, and various items that pertain to the subjects in Series 17. Note that the Ephemera boxes are numbered separately from the boxes containing sheet music.
Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
Materials in Other Organizations
Sam DeVincent Collection of American Sheet Music, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana This collection contains duplicates of materials in the Smithsonian collection, as well as materials acquired by Mr. DeVincent after the donation to the Smithsonian. The phonograph records described above were transferred to the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Donald J. Stubblebine Collection of Musical Theater and Motion Picture Sheet Music and Reference Material, 1843-2010 (AC1211)
Forms Part Of
Series 17: The Human Condition forms part of the Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music . An ongoing, updated list of DeVincent topical series is available via the Smithsonian finding aid portal.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1503513397645-1503513397652-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8e2df2e03-cb96-4c53-a9f5-2b939e43794b

In the Collection

  • Article: Fred Loweryblind whistlerDecember 1984

  • Cheerful, Fun, Humor, Joy, Tickle

  • Nurses and Red Cross

  • Two articles

  • Three articles: Stevie Wonder, Fred Lowery, and Jason Ellsworth

  • Doctors

  • Two items regarding blind pedestrians

  • Fat/Skinny

  • Rubes

  • Crazy

  • * The Official Red Cross Primer, Ladies' Home Journal

  • Certification from Indiana Association of Workers for the Blind

  • Twelve pages of 'see' notes

  • F -- K

  • Smile Titles

  • Communications Commission

  • Article: "Streak" and Ray StevensJune 1974

  • Songs about Being Blind

  • Happiness

  • AP Wire: machine to read sheet music for visually impaired

  • Adam Geibel

  • Laugh Titles

  • Dumb, Goofy, Maniac, Nutty

  • What's It All About? April 1972, (Youth-Rock Culture), with lyrics for "Mister Can't You See."

  • Nudity/Streaking

  • Written, Composed, Arranged by, or Dedicated to, Doctors

  • Lisping and Stuttering

  • Aladdin, Hypnotism, Mesmerize and Voodoo

  • Happiness, Whistling

  • General Health

  • "Skinny Minny" promo

  • Five pages of 'see' notes

  • Physical Health

  • Junior Red Cross NewsMarch 1937

  • Fat and Skinny

  • L -- "Smile…"

  • Four advertisementsincluding two for Dr. Harter's Iron Tonic

  • Blind Musicians and Performers

  • Eight pages of 'see' notes

  • "Are the Blind Superior to the Seeing in Hearing?" The EtudeApril 1932

  • Crazy, Foolish

  • Red Cross

  • Physical Health

  • Two pages of 'see' notes

  • T -- Y

  • "Streakin'," ABC/Dunhill Records promoMarch 1974

  • List of "smile" titles

  • Memory/Memories

  • "Eye" Titles

  • A -- "Walking…"

  • "Whistling" -- "Willie…"

  • A -- E

  • * Cross WordsSeptember 1980

  • Crazy, Foolish, Goofy, Nutty

  • "The Vanishing Art of Whistling," Stereo Review

  • Memory/Memories

  • T -- Y

  • Two articles: Waylon Jennings and Doug Kershaw

  • C -- K

  • Eyes/Blind

  • L -- S

  • Blind Musicians and Performers, Miscellaneous

  • Nudity and Streaking

  • Gay Titles

  • A -- "Happy Wanderer"

  • "Highways…" -- S

  • One page of 'see' notes

  • Drugs

  • Lyrics for "Lake Shore Drive (L. S. D.)"

  • Glasses and Spectacles

  • Lyrics to two songs

  • Eyes

  • PamphletAllen County League for the Blind

  • Magic

  • Two pages of 'see' notes

  • Rubes

  • General Health

  • Wishing/Wishing Well

  • "Whistle" -- "Whistlin'…"

  • Lisp/Stutter

  • Hargus 'Pig' Robbins promoJuly 1977

  • "A Smile," Chapman Motors promotional card

  • "Does Hollywood Sell Drugs to Kids?" Parade

  • List of song titles

  • "Smiles…" -- Y

  • Happy Titles

  • Disabilities

  • Memo: "Drug Lyrics" caseYale Broadcasting Company. v. Federal

  • List of song titles

  • Danny Deardorff folder

  • Drugs

  • Disabilities

  • Ephemera

  • One page of 'see' notes

  • Doctors, Nurses, and General Health

  • Whistling

  • Fool, Foolish

  • Luck/Lucky

  • "Streaking with My Baby" promoMarch 1974

The Human Condition, Physical, Mental, Behavioral
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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