SAM DeVINCENT COLLECTION OF ILLUSTRATED AMERICAN SHEET MUSIC, ca. 1790 - 1987
#300

Container List

Series 2: ARMED FORCES, ca. 1810-1980

by: Karen Linn, 1989

World War I, Vocal, ca. 1915-1930:

Box 40

Folder

A, A - B

Box 41

Folder

B, C - E
C, F - G
D, H - I'L
E, I'M - I'V

Box 42

Folder

F, J - K
G, L - M
H, N - O
I, P - SH

Box 43

Folder

J, SM - TH
K, TI - WE
L, WEE - WH
M, WH - Z

The World War I section of the DeVincent Collection is large. Folders A-M are the general songs about the war; most date from the war years. Courtship is a common theme. Small editions from the war years (small for paper conservation) are interspersed in these folders. Other small editions are in folders AAA-BBB. Some of the most popular songs of the war and songs about particular topics are in folders N-OO and RR-WW. See also the files for the following composers and topical headings for World War I songs: Irving Berlin, Walter Donaldson, Charles K. Harris, ambulances (in transportation), and Indiana publishers. (ca. 285 items)

Box 44

Folder

N, America, I Love You, 1915-1916:

Music by Archie Gottler and lyrics by Edgar Leslie. (14 items)

O, Don't Bite the Hand That's Feeding You, 1915:

Music by Jimmie Morgan and lyrics by Thomas Hoier. (16 items)

P, Good-Bye Broadway, Hello France, 1917:

Music by Billy Baskette and lyrics by C. Francis Reisner and Benny Davis. (8 items)

Q, Hello Central! (Give Me No Man's Land), 1918:

Music by Jean Schwartz and lyrics by Sam. M. Lewis and Joe Young. The song re-cycles a familiar telephone motif. One cover features Al Jolson. (3 items)

R,I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be A Soldier and Answer Songs, 1915-1918:

Music by Al Piantadosi and lyrics by Alfred Bryan. The song is a Mother's anti-war plea. Also in the folder are five answer songs, for example I Tried To Raise My Boy to Be a Hero. See also I Didn't Raise My Ford to be a Jitney, 1.2 V. (18 items)

S, I Don't Want To Get Well, 1917:

Music by Harry Jentes and lyrics by Harry Pease and Howard Johnson. The cover depicts a nurse and a wounded soldier in a hospital. (8 items)

T, It's A Long, Long Way To Tipperary, ca. 1912-1939:

Composed by Jack Judge and Harry Williams. (7 items)

U, Joan of Arc They Are Calling You, 1917:

Music by Jack Wells and lyrics by Alfred Bryan and Willie Weston. (20 items)

V, Just A Baby's Prayer At Twilight, 1918:

Music by M.K. Jerome and lyrics by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. (16 items)

Box 45

Folder

W, K-K-K-Katy, 1918:

Composed by Geoffrey O'Hara. This song of courtship depicts a soldier on the cover. (5 items)

X, Keep The Home-Fires Burning, 1915-1917:

Music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Lena Guilbert Ford. (22 items)

Y, Liberty Bell, 1917:

Music by Halsey K. Mohr and lyrics by Joe Goodwin. (5 items)

Z, Over There, 1917-1918:

Composed by George M. Cohan. Several different cover designs and two answer songs are included. (7 items)

AA, Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit-Bag And Smile, Smile, Smile, 1915-1916:

Music by Felix Powell and lyrics by George Asaf. (3 items)

BB, Somewhere in France is the Lily, 1917:

Music by Joseph E. Howard and lyrics by Philander Johnson. (6 items)

CC, There's A Long, Long Trail, ca. 1914-1918:

Music by Zo Elliott and lyrics by Stoddard King. (12 items)

DD, When Yankee Doodle Learns to Parlez Vous Francais, 1917:

Music by Ed Nelson and lyrics by Will Hart. (6 items)

EE, World War I, Instrumental Music, 1914-1920:

All of the compositions are marches except for one waltz. (26 items)

Box 46

Folder

FF, American Signs and Symbols, ca. 1917-1918:

The songs in this folder are either about or have a cover that features common American patriotic symbols such as the flag and the Statue of Liberty. (43 items)

GG, Liberty Bonds, ca. 1917-1918:

These songs encourage those on the home-front of World War I to invest in liberty bonds. Cover illustrations usually feature American signs and symbols of patriotism. (19 items)

HH, Home-front, ca. 1917-1918:

Wartime rationing of consumer goods, gardening, and the war work campaign are all topics found in these songs. (9 items)

II, Children and World War I, ca. 1914-1918:

These sentimental songs tell stories of fathers in the war and their children at home longing for daddy's return. (31 items)

Mothers and Sons, World War I, ca. 1914-1918:

JJ, A - I

Box 47

Folder

KK, J - Z

Mothers thinking of their sons in the war, and soldier-sons thinking of mother and home were popular song themes during World War I. See also folder R. (79 items)

LL, Service Flags, World War I, ca. 1917-1918:

A blue star service flag in the window of a house indicated that a member of that family was serving in the war; a gold star flag meant that the family member had died in the war. The songs and many of the covers feature these service flags while depicting the soldier's mother, home and family. See 2.5 W for service flags in World War II. (42 items)

MM, France, World War I, 1917-1919:

Although many of the songs are about fighting in the European war, perhaps half of the items are about French women and Franco-American courtship. (60 items)

Germany, World War I, 1917-1967:

NN, A - K

Box 48

Folder

OO, L - Z

All of the sheets, except one, date from 1917-1918. Many of the covers and songs are about Kaiser Wilhelm II; some songs include ethnic stereotypes. (74 items)

PP, Kaiser Family, Pre-World War I, 1870-1913:

The folder contains songs about the Kaiser family from before the war; some of the sheets are German imprints. The death of Kaiser Wilhelm I is the topic of two songs. (12 items)

QQ, No Man's Land, 1918-1919:

The covers feature battle-scenes and depictions of trench warfare. (14 items)

RR, Flanders Fields, 1917-1930:

These songs are about Flanders Fields as a gravesite for the war dead. Included in the folder are several musical settings of the poem In Flanders Fields by Lieut. Colonel John McCrae. (8 items)

SS, General John J. Pershing, ca. 1917-1919:

The folder contains both vocal and instrumental compositions that are about or dedicated to General Pershing. Many of the covers feature a portrait of him. (36 items)  Click here to view image

End of World War I, ca. 1917-1931:

Box 49

Folder

TT, A - H
UU, I -WE
VV, WH - Z

Most of the songs are celebrating the actual end of the war, although some are speculating about when the war will end. Topics used include the signing of the armistice, soldiers returning home, and veterans affairs. For more on World War I veterans see folder WW. (113 items)

WW, Veterans, World War I, 1919-1935:

Included are songs about jobs for veterans, the bonus, and one newspaper supplement song sheet. (5 items)

Box 50

Folder

XX, Afro-American and Southern Servicemen, 1914-1919:

Most of the songs use stereotypes of Afro-Americans in the military. Some of the songs are about Southerners fighting for the United States as a sign of post-Civil War regional reconciliation. Two songs are for the 31st "Dixie" Division. Included in the folder is a copy of Goodnight Angeline by James Reese Europe, Noble Sissle, and Eubie Blake. The cover has a photograph of the 369th U.S. Infantry "Hell Fighter" Band as led by Europe. Also included is a 1918 booklet of songs and photographs of Afro-American servicemen called The Negro and the Flag. It was published by the Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. (34 items)

Song Folios, World War I, ca. 1917-1932:

YY

ZZ

AAA

Several small, pocket-sized song books for soldiers' use are included. One is an official U.S. Army song book. The Jewish Welfare Board published a pocket-sized song book in English, Yiddish and Hebrew. The Y.M.C.A. large song book is a collection of the popular songs of the day, not just war songs. Most of the items are from the war years. (11 items)

World War I Small Editions, Non-War Songs, 1918-1920:

Box 51

Folder

BBB, A - H
CCC, I - Z

Due to paper shortages during the war, music publishers came out with small format sheet music. After the war, the size went back up again, but never to the large format of the pre-War years. Although these sheets are not about the armed forces, they form a group because of their size which was the result of the war. They are standard Tin Pan Alley fare. (74 items)

TOP

GO TO CONTAINER LIST 2.5