charlestonmuseum:

We are celebrating Spring with music! The sheet music in the Charleston Museum’s archives ranges from handwritten to published, with the bulk being published, and from the 18th to 20th century, with the bulk being early 20th century. Like many of our other components, the music comes from different donors with varying provenances. While they are some of our more “fun” items in the collection, they are also a fascinating glimpse at popular culture during various time periods.

1. “Spring, Beautiful Spring,” (Frühling, Wie Bist Du So Schön) by Paul Lincke, 1921. Listen. Lincke is perhaps best known for “The Glow-Worm”, from his operetta, Lysistrata, and “Berlin Air” (Berlin Luft), from another of his operettas, Frau Luna
2. “Spring Charms,” by Milo Stevens, 1942. Stevens also wrote other works for the piano -  “On a Bright Blue Sea,” “Nodding Poppies” and “Parade of the Tiddle-Dy-Winks”
3. “Springtime in Charleston,” by Robert S. Cathcart, Jr. and Fud Livingston, 1947. Cathcart was a well-known songwriter in Charleston during the 1920s-1960s. “Springtime in Charleston” won first place in a contest held in 1947 by the Charleston Challenges during the Azalea Festival.
4. “In My Garden,” by Idabelle Smith Firestone, 1929. Firestone also wrote “If I Could Tell You” (the theme of “Voice of Firestone” programs), “You Are the Song in My Heart,” “Do You Recall?”, “Melody of Love” and “Bluebirds”. She was married to Harvey Firestone, founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.
5. “Oh, Charming May! Ballad,“ by G. Herbert Rodwell, c. 1848-58.
6. “The Spring Maid” Operetta in Two Acts from the German by Julius Wilhelm and A. M. Willner, 1909. Read a December 27, 1910 New York Times review of the operetta. The insets show images of Christie MacDonald and Mizzi Hajos.
7. “In an Old Dutch Garden (By an Old Dutch Mill),” by Mack Gordon and Will Grosz, 1939. Inset of Rudy Vallee. Made popular by Eddie Duchin (listen), Glenn Miller (listen), and Hank Snow.

EPHEMERA FRIDAY: Each Friday we post a selection or small collection from our Archives. Some items may be on exhibit, some may be too fragile to display and some may be too unusual to fit into our typical Lowcountry exhibit themes. We will occasionally ask for help identifying people or places in photographs that have come to us with little or no information. We hope you enjoy our selection each week – do let us know if there’s something in particular you’d like to see on EPHEMERA FRIDAY.