Details
[KEY, Francis Scott, Poet]. A Celebrated Patriotic Song, The Star Spangled Banner. Written During the Bombardment of Fort McHenry, on the 12th. & 13th. Sept.r 1814 by B.[sic] Key Esqr. Baltimore: Printed and Sold at Carrs Music Store, 36 Baltimore Street, n.d. [late 1814 or early 1815].
4to, 333 x 247 mm. (136 x 9/5/8 in.), printed from two engraved plates on pages 2 and 3 of a bifolium (old creases and faint staining, neat repairs to a single tear and to extreme fore-margins of first leaf), newly sewn and bound in quarter brown morocco and marbled paper boards, upper spine with gilt-lettered label.
FIRST EDITION, SECOND (CORRECTED) STATE OF THE SHEET MUSIC OF THE AMERICAN NATIONAL ANTHEM
Francis Scott Key's stirring verses were inspired by a shipboard vigil on the night of September 13-14, 1814, while a British naval flotilla bombarded Fort McHenry, outside Baltimore. A young lawyer, Key had gone on board a British ship to try to secure the release of an American physician held as a prisoner. Because of the bombardment, Key was detained and spent the night on deck, watching the shells rain onto the fort. During the attack, the large stars and stripes flag flying from the fort was visible, but when the bombardment ceased, the flag was obscured. Key worried that the fort had surrendered, but at dawn, when the flag was again visible, Key's emotions were powerfully stirred by the sight. His first draft was written on an envelope to the tune of a popular drinking tune "The Anacreontic Song." Broadside and newspaper printings began to appear upon Key's return to Baltimore (many are noted in Fuld), it was widely performed by a traveling music company and Carr's sheet-music edition of the song appeared not later than 19 October. The sheet music occurs in two states. The present amended issue differs from the first only in the alteration of the dropped title. The first (illustrated in the Streeter catalogue, vol.2. pp.788-179) contained the misspelling "Pariotic." To correct this, parts of the top portion of the copperplate were rubbed out and re-engraved: the words "A Celebrated Patriotic Song" were added above the title, the line describing the famous circumstances of the song's composition and the author's name added (with the wrong initial!). Carr's imprint, the music, text underlay, performance indications and additional stanzas are unaltered. "Except for the new caption title this is printed from the same plates as the first edition...and it is known to musicologists as the amended first edition. It was presumably intended to replace the first because of the glaring misprint 'Pariotic.' But in correcting one error, Carr committed two new ones: the name of the author is given as 'B. Key' and the wrong dates are given for the Bombardment...The Library of Congress dates the issue 1814, but it is possible that it was issued early in 1815" (P.W. Filby and E.G. Howard, eds., Star-Spangled Books (Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 1972), p.133, p.l44. It was not until 1931 that the song was officially recognized as the national anthem. Both first and amended versions are extremely rare: the last copy of either to appear at auction was the W. Ward Beam--Thomas Streeter copy of the first (sale, Parke-Bernet, 20 April 1967, lot 1068, $23,000).
J. Fuld, Book of World-Famous Music, pp.592-534 (locating 10 copies of the first issue, most in institutions); J. Muller, The Star Spangled Banner, pp.58-60 (illustrated); R.J. Wolfe, Secular Music in America, 1801-1825, vol.3, no.8344B (locating four copies of the amended issue).
4to, 333 x 247 mm. (136 x 9/5/8 in.), printed from two engraved plates on pages 2 and 3 of a bifolium (old creases and faint staining, neat repairs to a single tear and to extreme fore-margins of first leaf), newly sewn and bound in quarter brown morocco and marbled paper boards, upper spine with gilt-lettered label.
FIRST EDITION, SECOND (CORRECTED) STATE OF THE SHEET MUSIC OF THE AMERICAN NATIONAL ANTHEM
Francis Scott Key's stirring verses were inspired by a shipboard vigil on the night of September 13-14, 1814, while a British naval flotilla bombarded Fort McHenry, outside Baltimore. A young lawyer, Key had gone on board a British ship to try to secure the release of an American physician held as a prisoner. Because of the bombardment, Key was detained and spent the night on deck, watching the shells rain onto the fort. During the attack, the large stars and stripes flag flying from the fort was visible, but when the bombardment ceased, the flag was obscured. Key worried that the fort had surrendered, but at dawn, when the flag was again visible, Key's emotions were powerfully stirred by the sight. His first draft was written on an envelope to the tune of a popular drinking tune "The Anacreontic Song." Broadside and newspaper printings began to appear upon Key's return to Baltimore (many are noted in Fuld), it was widely performed by a traveling music company and Carr's sheet-music edition of the song appeared not later than 19 October. The sheet music occurs in two states. The present amended issue differs from the first only in the alteration of the dropped title. The first (illustrated in the Streeter catalogue, vol.2. pp.788-179) contained the misspelling "Pariotic." To correct this, parts of the top portion of the copperplate were rubbed out and re-engraved: the words "A Celebrated Patriotic Song" were added above the title, the line describing the famous circumstances of the song's composition and the author's name added (with the wrong initial!). Carr's imprint, the music, text underlay, performance indications and additional stanzas are unaltered. "Except for the new caption title this is printed from the same plates as the first edition...and it is known to musicologists as the amended first edition. It was presumably intended to replace the first because of the glaring misprint 'Pariotic.' But in correcting one error, Carr committed two new ones: the name of the author is given as 'B. Key' and the wrong dates are given for the Bombardment...The Library of Congress dates the issue 1814, but it is possible that it was issued early in 1815" (P.W. Filby and E.G. Howard, eds., Star-Spangled Books (Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 1972), p.133, p.l44. It was not until 1931 that the song was officially recognized as the national anthem. Both first and amended versions are extremely rare: the last copy of either to appear at auction was the W. Ward Beam--Thomas Streeter copy of the first (sale, Parke-Bernet, 20 April 1967, lot 1068, $23,000).
J. Fuld, Book of World-Famous Music, pp.592-534 (locating 10 copies of the first issue, most in institutions); J. Muller, The Star Spangled Banner, pp.58-60 (illustrated); R.J. Wolfe, Secular Music in America, 1801-1825, vol.3, no.8344B (locating four copies of the amended issue).