Songsters
According to the definition given
by Irving Lowens in his A Bibliography of Songsters Printed in America
before 1821
(Worcester, 1976), a songster is a "collection of three or more
secular poems intended to be sung." The Society's collection of
songsters is one of the strongest in the nation. Of the more than
1,000 songsters housed at the Society, nearly 300 were published
before 1821, while the remainder were published before 1877. The
size of the collection is a result of continued acquisition over
the years, including the purchase of the collection formed by H.
Douglas Dana, a bookseller in Providence, Rhode Island, and the
generosity of recent donors like Margery Morgan Lowens, who
in 1983-84 donated the fine collections built by her late husband, Irving
Lowens.
The songster was most often an inexpensive publication used as
a popular source of poems, meant to be sung, of a romantic,
patriotic, or comic nature; the songster was also used as a medium
to express ever-changing topical concerns. A careful study of the
materials would reveal interesting changes in the expressions of
romantic love, patriotic fervor, and native humor during the years
covered by the collection. Politics was a popular theme of many
songsters, and a number were issued to advance the fortunes of
specific political candidates. Social reform movements such as
temperance also utilized songsters to convey their message.
Songsters compiled for the use of fraternal organizations such as
the Freemasons and Odd Fellows are also commonplace in the
collection. Another popular type contained songs about African
Americans. Printed predominantly in the northern cities during the
1840s and 1850s, they perpetuated racial stereotypes. The songster
also provides an interesting resource for the study of popular
poetry, as well as for the tunes to which the poems were meant to
be sung. In many instances the name of the tune is listed with the
poem.
The songsters printed before 1841 are cataloged online
with access under title, subject
headings, and the genre heading "Songsters."
Songsters published from 1831 to 1877 are shelved as
one collection. Earlier songsters are shelved in the dated books
collection. A checklist of songsters, completed in 1980, is available in
the Reading Room. The
Lowens bibliography, cited above, is the standard reference work.
- James F. Cuffe, Jr., former Cataloger, North American Imprints
Program. Updated by Caroline W. Stoffel, Online Services Librarian.
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Champagne Charley Songster (n.d.).
For current information on the cataloging status of this and
other AAS collections, choose "Collection Access" below.
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