C1860 20-pc Bound Sheet Music Collection, Inc Color Engraved Leviathan Quickstep For Sale

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Bound Collection of Early Sheet Music

Notable PrintName -The Leviathan Galop (1858)

Print Type - Lithograph by Sarony, Major and Knapp for S. T. Gordon in New York

Size- Print - 13" x 9.6" *** Image - 9.5" x 7"

Other Info - This collection of sheetmusic was bound just before the American civil war and seems to have belonged to a lady named Joanna(I am unable to read the handwritten last name)who lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Of the 20 pieces, one has no publishing information still remaining, two were published in London, five were published in New York and the other 12 were published in Boston. Only two of these pieces are songs ("I Wish I Was in Dixie's Land" and "Shells of Ocean"), although one ("Night Bell Gallop") has incidental words in the trio.

The 20 pieces are as follows (if you click on the images below, a new window will open with an expandable graphic):

The Court PolkaJohann Stop Laughing RillGeorge Byron Leviathan GalopCharles or Lenore PolkaCarl Merzn.d. (1856)Boston
Night Bell Gallop [sic]Charles d'Albertn.d. (1858)Boston
Golden GalopAlbert H. Chorus QuickstepVerdi [Edw. Wiebe]n.d. (1857)NY
Wrecker's Daughter QuickstepJ. G. Von Sleigh-Ride Gallop [sic]J. P. Lanciers de la GardeE. QuadrilleCharles d'Albertn.d. (1856)Boston
Bonnie Dundee QuadrilleCharles Battle of PragueFrantisek Kotzwaran.d. (1788)BostonLurline WaltzesCharles Brilliants on Shells of OceanCharles Our Green ValleyT. Wish I Was in Dixie's LandDan D.

In the mid nineteeth century, the names Charles d'Albert, Carl Merz, J. G. Von Rieff. J. P. Haggarty, Kotzwara, Charles Grobe and Dan Emmet would have been well-known to any home pianist. Certainly "Dixie" is the most familiar piece here; but fife and drum corps still play "The Wrecker's Daughter Quickstep" and the "Turkish Quickstep" from the end of "The Battle of Prague" as well as the folk tunes from the "Bonnie Dundee Quadrille."

"The Leviathan Galop" is probably the most interesting piece from a historical perspective, and the magnificent color lithograph by Sarony, Major and Knapp adds immensely to its attractiveness. Charles d'Albert was an English composer who had a piece of music ready for any newsworthy event of interest to Englishmen. Every battle, the birthday of every royal princess, every notable marriage and notable death was commemorated by Mr. d'Albert. The well-known English engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who had already built the Great Western Railway, several incredible bridges and tunnels and the first steam-powered iron ship to cross the Atlantic was hired by the Great Eastern Steamship Company to build a monster Leviathan of a ship. The ship was to be launched in November of 1857, and d'Albert was ready with a sheet that looked like this (this sheet is NOT included as part of the collection):

Although Brunel called the ship "Great Eastern," she was christened "Leviathan" (which is what the popular press called her). The name was changed back to "Great Eastern" before she made her maiden voyage, but the public in both the UK and the USA continued to call her "Leviathan," and the New York music sheet from 1858 reflects this. The ship did not actually cross the ocean until 1860 and by the time of her second voyage the news of the Civil War eclipsed any news of a large ship crossing the Atlantic. You may read more about Brunel and this ship at

The Wrecker's Daughter Quickstep, which is still popular with fife and drum corps, memorializes the story of Grace Horsley Darling. At just 23 years of age and while living with her father in a lighthouse, she rescued nine people from the wreck of SS Forfarshire, which sank near the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumberland in 1838. Within days of the tragedy, Grace’s story of survival during what was considered a suicidal mission spread to neighbouring towns and eventually across the Atlantic to America. Grace died of tuberculosis in 1842, four years after the sinking of SS Forfarshire.

The Battle of Prague, is a descriptive piece about a battle fought on May 6, 1757 where Frederick the Great's 67,000 Prussians forced 60,000 Austrians to retreat, but because he lost 14,300 men,Frederick decided he was not strong enough to attack the city itself. The composer, Frantisek Kotzwara, died a famous and ignominious death which you may read about at At the end of this descriptive piece is a 'Turkish Quickstep,' which besides still being popular with marching bands and fife and drum corps, has entered the folk tradition in the USA. Here are two mp3 files. The first is an anonymous piano solo of the quickstep and finale at the end of the sheet (found on the net), and the second is by the New England mandolinist and guitarist David Surette and is from his wonderful album "Northern Roots." If you like this, you will love the album!

Condition - Yellowed and foxed, with some sheets in worse condition than others, depending on the paper in the original sheet, but there are no major tears. In one or two places there is a previous owner's name. As the sheets are bound together, there is some minor trimming to make them uniform.

In the USA, I will ship using Media or Priority Mail well-protected with bubble-wrap andheavy cardboard. I will ship anywhere in the world.

Click on the above image for an expandable image in a new window.

On Feb-17-13 at 12:43:44 PST, seller added the following information:

Although the binding is still tight, the front cover is detached from the album.

On Feb-17-13 at 18:49:37 PST, seller added the following information:

In the title I said there was a colored engraving, but that is obviously an error - it is a color lithograph!

On Feb-18-13 at 12:15:18 PST, seller added the following information:

The song "I Wish I Was in Dixie's Land" was first sung in April, 1859, but was not published until 1860, when it was issued by Firth, Pond & Co. in New York. That makes this sheet a first edition!

This item has been shown 103 times. C1860 20-pc Bound Sheet Music Collection, Inc Color Engraved Leviathan Quickstep: $115