![]() World War I music contained in the James Edward Myers Sheet Music Collection digital repository documents not only what was produced by Midwestern music publishers but also offers a compelling cross-section of popular musical practices and tastes across the Midwest during the War. The James Edward Myers Sheet Music Collection was donated to the University of Illinois on January 5, 2005 Materials in the fourth set of donations have been added to Series 1, 2, or 3 - based on their subject. The majority of materials in the third set of donations have been added to Series 1. Third and fourth sets of materials were donated on Jand July 28, 2015, by Jamie Myers. A second set of materials, now series 3, was donated on Apby Jamie Myers. The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music An amateur pianist, he was especially interested in the covers in his collection, which he regarded as underappreciated instances of a kind of folk art. Myers specialized in music about and during wartime, and his single largest sub-collection consists of songs related to World War I. His extensive collection of American sheet music was built late in life. A further novel, The Stones of Summerville, remains unpublished. His books Jones, a novel, and The Bridge of Time, a nonfiction book about Israel, were published by A. In his later years he established Lincoln-Herndon Press, which published books of humor compiled by himself and others. ![]() Myers also began collecting American books of humor, and his collection now forms part of the "wit and humor" holdings of the University's Rare Book & Manuscript Library. At the time of its opening, he also opened Prairie House, a pioneering showcase of US crafts, which remained in existence until 2010, exhibiting comporary art and ceramics, woodwork, glass, and jewelry. It was later sold to the state of Illinois. After he retired, he bought the Lincoln-Herndon law offices building and, with two partners, restored it and opened it to the public. In the 1930s he journeyed to Guatemala, where he amassed an extensive collection of handcrafted fabrics and clothes of the Guatemalan natives, which he donated to the Illinois State Museum. Myers was something of a Renaissance man and was a collector throughout his life. He was extremely active in his community and was president or on the board of many civic organizations. An injury forced retirement from farming and in 1953 he returned to the family business, where he served as vice-president, remaining with the firm until 1968. He farmed a 350-acre farm in Central Illinois from 1947 to 1953 that was noted for its agricultural innovations. Upon discharge, he married his wife, Edith, and returned to the University of Illinois to study agriculture. The son of Albert Myers, a founder of the Myers Brothers department stores, James joined the US army in 1939 and served in Cuba and India during World War II. James Edward Myers (NovemDecember 7, 2001), a lifelong resident of Springfield, Illinois, graduated from the University of Illinois in 1936 with a degree in history and a fondness for the university bands, in which he played oboe and drums. This digital content documents not only what was produced by Midwestern music publishers but also offers a compelling cross-section of popular musical practices and tastes across the Midwest during the War. The World War I music contained in the James Edward Myers Sheet Music Collection digital image repository was derived from the Myers collection and can be accessed through the website. Cover art of interest includes Irving Berlin's Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep, Cole Porter's I've got you under my skin, and Sousa's In Flanders fields the poppies grow, Solid men to the front, and We are coming. Of particular interest are songs by such composers as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Rogers and Hammerstein, and John Philip Sousa. The music and cover art within this collection reflects the changing culture and social attitudes in nineteenth- and twentieth-century American. The cover art also dramatically changes from hand drawn pictures to photographs. Early traditional values of courtship represented in the music and lyrics of early 1900s become the swinging attitudes of the 1940s and 50s. Love is the most popular theme encountered throughout the collection. Early pre-1920 songs contain themes that focus primarily on life on the farm, while many post-1920 titles feature the "gayer" night-life of city dwellers. ![]() The collection is organized in two series: Series 1, General and Country Music, 1862-1986 and Series 2, Military Music, 1836-1975. Consists of published sheet music documenting American culture through popular music and cover art imagery.
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