EARLY AMERICAN MUSICAL MANUSCRIPTS.


2 Holograph Musical Manuscripts, the first 46 pp recto and verso, 4to (190 x 235 mm), the second 12 pp recto and verso, 8vo (160 x 195 mm), n.p., c.1790, featuring handwritten music and lyrics to popular tunes of the era, both volumes disbound, pages toned, some chipping at edges.Likely prepared for home use, perhaps by a student (some of the songs contain fingering notations), the present books contain music an lyrics for several popular late 18th century tunes, including "[Ode] On the Death of Dr. Franklin" (the first stanza only), "Handel's Water Piece," "The Match Girl," "The Soldier's Adieu by Dibdin," and "A Favorite Hymn by Dr. Arnold" in the larger volume, and "God Save Great Washington," "The Beggar Girl," and "The Maid of Lodi" in the smaller volume, among other titles. "God Save Great Washington," sung to the tune of "God Save the King," dates to the end of the Revolutionary War and served as a defacto campaign song for the General.