Query Only; No Pics, Yet: Turn of the 20th C Sheet Music

Discussion in 'Ephemera and Photographs' started by wlwhittier, Sep 17, 2025.

  1. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Do we have among our members any old sheet music curators or collectors? I've been handed maybe 30 of them, in see-through sleeves...most in pretty good condition...an''asked to sell them for benefit of a friends memory-care spouse.
    I'm completely unfamiliar with this narrow market. I'll furnish pics in this thread if they'll help. eBay is the only venue I use, but craigslist is an option, I suppose.
    Thanks for any guidance y'all can offer!
    Warren
     
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  2. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

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  3. Debora

    Debora Well-Known Member

    Age. Rarity. Condition.

    Debora
     
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  4. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Got it, on both counts.
    I'll try pics of the front pages, one at a time...these will either be rewarding to some extent, or a complete waste of time. Thanks to both AJ & Debora!
     
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  5. Figtree3

    Figtree3 What would you do if you weren't afraid?

    That's not an area of expertise for me. Adding to what Debora wrote, I think it also depends on whether or not anybody collects a particular artist or genre or piece of music.

    @wlwhittier , I don't remember whether you use Facebook, but a google search led me to a link for a group of collectors of sheet music from 1890-1930.
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/sheetmusiccollectors/ -- Maybe somebody there could help.

    I've found a variety of YouTube videos about selling old sheet music.

    Also found this advice, last updated in 2019:
    https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/how-much-old-sheet-music-worth-148629
     
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2025
  6. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Thank you, Fig...I'm not on any of the social media. But my Kids (an' so on) are! I'll seek to enlist at least one of them in my cause.
    Now: on to the Spruce Crafts link!
     
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  7. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Here are the face-pics of the first (oldest) ten: 1879-1906

    P1450819.jpeg P1450820.jpeg P1450821.jpeg P1450822.jpeg P1450823.jpeg P1450824.jpeg P1450825.jpeg P1450826.jpeg P1450827.jpeg

    P1450828.jpeg
    I see now that there are tears, soil an' ratty edges on some of these...so not much value will be available. I gotta try, 'tho.
     
  8. Debora

    Debora Well-Known Member

    Condition isn't everything. That's an early Carmen. It was first performed in 1875 and not performed in the US until 1878. Early Herbert + Witmark might have some interest. Englemann's Mother Goose Dances are Ragtime. They're going to take a bit of research but I'd assume all of interest although some more so.

    Debora
     
  9. moreotherstuff

    moreotherstuff Izorizent

    I've certainly seen old sheet music with chromolithographic cover art to rival anything Currier and Ives ever did.
     
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  10. Figtree3

    Figtree3 What would you do if you weren't afraid?

    Are the Realtor labels attached to the plastic covers, or to the sheet music itself? I hope for the former! That sort of label might affect value.
     
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  11. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Naw, on the face itself...sigh
    There are ways to remove such debris, depending on the adhesive an' how long they've been stuck.
    But old paper is a crapshoot, an' I'm not gonna risk attempting it on other folks goods.
    These will sell, or not, as-is.

    Thanks for your research on Carmen, Fig...it was one of Dad's favorites; he was born in 1915, an' was fond of opera an' most other classical music all his late youth an' adult life. He didn't read music notation, but would have loved those old pages...
     
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  12. Figtree3

    Figtree3 What would you do if you weren't afraid?

    It was Debora who did the Carmen research... @wlwhittier .
     
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  13. Debora

    Debora Well-Known Member

    Carmen is a favorite of mine too.

    Debora
     
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  14. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Yes...it was. Losing my Grip!
    My sincere apology to Deborah...an' to you as well, Fig.
    Thank YOU, Deborah, for the research...an' your patience with my slight.
     
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