Music, 1848-1929

Most of these musical materials were digitized from Music Division collections as part of the 1998 exhibition The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship. The exhibit explored Black America's quest for equality from the early national period through the 20th-century and was the largest Black history exhibit ever held at the Library of Congress. The materials include a script from the musical “Shuffle Along,” abolitionist song books, Fisk Jubilee Singers sheet music, memoirs of bandleader James Reese Europe. Also included is a Victor Records catalog of blues, spirituals, dance tunes, sermons, and others geared to an African American audience that comes from the Library’s General Collection.