Another one of the treasures that I have from my Grandma is a large stack of piano music.

There are a few instruction books, old issues of Etude magazine and a nice variety of sheet music.

Tonight I will share three sheet music covers from MCMXIX. (1919 for us non-Romans)

I really like this cover. The cover art for Naughty Hindu Eyes is by W.R. Cameron who illustrated a lot of sheet music covers. The words and music are by J. A. MacMeekin who is also the publisher.

Unfortunately, my scanner is just a bit smaller than the sheet music, so you don’t see the black border all the way around the picture. I really like the contrast between the green and black on the cover.

The words to the song are also interesting. They remind me of my trips to India.

Dear Hindu-land of Hindustan you have wrapped your charm around me.

Deep in the shade of mystic glade. A dark maiden danced there for me.

Rolled her bright eyes to tantalize. While she bid me stay.

Here is another great example of the sheet music from the era. The cover of Dear Heart is so colorful. The words are by Jean LeFavre and the music by W. G. Polla and Willard Goldsmith.

I had to sing through a bit of the song inside. It is a good thing that this is not a video blog 🙂

This is another beautiful cover. Unfortunately, someone put a sticker on the cover. Perhaps the piece was given as an assignment around Christmas time and they did a great job playing it. I really like the pink of the rose and the artistic frame surrounding it. I also like the little pink butterfly that hovers below the main image.

When You Look in the Heart of a Rose was a very popular song in 1919. The song is as beautiful as the cover. You can listen to a recording at the Library of Congress National Jukebox. The recording is of John McCormack singing the song. The music is by Florence Methven and the lyrics by Marian Gillespie.

I hope you enjoyed this little trip to the past.

Steven