Enormous collection of approximately 165 photos, pieces of sheet music, and a few letters, each signed in ink by a luminary of mid-20th century music, most inscribed to ASCAP secretary Sylvia Rosenberg. Many of the musicians have also added an AMQS. Highlights of the collection include: Cole Porter (2: TLS and sheet music for 'I Love You'), Irving Berlin (3: sheet music for 'Easter Parade,' 'A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody,' and 'Remember'), Harold Arlen (6: SP and sheet music for 'That Old Black Magic,' 'Come Rain or Come Shine,' 'Stormy Weather,' 'Blues in the Night,' and 'The Man That Got Away'), Aaron Copland (1: SP), Richard Rodgers (5: sheet music for 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain,' 'You'll Never Walk Alone,' 'The Sweetest Sounds,' 'Where or When,' and 'Manhattan'), and W. C. Handy (4: three TLSs and sheet music for 'Saint Louis Blues').
Other signers include: Stanley Adams, Harold Adamson (2), Lou Alter, Maxwell Anderson, Harry Armstrong and Richard H. Gerard, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle, James W. Blake (2), Ernest Bloch (3), Shelton Brooks, Johnny Burke and Harold Spina, Joe Burke, Ernie Burnett, Annelu Burns, Charles Wakefield Cadman (2), Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn (2), Eddie Cantor, Hoagy Carmichael, Irwin M. Cassel and Mana-Zucca, Josef Cherniavsky, Bartley Costello, Robert Crawford, Joe Darion, Hal David, Howard Dietz, Gud Edwards, Jack Egan, Edward Eliscu, Mischa Elman, Sammy Fain, Dorothy Fields (3), Rudolf Friml, John Golden, George Graff, Jr., Johnny Green (2), Otto Harbach (4), Ray Henderson (4), Jerry Herman, Ray Hubbell, Raymond Hubbell (2), Carrie Jacobs-Bond (2), Elsie Janis, Jacey Junior and Raymond Hubbell, Fritz Kreisler, Burton Lane (5), Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion, Alan Jay Lerner, Edgar Leslie (2), Frank Loesser, Herb Magidson, Henry Mancini, Gerald Marks, Johnny Marks, Dave McEnery, Jimmy McHugh, Johnny Mercer (4), Bob Merrill, Theo. A. Metz (2), Vic Mizzy, Harry Owens, Mitchell Parish, Al Piantadosi, Oscar Rasbach, Andy Razaf, Dave Reed, Harold Robe, Lee S. Roberts, Sigmund Romberg, Harold Rome, Harry Ruby, Arthur Schwartz (3), Harry B. Smith, Oley Speaks (3), Deems Taylor, Virgil Thomson, Harry Tierney, Rudy Vallee, James Van Heusen, Harry Warren (2), Ned Washington (2), Paul Francis Webster, Percy Wenrich (3), Richard A. Whiting, Spencer Williams, Allie Wrubel, Jack Yellin (3), Vincent Youmans (3), Joe Young.
All items come from the estate of Rosenberg, whose tenure at ASCAP began in 1927. Among other things, Ms. Rosenberg served as secretary to composer and ASCAP President Deems Taylor from 1942-1948, during which time she became increasingly well-known. In the April 10, 1943, issue of Billboard magazine, a brief column asserted that ‘every writer or publisher ever having any business transactions with ASCAP has, of course, run into Sylvia Rosenberg.’ It was during these ‘run-ins’ that Rosenberg managed to amass her tremendous collection of musical autographs. RR Auction COA.
