The John Philip Sousa Collection, ca.
1880-1969 (bulk 1910-1930), contains numerous photographs of Sousa, his bands,
and
other incarnations of the U.S. Marine Band, as well as bound volumes of Sousa
band
correspondence (1911-1931) and a band uniform worn by Sousa.
Call Number:
Performing Arts Collection
PA-00157
Language:
English
Access:
Open for research
Administrative Information
Acquisition:
Gift, 1971
Processed by:
Erin Lawrimore, 2002; Ancelyn Krivak, 2009
Note: This brief description is an accession record. The
collection is not fully processed or cataloged; no biographical sketch, descriptions
of series, or indexes are available.
Composer and bandmaster John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) was appointed director of the
U.S. Marine Band on October 1, 1880. After twelve years with the Marine Band,
Sousa
retired to lead his own civilian concert band in 1892, which he conducted until
his
death in 1932.
Sousa, known as the "March King," composed over 120
marches as well as numerous operettas, suites, waltzes, instrumental solo pieces,
and vocal works. While he first received acclaim in military band circles with
his
1886 march "The Gladiator," he is perhaps best
known for his 1896 march "The Stars and Stripes
Forever," which was designated as the national march of the United States on
December 10, 1987.
The John Philip Sousa Collection, ca. 1880-1969 (bulk 1910-1930), contains numerous
photographs of Sousa, his bands, and other incarnations of the U.S. Marine Band,
as
well as bound volumes of Sousa band correspondence (1911-1931) and a band uniform
worn by Sousa.
The collection was compiled by Joe E. Ward, a University of Texas graduate who also
compiled the Ward Circus Collection and the Fred Waring Collection. It is arranged
in the order found in the detailed typescript catalog of the Joe E. Ward Collection.
The materials were divided into categories based on the format of the materials
and,
to some extent, the subject or purpose of the materials. This inventory acts as
a
key: it provides only an outline of the categories and items in the collection
along
with their box locations. Thus this inventory must be used in conjunction with
the
typescript catalog, available in the Ransom Center Reading Room, in order to
identify and request specific items from the collection. Even though large items
were separated to oversize storage, references to these items appear in their
proper
categories with a note indicating their oversize locations.
Related Material
Photographs, concert programs, and other Sousa-related materials are located in the
Musicians Collection. Extensive Sousa archives are on deposit at the Library of
Congress, the U.S. Marine Band, and the University of Illinois.
