The Special Collections Department of the MdHS Library has uncatalogued sheet music holdings in the neighborhood of 15,000 titles. The Star-Spangled Banner Sheet Music Collection is the first discrete collection within that group to be catalogued.

"In 1953 the Maryland Historical Society acquired the earliest extant manuscript of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' together with one of  the two known copies of its earliest printing. This dazzling acquisition was made possible by the combined generosity of  the trustees of the Walter's Art Gallery of Baltimore, who made the documents available at the depression price they had paid in 1934, and Mrs. Thomas Courtney Jenkins, who paid that not inconsiderable price on the society's behalf.

This generosity had reverberations in the 1960's. In 1965 Dr. Harry D. Bowman of Hagerstown, Maryland, an enthusiastic connoisseur of 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' gave the Society several of the scarcest items, including the first printing of the song in magazine form and one of  the earliest book publications. Later in the same decade, Mr. Lester S. Levy, Consultant to the Society on Sheet Music, discovered in the Society's stacks the first printing of 'To Anacreon in Heaven,' the tune to which the poem is set. Mr. Levy continued to advise the Society in the purchase of sheet music issues of the National Anthem. By 1969, in consequence, the Society held one of the world's best collections of printed and manuscript material relating to the song."

(Quoted  from Star-Spangled Books, by P.W. Filby and Edward G. Howard, Baltimore, Md.: Maryland Historical Society, 1972.)

Various acquisitions, including the gift of Mrs. Thomas Courtney Jenkins in 1953 and the gift of Dr. Harry D. Bowman in 1965.

The collection contains 155 items, sheet music scores ranging in publication date from 1814 to 1943. Most items contain Francis Scott Key's lyrics for The Star-Spangled Banner. In some cases, the tradition- al tune accompanying Key's lyrics—To Anacreon In Heaven—has been altered, or even replaced by a different tune altogether. Some scores are compilations of various patriotic songs that would have been performed along with The Star-Spangled Banner, such as Hail Columbia and Yankee Doodle. In most cases, the musical arrangement is attributed to a named composer. Most front covers are printed in color, and some back covers are printed with advertising. Most items have publisher and publication location clearly noted, and many note date of publication. Methods of reproduction include cold letter press and lithography, and in some cases printers are named.

Items are filed sequentially in an arbitrarily assigned catalog number order.