Presented by Hopkins at Home, Sheridan Libraries and Friends of the Johns Hopkins University Libraries

Join curator Sam Bessen for an exploration of music, literature, and thievery through the lens of historic bound volumes of sheet music. These 18th and 19th-century compilations, artfully leather-bound with colorful and custom designs, preserved the favorite songs of amateur musicians. While many such volumes were later dismantled so individual songs could be sold, the surviving books offer remarkable insight into the lives and tastes of their original owners.

Bessen showcases several rare examples from the collection, including an early publication by Baltimore’s own Benjamin Carr; a volume once owned by H.L. Mencken; and an exceptional first edition of The Star-Spangled Banner—stolen from one of these volumes and miraculously recovered.