3 pp. 6¾x10”. With cover page for “Popular Male Quartette Arrangements” by C.F. Shattuck, which includes a listing for this individual printing of the Hymn. The lyrics of this iconic African-American hymn were written by poet, diplomat and civil rights leader James Weldon Johnson in 1899, then set to music by his composer brother. It was actually preceded as “Negro National Hymn” by the song “We Are Marching On” by Black classical composer and musician Will Marion Cook, but the Johnson brothers took that that designation for their own composition when it was first performed in the early 1900s, and it received the official blessing as such by the NAACP - of which James was the first Executive Secretary - at the end of World War I. While there were undoubtedly printings before that date, this is the earliest sheet music edition that we have seen.
3 pp. 6¾x10”. With cover page for “Popular Male Quartette Arrangements” by C.F. Shattuck, which includes a listing for this individual printing of the Hymn. The lyrics of this iconic African-American hymn were written by poet, diplomat and civil rights leader James Weldon Johnson in 1899, then set to music by his composer brother. It was actually preceded as “Negro National Hymn” by the song “We Are Marching On” by Black classical composer and musician Will Marion Cook, but the Johnson brothers took that that designation for their own composition when it was first performed in the early 1900s, and it received the official blessing as such by the NAACP - of which James was the first Executive Secretary - at the end of World War I. While there were undoubtedly printings before that date, this is the earliest sheet music edition that we have seen.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
