5. Dec, 2021
The Victorian Music Sheet: Scotland in Full Colour
I am a great fan of the Victorian Music Sheet, those with illustrated covers. The piano was a an important feature in many homes at that time, and music sheet sales a lucrative area for publishers. Those that were published with illustrated covers were luxury items, often selling for the price of what was for many the weekly wage. Printing in colour was developed from the 1830s, and the field of music sheets was an important area of experiment and progress. The artist T. Packer, for example was known by his colleagues as 'Graduated Packer' because of his control of colour tints, particularly in his skies. By the mid-19th century, some artists earned their living from illustrating music sheets, and the doyen was Alfred Concanen, whose covers of the 1870s and 1880s are today very collectable items. The range of subject matter was vast, from Royalty and Royal occasions to the poorest in society, from military successes and failures, to marital relationships. Much of it came through the music halls, with titles we still know today. If you are interested in seeing typical examples, you can find many online, and I offer a selection for sale in my ebay shop (mitchmap50 is my seller name).
I have collected a few on Scottish themes, and will post some on a photo album page on this website. Many are of a military nature - Scottish bravery and fighting skills became synonymous with the British Army as a whole during the 19th century, and their striking tartan uniform a useful indication of this army for artists. But Scottish music has a strong place in Scottish culture, and the field is a wide one.