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Items The coon with the big white spot

The coon with the big white spot

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Library division & collection with this item:

LIBRARY DIVISION
Music Division

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COLLECTION
American popular songs

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SUB-COLLECTION
Sheet music, 1895

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This Item

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Title
The coon with the big white spot
Additional title: Dark night, always was a loo-loo. [first line of chorus]
Additional title: There's a story going 'round, where e'er a coon is found. [first line]
Names
Gurney, Frank J. (Composer)
Gurney, Frank J. (Lyricist)
Irwin, Flora, 1858 or 1859-1930 (Singer)
Collection

American popular songs

Sheet music, 1895

Dates / Origin
Date Issued: 1895
Place: New York ; Chicago
Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons
Library locations
Music Division
Topics
Songs
Poor African Americans
Hoodoo (Cult)
Cardsharping
Genres
Scores
Notes
Content: Cover illustration shows a stereotyped drawing of an African American made to look like a person in blackface, a white spot on his left cheek, wearing a top hat, dressed in jacket with a tie and striped pants, and 3 dice at his feet.
Content: On cover: Sung with great success by Miss Flo. Irwin, in "Gentleman Joe" Co. Also introduced with great success in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" at the Tivoli Opera House, San Francisco, Cal. Sung in all the leading comedies.
Content: Text of song refers to Hoodoo.
Statement of responsibility: written and composed by Frank J. Gurney.
Physical Description
Extent: 1 score (6 p.) ; 36 cm.
Type of Resource
Notated music
Languages
English
Identifiers
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b10826013
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b21757200
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 1b0deb80-c590-012f-4e0b-58d385a7bc34
Rights Statement
The New York Public Library believes that this item is in the public domain under the laws of the United States, but did not make a determination as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. This item may not be in the public domain under the laws of other countries. Though not required, if you want to credit us as the source, please use the following statement, "From The New York Public Library," and provide a link back to the item on our Digital Collections site. Doing so helps us track how our collection is used and helps justify freely releasing even more content in the future.

Item timeline of events

  • 1895: Issued
  • 2016: Digitized
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Music Division, The New York Public Library. "The coon with the big white spot" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1895. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47de-157e-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Chicago/Turabian Format

Music Division, The New York Public Library. "The coon with the big white spot" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47de-157e-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

APA Format

Music Division, The New York Public Library. (1895). The coon with the big white spot Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47de-157e-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47de-157e-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 | title= (notated music) The coon with the big white spot, (1895) |author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=April 20, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

The coon with the big white spot