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Items My Black Bess

My Black Bess

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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, 1899

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This Item

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Title
My Black Bess
Additional title: When the silver moon is beaming, thro' the tree tops softly gleaming. [first line of song]
Additional title: You're the sun shine of old Virginia my black Bess. [first line of chorus]
Names
Sterling, Andrew B., b. 1874 (Lyricist)
Von Tilzer, Harry, 1872-1946 (Composer)
Forrester, Fannie, 19th cent. (Singer)
DeBonne, Theo (Singer)
Collection

American popular songs

Sheet music, 1899

Dates / Origin
Date Issued: 1899
Date Issued: 1898
Place: New York
Publisher: E.T. Paull Music Co.
Library locations
Music Division
Topics
Songs
African Americans
Love songs
Sexual attraction
Genres
Scores
Notes
Content: Summary: The narrator expresses his love for Bess, asking will she kiss him.
Content: On cover: Sung with great success by Fannie, Forrester and DeBonne, Theo.
Content: Copyright date on cover: 1898; copyright date on first page of music: 1899.
Content: Cover design includes drawing of a hand holding an enveloped addressed to My black Bess.
Statement of responsibility: words by Andrew B. Sterling ; music by Harry Von Tilzer.
Physical Description
Extent: 6 p. ; 34 cm.
Type of Resource
Notated music
Languages
English
Identifiers
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b10826013
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b21736880
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b21738653
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 2c4e1990-c595-012f-c130-58d385a7bc34
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

  • 1899: Issued (Approximate)
  • 2016: Digitized
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Music Division, The New York Public Library. "My Black Bess" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1899 - 1898. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/903a4b63-10d0-10d1-e040-e00a180657f4

Chicago/Turabian Format

Music Division, The New York Public Library. "My Black Bess" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 25, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/903a4b63-10d0-10d1-e040-e00a180657f4

APA Format

Music Division, The New York Public Library. (1899 - 1898). My Black Bess Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/903a4b63-10d0-10d1-e040-e00a180657f4

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/903a4b63-10d0-10d1-e040-e00a180657f4 | title= (notated music) My Black Bess, (1899 - 1898) |author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=April 25, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

My Black Bess