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My blackbird

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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 blackbird
Additional title: My blackbird, my dainty blackbird. [first line of chorus]
Additional title: There is extensive preparation going on, for Neeson Brewster's moonlight gambol on his lawn. [first line of song]
Names
Starmer (Illustrator)
Fagan, Barney (Composer)
Fagan, Barney (Lyricist)
Wall, Jimmy (Singer)
Collection

American popular songs

Sheet music, 1899

Dates / Origin
Date Issued: 1899
Place: New York
Publisher: Hylands Spencer & Yeager
Library locations
Music Division
Topics
Songs
African Americans
Blackbirds
African Americans -- 1890-1899 -- Women
African Americans -- Clothing & dress -- 1890-1899
Debutantes
Genres
Scores
Notes
Content: Summary: Neeson Brewster is having a dance at which his daughter will come out as a debutante; the narrator is her suitor and adores her.
Content: Cover design by Starmer includes drawing of a stereotyped image of an African American woman, dressed in frock and hat, with a blackbird perched on her right hand.
Content: Cover includes 3 thumbnail photographs of Jimmy Wall, 2 of them in blackface, with the caption: Yours, Jimmy Wall.
Content: Subtitle on cover: A dainty coon song.
Statement of responsibility: words and music by Barney Fagan.
Physical Description
Extent: 6 p. ; 35 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): 2cf9e6a0-c595-012f-1b25-58d385a7bc34
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
  • 2016: Digitized
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Music Division, The New York Public Library. "My blackbird" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1899. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/903b041d-e401-3436-e040-e00a180658a7

Chicago/Turabian Format

Music Division, The New York Public Library. "My blackbird" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 26, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/903b041d-e401-3436-e040-e00a180658a7

APA Format

Music Division, The New York Public Library. (1899). My blackbird Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/903b041d-e401-3436-e040-e00a180658a7

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/903b041d-e401-3436-e040-e00a180658a7 | title= (notated music) My blackbird, (1899) |author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=April 26, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

My blackbird