- Composed by
- Hill, William Joseph, American, 1899 - 1940
- Written by
- Yoell, Larry
- Subject of
- Elliott, Billy
- Published by
- Sherman, Clay & Co., American, founded 1870
- Owned by
- McDonald, Vernon Sugg, American, 1906 - 1982
- Date
- 1923
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 12 × 9 in. (30.5 × 22.9 cm)
- Description
- Sheet music for the song Rock-A-Bye My Baby Blues. The front cover of the sheet music features an image of Billy Elliott in blackface makeup. A caption under the image in blue type reads: [Successfully Introduced By / BILLY ELLIOTT]. A green and blue silhouette of the moon behind a house appears in the background of the front cover. Blue and green type the top of the front cover reads: [ROCK-A-BYE MY BABY BLUES]. A text box, next to the image of Elliot, has blue type that reads: [WALTZ / BALLAD / by / BILLY HILL / AND / LARRY YOELL / Writers of / The West, A Nest and You]. A logo for the publisher in a white box with blue type reads: [Sherman, Clay & Co. / SAN FRANCISCO]. White type at the bottom of the front cover reads [P O M/ GRIFFITH]. The inside of the front cover contains sheet music for a song titled [The West, A Nest, And You]. The interior of the sheet music contains three pages of music bars and notes in black ink for Rock A Bye My Baby Blues. The back cover features sheet music in blue ink for the songs titled: [I DON'T KNOW WHY] and [ORIENTAL LOVE DREAMS].
- Statement
- Objects depicting racist and/or stereotypical imagery or language may be offensive and disturbing, but the NMAAHC aims to include them in the Collection to present and preserve the historical context in which they were created and used. Objects of this type provide an important historical record from which to study and evaluate racism.
- Place collected
- Sugg McDonald House, Sonora, Tuolumne County, California, United States, North and Central America
- Place printed
- San Francisco, California, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Racist and Stereotypical Objects
- Written Music
- Type
- sheet music
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Sylvia Alden Roberts
- Object number
- 2014.275.4
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




