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

Documents and Published Materials-Sheet music

Racist and Stereotypical Objects

Type

sheet music

Topic

Blackface

Minstrel (Music)

Stereotypes

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.

GUID

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd55696fdca-5373-4a69-bf25-dabe291c530c