Collection of American Sheet Music Relating to Women’s Rights and Woman Suffrage, 1838–1925.
United States: various publishers including Firth & Hall (New York), William Hall & Son (New York), Root & Cady (Chicago), Jerome H. Remick & Co. (New York and Detroit), Jos. W. Stern & Co. (New York), and others, 1838–1925. Approximately 35 pieces of sheet music, generally folio format (mostly 4–6 pp. each); see below for full inventory. Conditions ranging from fair to excellent, most very good or better. Item #List36107
This collection of sheet music traces nearly a century of American musical responses to the changing role of women in public life, culminating in the great campaign for woman suffrage that transformed political culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Spanning from the 1830s through the 1920s, the pieces gathered here illustrate how popular music both reflected and shaped public debate about women’s rights, equality, and social expectations. The songs range from early satirical or ambivalent treatments of women’s independence to explicitly political compositions created during the height of the suffrage movement.
Music played an important role in suffrage culture. Suffrage songs generally fell into two broad categories: rally songs and parlor music. Rally songs typically adapted women’s rights lyrics to the melodies of well-known tunes so that crowds at meetings, marches, and demonstrations could easily sing along even without reading music. Parlor songs, by contrast, were issued as printed sheet music with original words and music, intended for performance in homes, social gatherings, and small concerts. Together these forms helped spread the message of the movement while embedding suffrage ideas within familiar musical traditions.
The roots of such music extend back to the earliest years of the organized women’s rights movement. Although songs touching on women’s independence appear earlier, the subject gained particular prominence after the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. From that point forward, composers and lyricists—both supportive and critical—produced a wide variety of songs dealing with women’s equality, domestic authority, and the expanding public role of women.
Many early works approached the subject with humor or satire. Ballads such as “I’ll Be No Submissive Wife,” first written in the 1830s and reprinted in multiple editions by the late 1830s, have sometimes been interpreted as feminist statements but were likely intended partly as comic commentary on the era’s debates about marriage and obedience. Similarly, mid-nineteenth-century songs such as “Let Us All Speak Our Minds If We Die For It” blended political rhetoric with theatrical exaggeration, reflecting the contentious and often ridiculed status of women’s rights advocates in the decades before the Civil War.
By the early twentieth century, however, suffrage songs increasingly became direct tools of political activism. Marches, novelty songs, and campaign anthems appeared in large numbers during the intense referendum battles and national campaigns of the 1910s. These compositions—sometimes celebratory, sometimes mocking—capture the cultural atmosphere of the suffrage struggle in the years leading up to the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. Together, the pieces in this collection provide a vivid musical record of how the women’s rights movement entered everyday popular culture.
The present collection was assembled over many decades by a Chicago-area private collector. Most of these titles are not currently available in commerce. A list of the works follows. We have consulted Danny O. Crew’s Suffragist Sheet Music when possible as well as OCLC.
“I’ll Be No Submissive Wife”. Alex. Lee. New York: Firth & Hall, 1838. 10 pp. Very good.
An early American song touching on the theme of women’s independence within marriage. The lyrics reject the traditional wedding vow of obedience and were widely circulated in multiple nineteenth-century sheet music editions, this being the second edition. Crew S-1838-1, p. 13. OCLC 1083157275, locating two copies of the 1838 edition at the Library of Congress and Boston Public Library.
“The Lords of Creation Men We Call.” R, J.S. Philadelphia, A. Fiot, 1838. 3 pp. Good.
An early women’s rights themed song criticizing male authority, reflecting debates about women’s roles that were emerging in American reform culture before the organized suffrage movement. Crew S0-1838-2, p. 14. Several OCLC entries, finding approximately ten copies.
Songs of All Nations. [“I’ll Be No Submissive Wife”.] Alex. Lee. New York: Wm Hall & Son, [1848]. 9 pp. Excellent.
An anthology edition reprinting Lee’s earlier song within a collection of popular international melodies, demonstrating the continued circulation of the piece a decade after its first appearance. This edition is not in Crew or OCLC, we find a copy in the Rochester University sheet music collection.
“Bloomer or New Costume Polka”, or, “The Bloomer Polka”. Wallerstein and Edward Le Roy. New York: Firth Pond & Co., 1851. 6 pp. Very good plus.
A dance piece inspired by the “Bloomer costume” movement, the reform dress style advocated by Amelia Bloomer and other early women’s rights activists. Crew S-1851-2, p. 20. Two OCLC entries find five copies.
“The Bloomer Schottisch”. William Dressler. New York: William Hall & Son., 1851. 6 pp. Very good plus.
Another dance composition referencing the Bloomer costume controversy of the early 1850s, reflecting the widespread cultural discussion surrounding women’s reform dress. Crew S-1851-5, p. 22. OCLC 24519751, locating thirteen copies.
“Real Bloomer Polka, and Waltz”. Paul Schmidt. Louisville, Kentucky: Peters, Webb & Co., 1852. 6 pp. Very good minus.
A southern-published dance work capitalizing on the national attention given to the Bloomer dress reform movement. Crew S-1852-2, p. 31. OCLC 367888995, locating two copies, at Library Company of Philadelphia and BYU.
“Woman’s Rights (Song and Chorus)”. Fanny Fern. New York: William Hall & Son, [1853]. 6 pp. Very good to excellent.
Lyrics by the popular columnist Fanny Fern (Sara Payson Willis), a widely read nineteenth-century advocate for women’s independence and education. Crew S-1853-9, p. 38. Six copies in OCLC across three entries.
“We’ll Go Down Ourselves”. Henry C. Work. Chicago: Root & Cady, 1862. 6 pp. Very good plus.
A Civil War-era song by the well-known composer Henry Clay Work, reflecting patriotic themes associated with women’s participation in wartime support efforts. Not in Crew. OCLC locates ten copies across three entries.
“Let us all speak our minds if we die for it”. William Brough and J. Gaspard Wood. New York: Firth, Pond & Co., 1863. 9 pp. Very good plus.
A spirited women’s rights song advocating freedom of expression for women during the Civil War era. Crew S-1863-1, p. 45 (one of only a handful of entries from the Civil War period). OCLC 83733165, locating copies at the San Francisco Public Library and the New York State Library.
“Woman is going to Vote” in Songs of the Present Time. Luke Collin and J.P. Webster. Chicago: Root & Cady, 1868. 6 pp. Fair.
A song reflecting early post–Civil War debates over extending suffrage rights to women. Crew S-1868-3, p. 50. OCLC 1005829446, finding three copies, at SMU, Library of Congress, and the British Library Reference Collections.
“Hurrah for the Girls in Bloomers”. Arnold Somlyo. Chicago: The S. Brainard’s Sons Co., 1894. 6 pp. Very good.
A late nineteenth-century novelty song celebrating women wearing bloomers, a garment associated with women’s emancipation and the bicycle craze. Not in Crew. OCLC with two entries for the same copy at the British Museum Reference Collection, we find another copy at the Levy Collection at Johns Hopkins.
“The Bloomers”. O. Schrage and W. Potstock. Chicago: Wm. Potstock & Co., 1894. 5 pp. Very good minus.
Another humorous treatment of the Bloomer fashion movement, reflecting the popularity of women’s reform dress themes in popular entertainment. Crew S-1894-1, p. 141. None in OCLC. Crew locates a copy in his own private collection.
“The ‘New Woman’ March and Two-Step”. Eduard Holst. New York: The New York Music Co., 1895. 6 pp. Fair.
A dance composition referencing the “New Woman,” the widely discussed figure of the educated, independent woman of the late nineteenth century. Not in Crew. Two OCLC entries find three copies held including at the Library of Congress.
“‘Twentieth Century Woman’ Two-Step March”. Alfred W. Norris. Saginaw, Michigan: C.M. Norris, 1896. 6 pp. Very good plus.
A march celebrating the idea of the modern woman at the turn of the twentieth century. Not in Crew. Three copies in OCLC across three entries.
“The Captain of the Drill Corps. A Military Ballad”. Frieda Cohem. New York and Chicago: The S. Brainard’s Sons Co., 1898. 6 pp. Very good.
A patriotic ballad centered on women participating in organized drill corps activities popular in civic parades and suffrage demonstrations. An article in American Jewess magazine describes Cohen as being from Chicago and attending the Ursuline Convent in Canada. Not in Crew. Three copies in OCLC over two entries.
“The Typewriter Girls’ March”. H.F. Nielsson. Chicago: H.F. Nielsson, 1903. 5 pp. Very good.
A march celebrating women entering clerical professions, particularly the growing number of female typewriters in offices at the turn of the century. Not in Crew or OCLC.
“Why Can’t A Girl Be A Soldier?”. John J. Nilan and Roger Halle. New York: R.L. Halle, 1906. 6 pp. Very good to excellent.
A novelty song raising the question of women serving in military roles, reflecting early twentieth-century debates about women’s public participation. Not in Crew, four copies in OCLC over two entries.
“I’m Going To Do What I Please”. Alfred Bryan and Ted. Snyder. New York: Ted Snyder Co., 1909. 6 pp. Very good.
A popular Tin Pan Alley song expressing female independence, written by prolific lyricist Alfred Bryan and composer Ted Snyder. Not in Crew. Four copies in OCLC with different entries.
“March of the Suffragists”. Charlotte Druh. Chicago: Charlotte Druh, 1912. 4 pp. Very good.
An instrumental campaign march written during the height of the American suffrage movement, privately printed by the composer. We find little record of Druh outside of this composition. Crew S-1912-8, p. 245. Five copies in OCLC.
“Oh! You Suffragettes”. J.J. Gallagher and B.A. Koellhoffer. Irvington, New Jersey: B.A. Koelhoffer, 1912. 5 pp. Excellent.
A novelty song referencing the suffragette movement that dominated political discussion in the early 1910s, the lyrics with lots of talk of trousers and women growing too strenuous. Crew S-1912-10. OCLC 44387888, locating six copies.
“Marching On to Victory”. Schuyler Greene and Otto Motzan. New York: Jos. W. Stern & Co., 1913. 6 pp. Near Fine.
A campaign-style march celebrating the momentum of the suffrage movement, “respectfully inscribed to the suffragists of the world.” Crew S-1913-6, p. 262. Six copies in OCLC across four entries.
“Raise the Women Up”. Frank L. Ward and Genevieve Scott. Washington, D.C.: The H. Kirkus Dugdale Co., 1913. 6 pp. Very good minus.
A pro-suffrage song advocating greater rights and recognition for women. Not in Crew or OCLC, the only record we find is in 1913 copyright records. The Dugdale company was a successful song-poem publishing house in Washington, DC, that was indicted for fraud the year this was published, perhaps contributing to the scarcity.
“Since My Margarette Become a-Da-Suffragette”. Will D. Cobb and Gus. Edwards. New York and Detroit: Jerome H. Remick & Co., 1913. 6 pp. Excellent.
A comic Tin Pan Alley song about a man dealing with his wife’s involvement in the suffrage movement, both anti-immigrant and anti-suffrage: “No more do I eat the spagget; since my Margarette become-a da suffragette. Crew S-1913-9, p. 266. Six copies in OCLC.
“That Ragtime Suffragette”. Harry Williams and Nat. D Ayer. New York: Harry Williams Music Co., 1913. 6 pp. Very good plus.
A Broadway novelty song performed in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1913 that satirized the fashionable image of the suffragette. Crew S-1913-11, p. 268. Ten copies in OCLC across multiple entries.
“Wanted, A Suffragette”. Louette B. Richardson. Greenfield, Massachusetts: Louette B. Richardson, 1913. 5 pp. Near Fine.
A small-press suffrage song issued during the height of the national suffrage campaign, apparently satirical in nature, with lyrics describing a man staying at home and relaxing while the woman works: “Give me a suffragette… the money and comfort will all be mine.” Crew S-1913-14, p. 271. OCLC 1010605177, locating copies at the Library of Congress and SMU.
“Who Shall Wear Them You or I Love?”. J. Will Callahan and Paul Pratt. Chicago and New York: Frank K. Root & Co., 1913. 6 pp. Very good plus.
A novelty song reflecting contemporary debates about gender roles. Not in Crew. OCLC 499122001, locating copies at Baylor and the British Library.
“Your Mother’s Gone Away to Join the Army”. Thomas J. Gray and Raymond Walker. New York: Broadway Music Corporation, 1913. 6 pp. Excellent.
A humorous song imagining women leaving domestic life for public activity. Crew S-1913-18, p. 281. OCLC locates six copies across three entries including a copy at the Library of Congress.
“No Suffragettes for Mine”. Geo. F. Griffith, Geo. Reynolds, and Robt. Levenson. Boston: Hugo Hamlin, 1914. 6 pp. Very good.
An anti-suffrage novelty song reflecting opposition to women’s voting rights during the campaign period. A haggard looking man does laundry on the cover. Crew S-1914-12, p. 300. OCLC 1007508139, locating copies at Library of Congress and SMU.
“U.S. National Guard March”. Gene Swinbank. Warren, Illinois: Gene Swinbank, 1915. 4 pp. Very good minus.
A patriotic march reflecting military enthusiasm in the years leading up to American involvement in World War I, dedicated to “the Hon Mrs A R Canfield, First Lady Mayor of Illinois.” Angela Rose Canfield was the first woman to be elected mayor in the state of Illinois. Not in Crew or OCLC, we find no record of this piece outside of copyright records for 1916.
“She’s Good Enough To Be Your Baby’s Mother – and She’s Good Enough To Vote With You”. Alfred Bryan and Herman Paley. New York and Detroit: Jerome H. Remick & Co., 1916. 6 pp. Fair.
“She’s Good Enough To Be Your Baby’s Mother – and She’s Good Enough To Vote With You”. Alfred Bryan and Herman Paley. New York and Detroit: Jerome H. Remick & Co., 1916. 6 pp. Very good plus. [With different cover illustration]
A pro-suffrage song arguing that women deserving respect within the home were equally deserving of the vote, the lyrics follow the theme of the title, adding “Man plunged the woeld in war and sadness…” Crew S-1916-6 and S-1916-7, pp. 345-6. OCLC locates thirteen copies total of both cover designs.
“Votes for Women”. Susan Brooke Rutherfoord and Nellie Risher Roberts. Pittsburgh: Rutherfoord and Roberts Company, 1916. 3 pp. Very good plus.
A campaign song written by women advocating passage of suffrage legislation, apparently self-published by the two women who wrote it. Not in Crew or OCLC, we find no other examples of this privately printed sheet.
“Woman Forever”. E.T. Paull. New York and others: E.T. Paull Music Co., 1916. 8 pp. Excellent.
A patriotic march by the prolific composer E.T. Paull celebrating women’s achievements. This is apparently a later printing of the 1905 song included in Crew as S-1905-2. OCLC locates eleven copies over three entries.
“Down With Man”. Ronald Jeans and Charles Cuvillier. London: Ascherberg Hopwood & Crew, 1920. 6 pp. Very good plus.
A theatrical song reflecting the post-war era’s continued interest in gender politics following the achievement of suffrage, composed as part of the production Wild Geese. Not in Crew or OCLC as a standalone entry.
“A Hundred Years From Now”. Wm. B. Speth and Ned Underhill. Denver: Wm. B. Speth, 1925. 6 pp. Very good minus.
A speculative song imagining the future role of women in society in the decades following the suffrage victory, privately published by the composer. Not in Crew or OCLC.
Overall a fantastic collection assembled with care over many decades, with various themes of suffrage and women’s rights-related music represented, and several unrecorded titles.
Price: $8,500.00