“The Old Gum Tree”
date: label: publishing date
content: 1848
name: label: composer
content: Wilson, R. O.
label: performers
content: Ethiopian Serenaders
label: publisher
content: F. D. Benteen
notes: label: Description
content: This sheet music is for the song “The Old Gum Tree.” The cover notes that the song was “sung with rapturous applause by the Ethiopian Serenaders,” and “composed for the Piano Forte by R.O. Wilson.” The song was composed in 1848, and was part of the culture of “coon songs” that became popular entertainment during the period. “Ethiopian” singers and performers were what blackface performers often called themselves, traveling in troupes and performing various song and dance numbers in often crass and racist stereotypes.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Maryland, Baltimore
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
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content: Popular Entertainment
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content: Music & Musical Instruments
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content: Sheet Music
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1983.0313.18
label: accession number
content: 1983.0313
label: catalog number
content: 1983.0313.18
objectType: label: Object Name
content: sheet music
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 14 1/4 in x 10 1/2 in; 36.195 cm x 26.67 cm