Overview
Printed sheet music of and relating to W. S. (William Schwenck) Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan compositions and productions.
Dates
- Creation: 1866-1996
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English. Some material in German, Japanese, and Dutch.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.
This collection is not housed at the Houghton Library but is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine what material is offsite and retrieval policies and times.
Extent
1.75 linear feet (7 portfolio boxes)Collection contains printed sheet music composed and written by Gilbert and Sullivan, arrangements of Gilbert and Sullivan music, and sheet music related to Gilbert and Sullivan's body of work.
Biographical / Historical
W.S. (William Schwenck) Gilbert (1836-1911), an English lyricist and librettist, and Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900), an English composer, are well-known for their collaborative work in the mid-to-late nineteenth century.
Arrangement
Arranged into the following series:
- I. Arrangements
- ___A. Illustrated
- ___B. Non-illustrated
- II. Excerpts and selections
- III. Adaptations and parodies
- IV. Gilbert and Sullivan related sheet music
Items within series and subseries arranged alphabetically by production or composition title unless noted otherwise.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2010MT-11. Gift of Thomas Garrett; received: 2010 October 9.
Forms part of the Fredric Woodbridge Wilson Collection of Gilbert and Sullivan (Harvard Theatre Collection).
General note
This collection is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. See access restrictions below for additional information.
Processing Information
Processed by: Ashley M. Nary
- Title
- W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan sheet music, 1866-1996: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou02231
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.
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