[Sheet music]: A 19th Century Scrapbook of Handwritten Music Transcriptions (Including Material Related to *Tekeli: or, The Siege of Montgatz*) Ephemera,Music

A scrapbook of handwritten music, some pieces appear to be complete, some might be fragments, some have lyrics, many do not have lyrics. Small quarto. 36pp. Marbled paper wrappers with a calf spine. Wrappers detached but present with significant wear at the spine and edges, most leaves are loose, and nearly every page has tears along the edges, thus good only but all the music remains clear and legible, and there is only one instance in which it appears that a page is missing. An intriguingly eclectic scrap book of collected songs, marches, and fragments, some possibly original, some once popular, and some quite obscure. The most interesting pieces are those related to the 1806 play *Tekeli: or, The Siege of Montgatz* by Theodore Hook. The scrapbook contains three instrumental pieces related to the play, "Count Caraffa s March," "Counsellors March in Tekely" [sic], and "Edmund Led in, Blindfold." We have not been able to find a single piece of music that matches up with any of these, neither in name nor notation. We were able to locate a short piece titled "Tekeli March" credited to Hook's father, James Hook, but it does not match with any of the pieces here. It begs the question of whether or not these were transcribed by ear, given the spelling error in "Tekeli," with the addition of other such errors in the collection (e.g. misspelling Bonaparte as "Bonapark," Tartar as "Tater." Fisher's as "Fischer's," and Malbrouck as "Malbrouk"), or perhaps they are original pieces inspired by the play. Other pieces appear to have been copied directly out of a book, such as those that can be found in the 1809 publication *Original Welsh Airs*, composed chiefly by Joseph Haydn, songs like "The Charms of Meirionydd" and "Moira Rhydlan" including lyrics and correct spellings; or the handful of tunes copied out of the series *Country Dances and Cotillions*, which featured short instrumentals with no credited composers. While we were able to identify most of the material represented here, a few pieces remain a mystery. One instrumental appears to be titled "Marches and Dances in Felceli" but we cannot find anything resembling this piece. Two pieces are simply titled "Waltz," one "Air," and one "Russian Waltz," making the possibility of identifying them quite miniscule. But the biggest mystery of all is the creator of this musical time capsule; there is a signature on the verso of the front wrapper that we believe reads, "M.C. Ghing's," but even if that is correct it doesn't tell us much. What tells us more than any name could is the music this individual spent the time collecting and meticulously copying down. Whether for their studies or simply for fun, this scrapbook illustrates a life lived in music. Viewed today, in a time when any song can be heard instantly from anywhere, this tattered artifact serves as a reminder that music was once a true luxury, something heard only in certain places, and some of it reserved only for certain people. To flip through these pages and see how every bit of each page was used (lyrics going to the very edge of the page, notation spilling over onto the verso of the rear wrapper) demonstrates a deep love for music and all that it can inspire. A wonderfully unique 19th century musical scrapbook. A complete list of titles is available upon request.