Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans. To celebrate, here are some independence-related scans from a couple of wonderful Fireside song books, each filled with amazing illustrations by some incredibly talented people.

The first selections will be from Fireside Book of Favorite American Songs, selected and edited by Margaret Bradford Boni. Arranged for the piano by Forman Lloyd. Illustrations by Aurelius Battaglia. © Simon and Schuster, 1952:


Hail Columbia
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The Liberty Song


Yankee Doodle


Chester

Next spread is from From Fireside Book of Folk Songs, selected and edited by Margaret Bradford Boni. Arranged for the piano by Norman Lloyd. Illustration by Alice and Martin Provensen. © Simon and Schuster, 1947.


The Star Spangled Banner
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The last is not from a song book, but from the cover to a 45 vinyl record:


American Songs To Sing, complied by Judy Wathen. Illustration & design by Abner Graboff. © Scholastic Records, 1976. As many of you know, I featured Abner's work last year when I was able to interview his son, John. This record belongs to one of our buddies here in Portland—I HAD to borrow it to scan so I could share it with you guys.

Okay, that's it! Hope you enjoyed this little bit of liberty-minded inspiration for this 4th of July! Have a great holiday!

Aurelius Battaglia featured in my Flickr.
The First Noel by Alice and Martin Provensen.
Abner Graboff featured in my Flickr.

Happy Voting Day

Something's in the air today. Can't you feel it?


It's not just the brisk autumn atmosphere. Almost like in Mary Poppins, where the changing of the winds signified something new just over the horizon.

In honor of this monumental day, here are a few scans from various music books in my collection. The first two are from Proudly We Sing, illustrated by Robert J. Lee. 1958.


These next two are from one of my favorite books, The Fireside Book of Favorite American Songs, illustrated by the amazing Aurelius Battaglia. It was published in 1952.




Lastly, a wonderfully simple illustration by the brilliant husband/wife team, Alice & Martin Provensen. From Instruments of the Orchestra, 1962.

Go out and vote today, people! I did.