fhimpsl wrote:Dear Luigi,
More on the Arthur Sizemore saga... His "Oak Leaf Rag" is a great mystery which I've been working on for over 30 years now! According to the Library of Congress catalog of copyright entries, this piece was copyrighted on May 10, 1911 and published by Arthur L. Sizemore in Mankato, MN. Back then 2 copies of the published sheet music had to be sent in to the Library plus a fee of something like $2. to get the copyright. in one of my first trips to the Library, which would have been 1978-79, I met and became friends with the head librarian, who was a Mr. Wayne Shirley. I was allowed access to the LOC huge storage warehouse in Landover, Maryland (this was a really big deal at the time, and today I think public access is strictly forbidden). This is where the real "Hard Core" collection was kept. Two huge shelving systems, each containing a complete run of sheet music (in copyright order...ie. the order in which the scores were actually received). I looked up the copyright number for "Oak Leaf Rag" (which WAS assigned) and for some reason BOTH copies of "Oak Leaf Rag" were missing. The boxes which should have contained these sheets looked to have been untouched since the day they were put together, but the copyright numbers just skip "Oak Leaf!" After this experience, my pet theory on "Oak Leaf" is that a copyright number was assigned but for some reason Arthur Sizemore never sent in copies to the library. That leaves us with the very dim hope of finding the original sheet someday. I know of no collectors who have ever seen this sheet. No doubt it is/was a fantastic rag, noting Sizemore's great talent as a rag composer and songwriter as well.
On "Moppin' Up Rag", this one is listed as a composition of Sizemore's under his name on either the "Climber's" or "Blue Blazes" sheets. (By the way, I do have a photocopy of "Blue Blazes," which surprisingly turns up on Ebay now and again. Let me know if you would like to see it posted). "Moppin' Up" was never copyrighted as far as I'm aware, and if it was published it's in the same category as "Oak Leaf." Again, I don't know of a single collector who has ever seen it.
The Sizemore's made piano roll recordings as well. Arthur did one for QRS ("I've Got The Blue Ridge Blues"), and quite a number for US. Logan's name appears as artist on US rolls also. These are rare, I only know of a few different rolls surviving.
So that's what I know about the Sizemore mystery rags...for what it's worth!
All Best,
Frank
Dear Frank,
thank you very much for the very interesting details about Arthur Sizemore and his rare rags!!
I find particular fascinating to know about your accurate and deep researches and that should be a lesson for all of us on how to proceed in ragtime researches!
I’m trying to do my best to locate rare rags, but it’s not always an easy task…
Although I’ve never been in the USA for the moment, I often contact libraries all over the United States to try to obtain copies of rare rags.
eBay of course is another good source from time to time.
Indeed I sometimes receive help from collectors I know, although it’s not very easy to get music from some of them.
I’m currently try to get the “Kentucky Rag” and the “Fig Leaf Rag”, but I’m still waiting for a reply from the one I have asked for the music (I know for sure he’s got both pieces!).
Once again I’d like to invite all the Pianophiliacs who’re downloading and enjoying ragtime music here to contribute music.
Those who live in the United States can very well go to a local library to see if they can find old sheet music. I even happened to find some rare American rags in my local library in Milan, Italy….
That would be an important contribution.
Thanks for offering to scan “Blue Blazes” for me, Frank, but I’m actually a bit ashamed in asking for music here, because I know that would automatically mean to ask YOU for music everytime!
You’re doing so much and you posted so many incredible ragtime treasures that I can’t ask you for further involvement…
And again I can’t thank you enough for the pieces you’re sharing!!!
It would have been impossible for me to find many of those rare rags!
As for the Sizemore rag, I’d rather ask some other Pianophiliacs, maybe from Chicago, if there are any, to spend one hour of their precious time to locate the “Blue Blazes Rag” in their local library, get a photocopy of the piece and post it on Pianophilia.
Speaking of “Sky Rockets Rag”, the file previously posted has been obviously taken from Benjamin’s website, since it includes his own stamp, so I’d repost an original scan of the piece, without the stamp.
Then I also add the only recording of this piece that I know, played by Bob Wright.
And then two other rags, hopefully interesting, “
The Blue Grass Queen” by
Wm. Davies and “
Brush Creek Rag” by
Eleamora Beauchamp: the latter has been included in a ragtime medley by the great
Johnny Maddox, who played the second strain of this fine rag in a recording he made in the mid 1950s.
You find this great recording, “
Johnny’s Medley”, on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql3B55-Vu7Q
Enjoy the music from this fantastic ragtime pianist!
Luigi
Bob Wright - Sky Rockets (Severin).mp3
Severin, Philip - Sky Rockets.pdf
Beauchamp, Eleanora - Brush Creek Rag.pdf
Davies, William - The Blue Grass Queen.pdf