TRANSPORTATION

Boxes 57-62

(907 items)
The most substantial number of this group has to do with railroads, from their beginning in this country. When the cornerstone of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was laid in 1828 by Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who had signed the Declaration of Independence more than fifty years before, two composers offered their musical talents to commemorate the occasion. One of the music sheets has an engraving of an imaginary train on the first page. Music relating to railroads was somewhat slow to appeal to the public fancy, but some interest was inspired by illustrated title pages in spite of the mediocre musical compositions. Probably the most important of these railroad items depicts the Philadelphia station of the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad as it appeared in 1831. Other entertaining covers adorn railroad music published in Baltimore and Boston. Much later a piece called "Clear the Way" envisioned the ultimate completion of railroad tracks, spanning the country. The occasional railroad accident, real or imaginary, was not overlooked.

The trolley car section is much smaller, although again the music covers encouraged the public interest. Bicycles caught on slowly until 1868 and 1869. Thereafter the wheel grew enormously in popularity and inspired many songs. Airplane songs began in the late 1890s but did not become popular until Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic in 1927 and inspired numerous songs about the intrepid adventure.

Automobile pieces commenced shortly before 1900 and increased dramatically as the years went by, through the 1920s, after which the excitement about this form of transportation waned. One other form of transportation, the horse, had a handful of musical admirers.

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