Lee Schreiner Sheet Music Collection

Lee Schreiner donated a large portion of his sheet music collection--several thousand pieces--to Rare Books and Special Collections in 2014. Music in the collection covers much of the early 20th century, with coverage especially strong during World War I (1914-1918). Because most Americans either had access to pianos or watched performers at music halls, sheet music is an ideal medium for studying popular and visual culture. Pieces in the collection reflect popular opinion about the war, as well as the changing status of women and minorities. The first phase to digitize the Schreiner collection concluded in 2017 to coincide with the centennial of World War I, with future plans to digitize more of the collection later in the year.

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