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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School Fall 11-16-1978 A Study of A. E. Blackmar and Brother, Music Publishers, of New Orleans, Louisiana, and Augusta, Georgia: with a Check List of Imprints in Louisiana Collections Paul Richard Powell Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Part of the Library and Information Science Commons, and the Music Commons Recommended Citation Powell, Paul Richard, "A Study of A. E. Blackmar and Brother, Music Publishers, of New Orleans, Louisiana, and Augusta, Georgia: with a Check List of Imprints in Louisiana Collections" (1978). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 8234. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/8234 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A STUDY OF A. E. BLACKMAR AND BROTHER, MUSIC PUBLISHERS, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, AND AUGUSTA, GEORGIAi WITH A CHECK LIST OF IMPRINTS IN LOUISIANA COLLECTIONS A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Library Science in The Graduate School of Library Science by Paul Richard Powell B.A., Louisiana College, 1963 B.D., New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 1966 M.C.M., New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 1973 December, 1978 MANUSCRIPT THESES Unpublished theses submitted for the Master's and Doctor’s Degrees and deposited in the Louisiana State University Library are available for inspection. Use of any thesis is limited by the rights of the author. Bibliographical references may be noted, but passages may not be copied unless the author has given permission. Credit must be given in subsequent written or published work. A Library which borrows this thesis for use by its clientele is expected to make sure that the borrower is aware of the above restrictions. LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many persons helped in the research for this project. Although each cannot be acknowledged by name, several per­ sons deserve special recognition. The original idea for a project in the area of Louisiana sheet music came from my former professor, Dr. Harry Eskew of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. After having learned of Peggy Boudreaux’s thesis in this area and subsequent conversations with her, it was decided that an extension of her work might be in order. However, after conferring with Mr. Vaughn Glasgow of the Louisiana State Museum and Mrs. Al Rose of New Orleans, it seemed that a more valuable study might be that of one New Orleans music publisher. Hence, the eventual choice of A. E. Blackmar & Bro. I am deeply indebted to each of these persons for their suggestions and encouragement in the selection of the topic for research. Fortunately, there are Blackmar descendents living in New Orleans from whom invaluable information and insight were obtained. Mrs. Alicia Blackmar Anderson, granddaughter of A. E. Blackmar, and her daughter, Mrs. Patricia Krupp, were most helpful in sharing family memorabilia as well as interesting bits of oral history concerning their ancestors. ii Mrs. Anderson’s sister, Dorothy Blackmar, collected informa­ tion about her grandfather over a period of many years prior to her death, and this study owes much to her efforts, with­ out which a great deal of information about Blackmar and his publishing activities would have been forever lost. Special appreciation is expressed to the chairman of my committee, Dr. Charles D. Patterson of the Graduate School of Library Science, for his guidance and encourage­ ment throughout the project. Likewise, I acknowledge with appreciation the other members of my committee, Dr. Marie L. Cairns of the Graduate School of Library Science and Dr. Mary Hansard of the School of Music, for their reading of the manuscript and helpful suggestions. Assistance rendered by staff members in each of the libraries used is hereby gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks is given to Miss Evangeline Lynch of the Louisiana Room, Louisiana State University Libraryi and to Mrs. Mary LeBlanc and Mrs. Helen Burkes of the Special Collections Division, Howard Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University, for their invaluable assistance in the use of their collections. Without their assistance and that of other staff members, this project would not have been possible. Finally, I am deeply grateful to my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Powell of Jena, Louisiana, for their financial assistance throughout this period of study. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................. ii ILLUSTRATIONS ..................................................................................... v ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................... INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 PART ONE A HISTORY OF THE MUSIC PUBLISHING ACTIVITIES OF A. E. BLACKMAR & BRO. CHAPTER 1. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE BLACKMARS PRIOR TO 1860 ........................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2. MUSIC AND MUSIC PUBLISHING IN NEW ORLEANS PRIOR TO 1860 ........................................................... 12 CHAPTER 3. NEW ORLEANS 1860-1862 16 CHAPTER 4. AUGUSTA, GEORGIA 1862-1864 ................................. 24 CHAPTER 5. THE POST-WAR YEARS.........................................................34 CHAPTER 6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ...................................... 48 PART TWO A CHECK LIST OF BLACKMAR IMPRINTS IN LOUISIANA COLLECTIONS NOTES ON THE CHECK LIST..................................................................... 52 A CHECK LIST OF BLACKMAR IMPRINTS IN LOUISIANA COLLECTIONS..................................................................... 56 APPENDIX A.................................................................................................. 104 APPENDIX B.................................................................................................. 107 APPENDIX C..................................................................................................108 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................... 109 VITA............................................................................................................ .... iv ILLUSTRATIONS Plate I. Picture of Armand Edward Blackmar ..................................... 10 II. Picture of Henry Clay Blackmar...........................................11 III. Cover page of "The Bonnie Blue Flag*'........................... 23 IV. Cover page of "The Southern Marseillaise" .... 31 V. Cover page of "Maryland 1 My Maryland!".......................32 VI. Cover page of "God Save the South!"................................33 v ABSTRACT For three decades, I858-I888, A. E. Blackmar of New Orleans, Louisiana, was one of the leading music pub­ lishers in the South. During the Civil War he published more titles than any other Confederate music publisher, operating both from New Orleans and also from Augusta, Georgia. After the war, Blackmar engaged in a number of unsuccessful partnerships but continued to publish music until his death in 1888. He also established business in New York and San Francisco for brief periods. It was primarily as a Confederate music publisher that A. E. Blackmar made his greatest contribution to American sheet music publishing. This study is a history of his music publishing activities and includes a check list of his imprints in three Louisiana collectionsj The Louisiana Room of Louisiana State University Library, The Special Collections Division of Howard Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University, and The Historic New Orleans Collection. Part One comprises an historical account of Blackmar's music publishing activities. Chapter 1 includes biographical sketches of A. E. Blackmar and his brother H. C. Blackmar. Chapter 2 is a brief description of music vi and music publishing in New Orleans prior to i860, the year Blackmar established his company in New Orleans. Chapter 3 covers Blackmar's publishing activities in New Orleans from 1860-1862. Chapter 4 covers his Augusta, Georgia, operation during 1862-1864. Chapter 5 covers the post-war period through A. E. Blackmar's death in 1888. A summary and conclusions along with suggestions for further study are included in Chapter 6. Part Two is ”A Check List of Blackmar Imprints in Louisiana Collections.’’ Introductory notes describe the collections from which the check list was compiled and explain the arrangement of data within the entries. Appendices are included for imprints with Blackmar as a subsidiary publisher, for music independently published by H. C. Blackmar, and for music composed by the Blackmars but published by other firms. vii INTRODUCTION For nearly one hundred years, from near mid­ nineteenth to mid-twentieth century, the city of New Orleans was the center of a thriving music publishing trade. Particularly during the Civil War period and the latter nineteenth century, New Orleans was unexcelled in the South and

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