John Philip Sousa “King Cotton March” – 1895 Atlanta Cotton States Exposition Sheet Music
Original antique sheet music for John Philip Sousa’s celebrated King Cotton March, composed for the Cotton States and International Exposition held in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1895. Published by The John Church Company, this handsome upright-folio edition retains the striking original exposition cover depicting Sousa in military uniform beside a tall cotton plant.
Sousa wrote King Cotton especially for the Atlanta exposition, where his internationally renowned band was one of the principal attractions. The vigorous march quickly became associated with the fair and remains one of Sousa’s enduring concert-band compositions. Its title invokes the familiar expression “King Cotton,” reflecting the crop’s immense economic and cultural importance in the nineteenth-century American South.
The cover reads, “Written for the Cotton States and International Exposition, Atlanta, 1895,” and offers the work in numerous arrangements. This example contains the complete piano arrangement, identified by the original John Church plate number 11265-4-L. The back cover advertises Sousa’s other successful compositions, including The Stars and Stripes Forever, The Liberty Bell, The Bride Elect, The Charlatan and Hands Across the Sea.
Although the composition and original cover design date to 1895, the inclusion of Hands Across the Sea, published in 1899, establishes this example as a circa 1899–1900 printing from the original plates. This dating distinction is important and makes it more accurate to describe the piece as an early edition rather than a first edition.
Six-page upright folio, approximately 11 × 14 inches. Complete. General age toning, edge and corner wear, small marginal tears, spine separation and old translucent reinforcement along the fold. Light pencil notation at the upper-right corner. The pictorial cover remains clean, bold and highly displayable.
An appealing piece of John Philip Sousa, Atlanta exposition and American musical history, with an especially desirable portrait-and-cotton cover.
Original antique sheet music for John Philip Sousa’s celebrated King Cotton March, composed for the Cotton States and International Exposition held in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1895. Published by The John Church Company, this handsome upright-folio edition retains the striking original exposition cover depicting Sousa in military uniform beside a tall cotton plant.
Sousa wrote King Cotton especially for the Atlanta exposition, where his internationally renowned band was one of the principal attractions. The vigorous march quickly became associated with the fair and remains one of Sousa’s enduring concert-band compositions. Its title invokes the familiar expression “King Cotton,” reflecting the crop’s immense economic and cultural importance in the nineteenth-century American South.
The cover reads, “Written for the Cotton States and International Exposition, Atlanta, 1895,” and offers the work in numerous arrangements. This example contains the complete piano arrangement, identified by the original John Church plate number 11265-4-L. The back cover advertises Sousa’s other successful compositions, including The Stars and Stripes Forever, The Liberty Bell, The Bride Elect, The Charlatan and Hands Across the Sea.
Although the composition and original cover design date to 1895, the inclusion of Hands Across the Sea, published in 1899, establishes this example as a circa 1899–1900 printing from the original plates. This dating distinction is important and makes it more accurate to describe the piece as an early edition rather than a first edition.
Six-page upright folio, approximately 11 × 14 inches. Complete. General age toning, edge and corner wear, small marginal tears, spine separation and old translucent reinforcement along the fold. Light pencil notation at the upper-right corner. The pictorial cover remains clean, bold and highly displayable.
An appealing piece of John Philip Sousa, Atlanta exposition and American musical history, with an especially desirable portrait-and-cotton cover.
