William Penn’s March — Pennsylvania Bi-Centennial Grand March, 1882
An original and exceptionally decorative piece of Pennsylvania commemorative sheet music published in Philadelphia for the 1882 bicentennial of William Penn’s arrival in America. Titled Bi-Centennial Grand March: William Penn’s March, the work was composed for piano by August “Aug.” Loumey and issued by the prominent Philadelphia music publishers Lee & Walker.
The elaborate cover presents William Penn holding the colony’s charter, framed by the dates 1682 and 1882. Behind him appear a sailing vessel and a group of Native Americans—imagery intended to evoke Penn’s arrival and the founding of Pennsylvania two centuries earlier. The music was published during Philadelphia’s elaborate bicentennial observances, which featured civic and military parades, concerts, historical pageants, fireworks and a reenactment of Penn’s landing.
The publication contains the pictorial cover, three printed pages of the complete piano march and a full-page Lee & Walker musical advertisement on the reverse. Another example is preserved by the Library of Congress.
Condition: Fair, with substantial age-related wear. The sheets are separated at the spine and display toning, edge tears, creases, scattered staining and historic tape repairs. Several tears extend into the printed music, although the composition remains substantially complete and the important William Penn cover image is well preserved. Please examine the accompanying photographs carefully.
A scarce and visually compelling survivor from Pennsylvania’s great 1882 bicentennial celebration—particularly desirable for collectors of William Penn, Pennsylvania history, Quaker history, Philadelphia ephemera and nineteenth-century American sheet music.
An original and exceptionally decorative piece of Pennsylvania commemorative sheet music published in Philadelphia for the 1882 bicentennial of William Penn’s arrival in America. Titled Bi-Centennial Grand March: William Penn’s March, the work was composed for piano by August “Aug.” Loumey and issued by the prominent Philadelphia music publishers Lee & Walker.
The elaborate cover presents William Penn holding the colony’s charter, framed by the dates 1682 and 1882. Behind him appear a sailing vessel and a group of Native Americans—imagery intended to evoke Penn’s arrival and the founding of Pennsylvania two centuries earlier. The music was published during Philadelphia’s elaborate bicentennial observances, which featured civic and military parades, concerts, historical pageants, fireworks and a reenactment of Penn’s landing.
The publication contains the pictorial cover, three printed pages of the complete piano march and a full-page Lee & Walker musical advertisement on the reverse. Another example is preserved by the Library of Congress.
Condition: Fair, with substantial age-related wear. The sheets are separated at the spine and display toning, edge tears, creases, scattered staining and historic tape repairs. Several tears extend into the printed music, although the composition remains substantially complete and the important William Penn cover image is well preserved. Please examine the accompanying photographs carefully.
A scarce and visually compelling survivor from Pennsylvania’s great 1882 bicentennial celebration—particularly desirable for collectors of William Penn, Pennsylvania history, Quaker history, Philadelphia ephemera and nineteenth-century American sheet music.
