About the Collection
The Nineteenth Century American Sheet Music Collection at the UNC-Chapel Hill Music Library includes
approximately 3,500 popular vocal and instrumental titles from the 1830s to the end of the century.
This site contains catalog descriptions and digital images of the individual pieces in the collection.
It was acquired as 125 bound volumes which were individually gathered by the original owners of
the music, often young women who wanted to collect their favorite pieces of sheet music into one
volume. In some cases, the original owner's name was embossed on the cover. Those volumes for
which we have information about the owner can be accessed here.