Origins
The musical library of Joseph W. Drexel had its origins in the library of Henry F. Albrecht (1822-1875). Born in Germany and trained as a musician, Albrecht's passion for collecting books on music had been fueled by Siegfried Dehn, musician and librarian of the Royal Library (today the Berlin State Library), whom he had met in Berlin. [4] Albrecht emigrated to the United States in 1848 where he was one of the organizers of the Germania Musical Society, a touring orchestra in which he was the second clarinetist. [1] [2] Visiting many locations in the United States enabled Albrecht to collect music literature and scores. The Society disbanded in 1854, while in residence at Newport, Rhode Island. [4]
That year, Albrecht decided to join the Icarians in Nauvoo, Illinois, which required that members donate all their belongings. [5] Albrecht created an inventory of his collection of 661 volumes, intending to donate them to the Icarians. [2] [5] In writing about the demise of the Germania Musical Society and Albrecht's plans, John Sullivan Dwight remarked "His library of music and of musical books, for one collected by so young a man, is really quite a wonder." Quoting from an unidentified article in the Newport Daily News, he added: "It is a well known fact that libraries of this kind are very rare" and that Albrecht's was "one of the most complete in America." [5] The Icarian community at Nauvoo failed by 1856 and its members dispersed.
In 1858, Albrecht sold his library to Joseph W. Drexel and moved to Philadelphia. Drexel was a banker in the midst of a very profitable career as a partner in the firm Drexel, Morgan & Co. With Albrecht's assistance, Drexel kept adding to his library. In 1865, he purchased portions of the library of Dr. Rene La Roche (1795-1872) (also mentioned as a competing library in Dwight's article [5] ) which contained English, French, and Latin publications. [6]
In 1869, Drexel published (with Albrecht's assistance) a catalog of the published works in his collection which at the time contained 2,245 volumes. [4] Additional volumes inventorying musical autographs, musical scores, and iconography were planned but were never published. [1] Sometimes Drexel's purchases made for social news. On November 17, 1876, the New York Herald Tribune announced that Drexel had purchased a manuscript missal of the fifteenth century written on vellum for $177.50. [7]
The most important later addition to Drexel's library was the purchase of a major portion of the library of Edward F. Rimbault which was auctioned in 1877. [1] [8] The significance of the library even merited a newspaper announcement. [9] Rimbault's valuable collection was well-known, and it was with dismay that The Musical Times reported: "all [the English unica] should have been purchased for the British Museum: now unfortunately it is too late, as a large proportion are on their way to New York." [10] (Purchases for Drexel at the Rimbault auction were made by the London firm of Joseph Sabin & Sons. [10] )
In 1877, Drexel also instructed Sabin to purchase at least two volumes from the estate of musicologist Edmond de Coussemaker (Aristoxenos's Auctores musices antiquissimi (1616) and Vincenzo Galilei’s Dialogo (1581), as well as volumes from the estate of Henry Aimé Ouvry and several other minor figures. [2] After this year his acquisitions appeared nearly to stop, except for purchases of rare books in 1880 from Ludwig Rosenthal’s Catalogue XXVI (purchased through the New York dealer F. W. Christern). [2]
Though Drexel was an active concert and opera attendee in the years of his retirement, very few contemporary musical works are present in his collection.
Death and donation to Lenox Library
An active philanthropist and a board member of several institutions after his retirement in 1877, [2] Drexel made known his intention was that his library be donated to the Lenox Library upon his death. [11] He died during the Great Blizzard of 1888. It was with surprise that newspapers noted that his will contained only a single bequest to a charitable organization:
All that portion of my library which consists of works relating to the science of music, also all musical compositions and treatises on other works on musical subjects" [be given to the Lenox Library] "upon the express condition that the said trustees of The Lenox Library shall sign and deliver to my executors, hereinafter named, a written acceptance of the said portion of my library, and an agreement to keep the same separated from all other books or collections of books, and to preserve the same in separate shelves or cases, to be labeled "Drexel Musical Library." [12]
"The collection of musical works in his library is considered one of the finest in the United States..." reported the New York Herald in its obituary of Drexel. [13] The trustees of the Lenox Library voted on June 7, 1888 to accept the bequest. [2]
When the Lenox Library merged with the Astor Library and the Tilden Trust in 1895 to form The New York Public Library, the Drexel Collection was organized by subject based on the classification system of John Shaw Billings, the first director of the newly formed library. As stipulated by Drexel's will, his collection was given call numbers distinct from the rest of the library in the form of consecutive numbering, 1 through 6013 (some volumes contained many pamphlets or smaller works bound together). [2] Although it has moved several times since its inception, the Music Division continues to house the Drexel Collection under special conditions for reasons of preservation. [2]
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James Lenox was an American bibliophile and philanthropist. His collection of paintings and books eventually became known as the Lenox Library and in 1895 became part of the New York Public Library.
Edward Francis Rimbault was a British organist, musicologist, book collector and author.
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Joseph William Drexel was a banker, philanthropist, and book collector.
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Drexel 4257, also known by an inscription on its first page, "John Gamble, his booke, amen 1659" is a music manuscript commonplace book. It is the largest collection of English songs from the first half to the middle of the 17th century, and is an important source for studying vocal music in its transition from Renaissance music to Baroque music in England. Many songs also provide commentary on contemporary political events leading up to the Restoration.
The Lenox Library was a library incorporated and endowed in 1870. It was both an architectural and intellectual landmark in Gilded Age–era New York City. It was founded by bibliophile and philanthropist James Lenox, and located on Fifth Avenue between 70th and 71st Streets on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Renowned architect Richard Morris Hunt designed the building, which was considered one of the city's most notable buildings, until its destruction in 1912.
Drexel 4041 is a 17th-century British music manuscript commonplace book. As described by musicologist John P. Cutts, Drexel 4041 "is a treasure-house of early seventeenth-century song and dramatic lyric worthy of the attention of any student of seventeenth-century literature and drama." It is also a major source for the work of English composer William Lawes. Belonging to the New York Public Library, it forms part of the Drexel Collection, housed in the Music Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Following traditional library practice, its name is derived from its call number.
Drexel 4175, also known by an inscription on its cover, "Ann Twice, Her Book" or by the inscription on its first leaf, "Songs unto the violl and lute," is a music manuscript commonplace book. It is a noted source of songs from English Renaissance theatre, considered to be "indispensable to the rounding-out of our picture of seventeenth-century English song." It is believed to contain the original music of the song "Come Away, Hecket" as heard in Thomas Middleton's play The Witch which was used in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Belonging to the New York Public Library, the manuscript forms part of the Music Division's Drexel Collection, located at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Following traditional library practice, its name is derived from its call number.
Joseph Sabin was a Braunston, England-born bibliographer and bookseller in Oxford, Philadelphia, and New York City. He compiled the "stupendous" multivolume Bibliotheca Americana: A Dictionary of Books Relating to America, considered a "bibliophilic monument;" and published the American Bibliopolist, a trade magazine. His sons Robert T. Sabin and William W. Sabin also worked in the bookselling business.
Drexel 4302, also known as the Sambrook Book, based on an inscription from a former owner, Francis Sambrook, is a music manuscript containing vocal and keyboard music from Italian and British composers, documenting the transition from Renaissance to Baroque music. Though literature on the manuscript has assumed the copyist was Francis Tregian the Younger, recent analysis has demolished that hypothesis.
Drexel 4180–4185 is a set of six manuscript partbooks copied in Gloucester, England, containing primarily vocal music dating from approximately 1615-1625. Considered one of the most important sources for seventeenth century English secular song, the repertoire included represents a mixture of sacred and secular music, attesting to the partbooks' use for entertainment and pleasure, rather than exclusively for liturgical use.
Drexel 5856 is a music manuscript containing works composed by George Frideric Handel. It is a significant primary source of the composer's work, having been copied by one of Handel's frequent copyists, John Christopher Smith, possibly as a presentation copy.
Parthenia Inviolata, or Mayden-Musicke for the Virginalls and Bass-Viol is the second book of keyboard music printed in England, containing twenty pieces scored for virginal and bass viol.
Drexel 5611 is a 17th-century music manuscript compilation of works written for virginal. Dating from either the end of the Commonwealth period or the early Restoration period, it is an important source for English keyboard music. It also includes a handful of works by French composers, reflecting the growing interest among English musicians in contemporary French keyboard music.
Drexel 3976, also known as The Rare Theatrical, is a 17th-century music manuscript compilation of works by the composer Matthew Locke, considered by some to be "the father of all Restoration dramatic music." The manuscript is a significant source of Locke's instrumental dramatic music with many works not known through any other source, although the contexts of the individual works and the names of the plays which they are from has not been documented.
