William H. Oakes

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Sheet music published by W.H. Oakes Dancing the Polka (Boston Public Library).jpg
Sheet music published by W.H. Oakes

W. H. Oakes (died 1890) was a music publisher in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts. He published compositions by Daniel Auber, Henry Russell and others.

Boston Capital city of Massachusetts, United States

Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city proper covers 48 square miles (124 km2) with an estimated population of 685,094 in 2017, making it also the most populous city in New England. Boston is the seat of Suffolk County as well, although the county government was disbanded on July 1, 1999. The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Boston, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 4.8 million people in 2016 and ranking as the tenth-largest such area in the country. As a combined statistical area (CSA), this wider commuting region is home to some 8.2 million people, making it the sixth-largest in the United States.

Massachusetts State of the United States of America

Massachusetts, officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, and New York to the west. The state is named after the Massachusett tribe, which once inhabited the east side of the area, and is one of the original thirteen states. The capital of Massachusetts is Boston, which is also the most populous city in New England. Over 80% of Massachusetts's population lives in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a region influential upon American history, academia, and industry. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing and trade, Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution. During the 20th century, Massachusetts's economy shifted from manufacturing to services. Modern Massachusetts is a global leader in biotechnology, engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.

Daniel Auber French composer

Daniel François Esprit Auber was a French composer.

Contents

History

Although details of his life remain scarce, ample evidence exists to show that William Oakes engraved and published many works of music throughout the 1840s. He usually employed outside printers, and distributed his publications through other vendors. Oakes seems to have borne responsibility for selecting the musical work, securing copyright permissions, hiring artists to create cover images, and arranging other logistics. Oakes himself engraved the musical notations.

In 1840 Oakes and Samuel Swan formed a publishing company, Oakes & Swan. The short-lived firm published musical works such as The Lament of the Irish Emigrant by William R. Dempster, and The Land of the Blest by J.P. Knight. [1] [2] Swan left the partnership by January, 1841. [3]

For several years Oakes maintained an office on Tremont Street. [4] Oakes served in 1841 as a trustee of the Music Institute. [5] In 1844, the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association selected three examples of Oakes' music engravings to exhibit at Quincy Hall. [6]

Tremont Street Road in Boston Massachusetts

Tremont Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association

The Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association (est.1795) of Boston, Massachusetts, was "formed for the sole purposes of promoting the mechanic arts and extending the practice of benevolence." Founders included Paul Revere, Jonathan Hunnewell, and Benjamin Russell. Through much of the 19th century, the association organized conferences and exhibitions devoted to innovation in the mechanical arts.

Selected publications

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References

  1. The Musical Magazine, Volume 2, 1840; p.195+
  2. David Tatham. Lithographs of Benjamin Champney. Old-time New England, summer 1976; p.4.
  3. Frank McCormick. George P. Reed v. Samuel Carusi: a 19th century jury trial pursuant to the 1831 copyright act. 2005. Accessed August 2009.
  4. The Universalist and ladies' repository, Volume 9, 1841; p.160.
  5. The Musical Magazine, Volume 2, 1840; p.192.
  6. 4th exhibition of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association at Quincy Hall, in Boston. Boston: Crocker and Brewster, 1844; p.207.
  7. Arlan R. Coolidge. Francis Henry Brown, 1818-1891, American Teacher and Composer. Journal of Research in Music Education, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Spring, 1961), pp. 10-36.

Further reading

Images