Center for Southwest Research (CSWR) acquisition of 19th century sheet music made possible by Robb Trust

APRIL 3, 2017

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The Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections (CSWR) was fortunate to have had the support of the John Donald Robb Musical Trust to purchase some rare historical sheet music sets. CSWR acquired six sets from the 19th century pertaining to the Mexican American War and the Spanish American War.  Both wars impacted New Mexico enormously.  The earlier war resulted in New Mexico and other territories becoming part of the U.S.A. territory and the latter war saw a large contingency of New Mexicans joining Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders to conquer Cuba. This acquisition fits nicely into CSWR's historical collections as well as into the music traditions of the Robb Trust.
The newly acquired sheet music, glorifying these wars, is a basic form in which (Western) music was notated so that it can be learned and performed by musical ensembles. Sheet music was very popular during the turn of the century  and the hope was that people would embrace the patriotic music and the military mission. The popularity of sheet music subsided in the early 20th century as phonographs and later radio became more popular. ​