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For the 250th birthday celebration of the United States of America, we are resharing this wonderful 2014 blog post by Archives and Special Collections' employee Abigail Proehl about our music book collection: American History in the Mahoney Music Collection This week we celebrate the birth of our nation, with this Friday marking the 238th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Throughout those two centuries, music has played a key role in shaping our American culture

The Mahoney Music Collection covers a wide range of musical subjects. Within the subject of musical instruments — construction is an unusual set of books, the Hough’s Encyclopaedia of American Woods. While the 1957 set in the Mahoney Music Collection is not complete, a complete set has 16 two-ring binders with samples of wood and […]

Charles Burney’s and John Hawkins’s multi-volume histories were both published in London in the late 1700s (around 1776.) How are they different, and how are they similar? Why did the authors say negative comments about the other’s history?

Our book must have been striking when it was new in 1892 with its bright red velvet covers and shiny metal filigree corner embellishments. Title is Perlen aus der Instrumenten-Sammlung von Paul de Wit, Leipzig, published in 1892 and is in our Mahoney Music Collection. The English title is Pearls from the instrument collection of […]

This comprehensive music-related collection is mainly books, largely centered around stringed instruments, was created by John Mahoney, and is housed in the Archives and Special Collection at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, SD. Library of Congress sponsors #ArchivesHashtagParty once a month. November’s topic is #ArchivesBookLove.

The first day of spring in 2020 is March 19th. Image from: Randolph Caledcott, Hey Diddle Diddle and Baby Bunting, London: Frederick Warne & Co., 1882?, uncataloged book in Mahoney Music Collection in the Archives and Special Collections. Mahoney Music Collection is a diverse collection of books centered around the violin located in the Archives […]

These dancing witches and other supernatural beings are from The Celebrated Witches’ Dance, composed by Paganini, and transcribed for the piano forte by Wm. Vincent Wallace, 1852. Lithograph created by Sarony & Major, New York. This music score is located in the Mahoney Music Collection at the Archives and Special Collections, University of South Dakota. #Halloween, […]

Stop by the Archives and Special Collections where we have on display children’s literature from the Mahoney Music Collection. In addition to possessing great illustrations, these books enhance music vocabulary and music appreciation, introduce famous composers and musicians, and/or educate on musical concepts like rhythm and melody.

Three copper engravings from Description de l’Egypte were recently added to the Mahoney Music Collection. These plates are from Antiquities volumes 2 and 5 and show individuals playing harps. Each measure about 30” x 22”, with one in color and the others in grey tones. These images spark my curiosity. What did early Egyptian harp […]

It’s that time of year again! Halloween is slowly approaching once again. If you are a book lover and very festive during this time of year, come take a look in the Archives and Special Collections. We have some very interesting and spooky stories up here. From documents of ghost towns to books with […]

Mahoney Music Collection has books and journals with beautiful illustrations and photographs of musical instruments. Here are a few: Buonanni, Filippo. Gabinetto armonico pieno d’instromenti ti sonori, indicati, spiegati, e di nuovo corretti ed accresciuti. Roma: Nella stamperia di G. Placho, 1723. ML460 .B94 1723 Hipkins, Alfred J. Musical instruments, historic, […]

It is a fun day in the Archives and Special Collections when we get a batch of Mahoney Music Collection books back from the catalogers. The library at the University of South Dakota is in the process of creating catalog records for all the books in the Mahoney Music Collection. Having catalog records in the […]

The Mahoney Music Collection in the Archives and Special Collections contains wonderful books related to violin construction, which include but are not restricted to books about varnishes and woods. Below is just a sample. Hammerl, Josef, Reiner Hammerl and Jess Nierenberg. Violin varnishes: interesting information on resins and basic materials for violin varnish and […]

Well, this is it. It’s my last day. Today I get to turn in my key, submit my last time sheet, and clean up all my files on the computer, and I have to take home my sweater, wrist warmers, blanket, and refillable Einstein Bros. coffee mug . . . plus say goodbye to probably the […]

The Archives and Special Collections has recently digitized Pierre Baillot’s Methode de violon from the Mahoney Music Collection. This French treatise was published in 1793 with contributions from Pierre Rode and Rodolphe Kreutzer. It can be viewed, with a number of other treatises from the collection, on the Digital Library of South Dakota.

Summer projects in the archives can be tedious, monotonous, and seemingly endless. Luckily (this time) I got something fun . . . The expansive Mahoney Music Collection is slowly being cataloged by the University library, and much of what is yet uncataloged lives in file cabinets and is simply called “Mahoney pamphlets” — though most […]

This year will mark the 175th anniversary of the death of the legendary violinist Nicoló Paganini. Regarded as the most famous violinist of all time, Paganini is remembered in history for his supreme virtuosity and technique, but his life is also shadowed in mystery and lore. Born in 1782, Paganini spent most of his childhood in Genoa, […]

In addition to books, magazines, pamphlets, and ephemera, the Mahoney Music Collection also contains unpublished material, such as: All About Violin Varnish : Its Manufacture And Application. Gould, John A. Illustrations To Old Violins And Their Value Fleming, James M. John Gould’s Violin Instrument Appraisals – 1945-1984 Gould, John Sur Sylvestre, […]

American History in the Mahoney Music Collection This week we celebrate the birth of our nation, with this Friday marking the 238th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Throughout those two centuries, music has played a key role in shaping our American culture, and the Mahoney Music Collection is lucky to hold some of the […]

The Archives and Special Collections invites you to check out our new display featuring pieces from the Mahoney Music Collection. Items now on display in front of the Archives include: Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1st edition The Strad, Vol. 1 Portraits of Musical Celebrities, from Steinway & Sons (showing a testimonial from […]