On May 20-21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh literally flew into history when he crossed the Atlantic Ocean in his Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis, thus becoming the first pilot to fly solo and nonstop from New York to Paris. This flight made Lindbergh a household name and catapulted him into fame and celebrity. The objects of popular culture in the National Collection display everything from ashtrays to wristwatches reflect the public adulation for Lindbergh and the powerful commercial response to his celebrity. More than 75 years after the Spirit's historic flight, Lindbergh's name still has the power help sell manufactured goods.
The success of Lindbergh's 1927 flight, and the details of his personal life thereafter, inspired over 260 pieces of sheet music. These pieces range in form from simple piano and vocal music, to marches, fox-trots, hops, stomps, two-steps, and even a mazurka. The vast majority of the music came from the United States, but compositions also came from France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain, Turkey, Cuba, Panama, and Japan. The titles reveal the feelings society had for Lindbergh, often hailing him as hero and bestowing affectionate nicknames, like "Charlie," "Lindy," and "Slim." The cover art of the sheet music frequently used images of Lindbergh or the Spirit of St. Louis, but some used images of his mother, wife, or popular performers of the music. The items in this collection represent a significant amount of the sheet music produced about Lindbergh.
Gift of the Stanley King Family.
Date: 1927
Dimensions:
2-D - Unframed (H x W): 31.1 x 24.1cm (12 1/4 x 9 1/2 in.)
Materials:
Paper
Physical Description:
Sheet music titled "Hail, Lindbergh! Chief of the Air" by Margaret G. Banfield and Bauer Bros., published by Margaret G. Banfield, copyrighted 1927. The three pages of music are printed on the right interior page and both sides of a single loose sheet. The left interior page is blank. The words "SAMPLE COPY" are stamped in red ink twice on the first page of music and once on the front cover, and the words "ORCHESTRAL ARRANGEMENT ON MARKET SHORTLY" are stamped in black ink on the first page of music. The front page has a black and white drawing of a crowd of people waving at the Spirit of St. Louis as it flies toward the Eiffel Tower. The back page is blank.
