RARE Manuscript Signed Samuel Francis Smith 1892 My Country Tis of Thee \"America
![RARE Manuscript Signed Samuel Francis Smith 1892 My Country Tis of Thee \](img-large/g/V7YAAOSwYxBaDftP/s-l1600/RARE-Manuscript-Signed-Samuel-Francis-Smith-1892-M.jpg "RARE Manuscript Signed Samuel Francis Smith 1892 My Country Tis of Thee \")
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RARE Manuscript Signed Samuel Francis Smith 1892 My Country Tis of Thee \"America:
$2720.00
RARE Autograph Manuscript Signed
Famous American Author / PoetSamuel Francis Smith
My Country \'Tis of Thee - \"America\"All Four Stanzas -- Large Format1892
For offer, an ORIGINAL signed manuscript poem. Vintage, Old, antique, Original - NOT a Reproduction - Guaranteed !!Smith would sometimes write out a verse or two, but would not as often write out the entire work, especially this size. Large format - Manuscript sheet measures 16 x 20 inches; with archival matte, measures juts under 20 x 22 inches. Signed lower righ corner; at lower left corner: Written in Feb. 1832, This autograph written Oct. 1, 1892.\" I have seen similar ones sold for $3,000 - $6,000. In good to very good condition. Darkening at matte edge, some small holes and wear at edges. Please see photos for details. If you collect American history, Americana 19th century autograph manuscript handwriting, MS, Patriotic, signed letters,etc., this is one you will not see again. A nice piece for your paper / ephemera collection. Perhaps some genealogy research information as well. Combine shipping on multiple offer wins! 1153
Samuel Francis Smith (October 21, 1808 – November 16, 1895) was an American Baptist minister, journalist, and author. He is best known for having written the lyrics to \"My Country, \'Tis of Thee\", which he entitled \"America\".
Life and career[edit]Smith was born in Boston, Massachusetts on October 21, 1808.Famous composition[edit]Smith gave Lowell Mason the lyrics he had written and the song was first performed in public on July 4, 1831,[1] at a children\'s Independence Day celebration at Park Street Church in Boston. The song, titled \"America\", was first published by Lowell Mason in The Choir in 1832.[1] Smith later wrote an additional stanza for the April 30, 1889 Washington Centennial Celebration. There is a handwritten note by Smith in the Louise Arner Boyd Collection archived by the Marin History Museum featuring all the original verses to the song with the additional stanza on the reverse of the notepaper. It is dated May 16, 1889 and signed, \"S.F. Smith\".The house Smith lived in is now a Phillips Academy dormitory called America House, or A-House for short.Early career[edit]Smith attended Harvard College (now Harvard University) from 1825 to 1829, and was a classmate of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. .He graduated in 1829 and subsequently attended Andover Theological Academy. After graduating from Andover Theological in 1834, Smith worked in Boston editing the Baptist Missionary Magazine before going to Maine. His ordination as a Baptist minister was on February 12, 1834, in Waterville, Maine, where in addition to his ministry, he served as Professor of Modern Languages at Waterville College. In 1842, he left Waterville to go to Newton, Massachusetts.In Newton, Smith became editor of the Christian Review and other publications of the Baptist Missionary Union (BMU). He continued his ministry as well, becoming pastor of the First Baptist Church in Newton in the village of Newton Centre. In Newton, Smith bought a house at 1181 Centre Street which had been built in 1836 and added on to in 1842. After twelve years as pastor of the Newton Centre church, he became editorial secretary of the BMU and served there for fifteen years. During the years 1875–1880, he made many trips to Europe, Turkey, the Indian Empire as well as Ceylon and Burma to visit missionary outposts.On September 16, 1834, Smith married Mary White Smith, whose maiden name was Smith. They had six children. Smith was foster father for four years to teenager Thornton Chase, who, instead of entering college, left to become an officer in the Civil War. Chase later converted to the Bahá\'í Faith and was a leading member in the United States.Smith did not stop writing. In addition to \"My Country, \'Tis of Thee\", Smith wrote over 150 other hymns and in 1843 teamed with Baron Stow[2] to compile a Baptist hymnal, The Psalmist.[3]Later years and death[edit]
Grave of Samuel Francis Smith, in Newton, MassachusettsProfessor and author Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. recommended Smith as a potential candidate for an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Harvard University in 1893. Harvard president Charles William Eliot declined, noting that My Country \'Tis of Thee was better known for its tune, which Smith did not write, rather than its lyrics. Holmes disagreed, noting that \"his song will be sung centuries from now, when most of us and our pipings are forgotten.\"[4]He wrote a history of his adoptive home, entitled History of Newton, Massachusetts, which was published in 1880.[5]Samuel Francis Smith died suddenly on November 16, 1895, while on his way by train to preach in the Boston neighborhood of Readville[6] and was buried in Newton Cemetery in Newton. \"America\" was among the pieces sung at his funeral. He was survived by his wife and five children.[6]Legacy[edit]The home in which Smith and his family lived in Newton is no longer standing. In 1958 a society was formed to buy and preserve it, though the home was damaged by fire in 1968 and again in 1969, leading to its being torn down. A small monument and growing garden honors his legacy.Smith was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.\"My Country, \'Tis of Thee\", also known as \"America\", is an American patriotic song, whose lyrics were written by Samuel Francis Smith.[2] The melody used is the same as that of the national anthem of the United Kingdom, \"God Save the Queen\", arranged by Thomas Arne. The song served as one of the de facto national anthems of the United States (along with songs like \"Hail, Columbia\") before the adoption of \"The Star-Spangled Banner\" as the official anthem in 1931.[3]
History[edit]Samuel Francis Smith wrote the lyrics to \"My Country \'Tis of Thee\" in 1831,[4] while he was a student at the Andover Theological Seminary in Andover, Massachusetts. His friend Lowell Mason had asked him to translate the lyrics in some German school songbooks or to write new lyrics. A melody in Muzio Clementi\'s Symphony No. 3 (also called \'The Great National\' and contains the melody of \'God Save the Queen\' as a tribute to Clementi\'s adopted country) caught his attention. Rather than translating the lyrics from German, Smith wrote his own American patriotic hymn to the melody, completing the lyrics in thirty minutes.Smith gave Mason the lyrics he had written and the song was first performed in public on July 4, 1831,[4] at a children\'s Independence Day celebration at Park Street Church in Boston. First publication of \"America\" was in 1832.[4]Lyrics[edit]1My country, \'tis of thee,Sweet land of liberty,Of thee I sing;Land where my fathers died,Land of the pilgrims\' pride,From ev\'ry mountainsideLet freedom ring!2My native country, thee,Land of the noble free,Thy name I love;I love thy rocks and rills,Thy woods and templed hills;My heart with rapture thrills,Like that above.3Let music swell the breeze,And ring from all the treesSweet freedom\'s song;Let mortal tongues awake;Let all that breathe partake;Let rocks their silence break,The sound prolong.4Our fathers\' God to Thee,Author of liberty,To Thee we sing.Long may our land be bright,With freedom\'s holy light,Protect us by Thy might,Great God our King.Notable performances[edit]
Aretha Franklin at the first inauguration of Barack ObamaMarian Anderson performed the song at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939.Martin Luther King, Jr. recited the first verse of the song toward the end of his famous \"I Have a Dream\" speech at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963.[7]Cary Grant and Jim Hutton sang the first verse in the 1966 film \"Walk, Don\'t Run\", while simultaneously Grant and Samantha Eggar sang \"God Save the Queen\".Crosby, Stills & Nash performed the song on the first episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to air after the September 11 attacks in 2001.[8]On January 20, 2009, Aretha Franklin sang the song at the first inauguration of President Barack Obama.On January 21, 2013, Kelly Clarkson sang the song at the second inauguration of President Barack Obama.The Doors used a guitar riff of the song at the beginning of their song \"L.A. Woman\" on the 40th anniversary editions of L.A. Woman in 2001 and on The Very Best of The Doors 2007 re-release.Madonna and Steven Klein sing some verses of the song in their Secret Project video.[9]See also[edit]Other anthems set to the same music:God Save the QueenHeil dir im SiegerkranzKongesangenOben am jungen RheinThe Prayer of RussiansRufst du, mein Vaterland
RARE Manuscript Signed Samuel Francis Smith 1892 My Country Tis of Thee \"America:
$2720.00