The George W. Harris Music Collection

Much of this small, nearly 400-volume collection was donated to Bates from the estate of George W. Harris. Harris, who died in 1904, donated items to Harvard, Brown, and numerous schools and churches in the Boston area; his entire music collection came to Bates. The collection consists of musical scores, bound singly or in groups, or published as complete works or collections, of a wide range of music, mostly printed in the 19th century. The works include classical and contemporary composers, contemporary popular music, and a considerable assortment of religious music. While there are a number of rare or unusual pieces in the collection, the wide scope of the religious music herein may be of the most significance, especially for researchers interested in works designed to be played for public church services and gatherings.

Other items in this collection appear to have been owned by Irma Caron, an Australian-born soprano who moved to New York to pursue a stage and screen career in the 1920s, along with her husband the writer Marmion P. Greenwood-Adams. These items likely came into the collection through their daughter, Leonie Greenwood-Adams, who, with her husband T’Donald Booth Morren, established The Thistle Inn in Boothbay, Maine. There are also items in the collection stamped with the names Florence Sleeper, A.J. McPherson (her husband), and W.E. McPherson (his brother).

To see a complete listing of cataloged works in this collection, click here.