Description:

Sousa John 1854 - 1932 Lovely John Philip Sousa signed postcard, 1911, King of the Marches
Unused vintage black and white postcard, 3.5" x 5.5", signed and dated by John Sousa as "John Philip Sousa, 1911". Very soft creasing to one corner (virtually imperceptible), verso age toned, else near fine.

A lovely example of John Sousa's signature with impeccable provenance. Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known primarily for American military and patriotic. Because of his mastery of march composition, he is known as "The March King", or the "American March King" due to his British counterpart Kenneth J. Alford also being known by the former nickname. Among his best-known marches are "The Stars and Stripes Forever' (National March of the United States of America), " Semper Fidelis" (Official March of the United States Marine Corps), "The Liberty Bell" (used as the theme for Monty Python's Flying Circus), among others.

Sousa served two periods of service in the United States Marine Corps. He first enlisted on June 9, 1868 at the age of 13 as an apprentice musician. In official records, his initial rank was listed as "boy". He re-enlisted on July 8, 1872 and was promoted to musician. He left the Marine Corps in 1875 at the age of 20. Under his leadership, the Marine Band became the premier military band in the United States.

His lengthy career encompassed writing an astounding 137 marches, 15 operettas, 5 overtures, 11 suites, 24 dances, 28 fantasies, and 322 arrangements of nineteenth-century western European symphonic works!

Ex-Goldman Collection maintaining original provenance from 1984. This piece will be accompanied by the original invoice from 1984, along with the mailing envelope!

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June 14, 2017 10:30 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

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