AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT SIGNED (AMS): AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL; "O BEAUTIFUL FOR SPACIOUS SKIES, FOR AMBER WAVES OF GRAIN"
Framed Manuscript. A handwritten fair copy manuscript of the author's most famous poem "America the Beautiful," on a plain sheet of 8-3/8" x 12-7/8" paper, SIGNED at the conclusion, matted and simply framed to an overall size of 11-3/4" x 16-1/2". The final version of the four-stanza poem. Bates wrote this classic patriotic hymn in 1893, inspired by a visit to Pike's Peak where on the pinnacle, the words of the poem started to come to her, and she wrote them down upon returning to her hotel room. The poem was initially published two years later in the church periodical, THE CONGREGATIONALIST, to commemorate the Fourth of July, quickly catching the public's fancy. It was republished in the BOSTON EVENING TRANSCRIPT in 1904. This final four-stanza version was completed in 1912. More than 75 different melodies were written for the poem, but the one that became popular and that we know today was written by church organist and choir director, Samuel A. Ward, who died in 1903, not knowing the national stature his music would attain. Over the years there have been efforts to give "America the Beautiful" legal status either as a national hymn or as a national anthem equal to, or in place of, "The Star-Spangled Banner," and it was even being considered before 1931 as a candidate to become the national anthem of the United States. We have been able to locate only 2 other examples at auction, the last in 2016. Mild toning to paper. Near Fine and attractively presented. Item #022475
Price: $25,000.00