Lester S. Levy’s mother was obsessive about having her baby born in the same house in Philadelphia in which she had been born. Thus Lester’s birthplace was in Pennsylvania, but shortly after his birth, he and his mother returned to his real home in Baltimore, Maryland. Much later, when Lester began collecting American sheet music, songs about Baltimore were among the selective pieces he sought. | Ten of the sheet music pieces are marches: two marches dedicated to the local baseball team Our Orioles March, written in 1894, and Baltimore Oriole March; Baltimore City College March, from 1876; The Baltimore March, composed by J. M. Deems, dedicated to Major Solomon Hillen; Baltimore Patrol March, with a cover featuring Baltimore landmarks of 1887; Baltimore City Guard’s Grand March; Baltimore Light Infantry Battalion March, respectfully dedicated to Lieut. Col. Willard Howard; Baltimore Letter Carriers March of 1897; March and Quick Steps of the Baltimore Yagers, a Baltimore uniformed company commanded by Philip B. Sadtler during the War of 1812; and The Baltimore Centennial March, as performed at the Celebration in 1832 in honor of the birth of George Washington. |  | 
|  |  | | Then there were quick steps, something between a march and a dance, such as the Sun Quick Step, dedicated to the readers of The Baltimore Sun in 1854; Baltimore Whig Convention Quick Step, in honor of the convention held on May 4, 1840; First Baltimore Invincibles Quick Step, dedicated to Lieut. Parks by its composer James M. Deems; and Baltimore Quick Step, composed in 1845 by the same Mr. Deems and dedicated to his friend William E. Bartlett, Jr. |  |  |  |  |  | In 1861, the Civil War inspired two pro-Dixie songs in the tradition of the Maryland state anthem. One was called The Baltimore Rebel Song, and the other was entitled The Martyrs of Baltimore. The collection also includes a number of song sheets (words sans music) from the Union’s perspective on the Civil War: The Slain at Baltimore!, Remember Baltimore, and To the Baltimore Poet. | | Baltimore inspired minstrel pieces as well: Back, Back, Back to Baltimore, written in 1904; the 1900 Oh! Take Me Back to Baltimore; Off For Baltimore My Sally Dear, from 1852; and Belle of Baltimore, composed in 1848. |  | 
| Levy’s collection is rounded out with an assortment of other Baltimore-related pieces, such as Oh! The Belles of Baltimore from 1833; Flossie Moore From Baltimore, written in 1897; The Baltimore, dedicated by The Sun of Baltimore to “the gallant warship that bears the name of the Monumental City”; First Baltimore Hussars, printed and sold at Carrs Music Store in Baltimore; B-A-L-T-Baltimore, dedicated to the national Star-Spangled Banner Centennial at Baltimore, Maryland, September 1914, commemorating the birth of the American national anthem; Baltimore, Our Baltimore, a municipal prize-winning anthem written in 1916; The Baltimore Waltz; and The Baltimore Gallopade, a lively dance of Hungarian origin.
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