SAMUEL FRANCIS SMITH - AUTOGRAPH POEM SIGNED 11/10/1892 - HFSID 32854
Sale Price $1,495.00
Reg. $1,800.00
SAMUEL F. SMITH
Samuel F. Smith signs an autograph poem of the first stanza of his
hymn, "America".
Autograph poem signed: "S.F. Smith", 3½x2½ card. At lower
left, Smith has penned: "Written 1832./Nov. 10, 1892." THE
FIRST STANZA OF HIS HYMN, "AMERICA", WRITTEN ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN TO SING
AT SCHOOL DURING OPENING EXERCISES. In full: "My country, -'tis of
thee,/Sweet land of liberty,/of thee I sing/Land where my fathers died,/Land of
the pilgrims' pride/From every mountain side/Let freedom ring." After a
visit to Germany in 1831, 23-year-old theological student Samuel Francis Smith
(1808-1895), impressed that German children started their school day by singing
a hymn, wrote a patriotic hymn using a simple German melody. Coincidentally,
the melody was the same as that of the British national anthem, "God Save the
King". Smith jotted down the complete hymn on a piece of scrap paper within
half an hour, and the result, "America", was first sung at a children's
celebration in Boston's Park Street Church on July 4, 1832. George Gershwin
used Smith's phrase "Of Thee I Sing" as the title of his 1932 Pulitzer
Prize-winning musical, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. quoted the
entire first stanza as he concluded his "I have a dream" speech in front of the
Lincoln Memorial in 1963. Fine condition.
Following offer submission users will be contacted at their account email address within 48 hours. Our response will be to accept your offer, decline your offer or send you a final counteroffer. All offers can be viewed from within the "Offer Review" area of your HistoryForSale account. Please review the Make Offer Terms prior to making an offer.
If you have not received an offer acceptance or counter-offer email within 24-hours please check your spam/junk email folder.