"The Cataract Galop, by Carl Faust of Breslau."

A genuine Victorian music sheet with an illustrated cover.

Robert Cocks, the publisher, trumpet the works of the composer, Carl Faust on the back, delighted to have secured 'an engagement' with him. "For melody, Rhythm, and thoroughly Dansant qualities, the productions of this composer excel everything that has been known in Europe since the days of Strauss." Praise indeed! Faust (1825 - 1892), had a Prussian military background, but became the manager of the Philharmonie in Waldenburg in 1869.

An exciting cover illustration by Concanen and Lee, a partnership that excelled for a number of years, though there is some evidence that it came to an acrimonious end in the 1880s. Concanen designed the main sweep of the image, leaving the lettering, 'ornamentals' and 'accessories' to Lee. In this case the lettering is almost as dominant as the image (an Indian canoe shooting the rapids) itself.

Size and number of pages: the sheet measures approx. 34cms x 24cms. Complete with 7 pages.

Condition: Disbound from an album, and cropped. An old tape repair to the back of the front cover shows that there is a tear running across the title. I had not noticed this until I saw the tape, so a neat mend. The music is in a good condition, complete on 7 pages.   Please study the photographs.

There are, in my view, a number of reasons for valuing Illustrated Music Sheets. They are often of historical interest, marking special events, or illustrating historical figures. They may be of topographical interest. They may give an insight into Victorian values, often the humour of the time, or perhaps simply the fashions and designs found in their houses and clothing. Music illustration was always at the forefront of advances in publishing, and the covers are therefore of interest too in seeing the development of colour printing, as well as typographic and layout fashions. Sometimes, even the music is of interest! I will be offering a huge collection on ebay. Please see my other items.

Postage: unfortunately, most music sheets are just too large for 'Large Letter' prices. So £4.75 within the UK. £12.00 to Europe, £18.00 to USA, etc. I will always combine shipping costs for more than one item purchased. Please put your purchases into a basket and ask me for shipping costs.

I have other antique items in my ebay shop - antique art, prints, music, maps, books etc. Please see my other items.