Annotated Copy of God Bless America

Annotated Copy of God Bless America with Original Lyrics

Written within days of Kate Smith's first rendition of God Bless America

Irving Berlin (1888-1989), 3pg annotated musical manuscript with final verse corrections, written within days of the November 10, 1938 first public singing by Kate Smith on her weekly radio program. A note on the musical manuscript is in Berlin’s hand, “Ted, What do you think now, I.” The “Ted” was Kate Smith’s agent, Ted Collins. According to a 1989 Los Angeles newspaper report, the musical manuscript was discovered in 1989 and sold for $290,00 in that year. This manuscript is unique to the God Bless America Berlin Collection held by the Library of Congress.

Estimate

God Bless America has been considered America's 2nd National Anthem, and there was a grass roots effort to make it the official National Anthem in 1939. $300,000-$500,000

Calendar

This auction is open to the public as an absentee auction. The auction is scheduled to close in late March

How do I bid?

First step is to register; call us at 336.584.3330. Registration will take a few short minutes and we ask you to be ready with references, both industry and banking. We will then provide you with a bidder number and be able to accept your bids (after verification of registration information). Due to the value of the item, we ask that you register one week prior to the close of the auction.