"Peace and Harmony": Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The sheet music for the song “Peace and Harmony” was written by Gladys Shelley and composed by Ray Ellis. The music was published the Criterion Music Corporation in New York, New York. The cover features a photograph of Hildegarde over an indigo marbleized background. This sheet music was part of Hildegarde’s personal collection

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Singer-pianist Hildegarde (Hildegarde Loretta Sell) was a native of Adell, Wisconsin. She was in turn, a youthful Milwaukee pianist in a silent movie house, a member of a male orchestra that toured vaudeville, a member of the Grand Quartette (or, Jerry & Her Baby Grands) and an accompanist for many other vaudeville acts. She was also part of Gus Edwards' touring troupe as a child "immigrant" who danced and sang "Dutch" songs. Between 1933 and 1936 she worked in London on radio and in clubs and cabarets, recording her first vocal in 1933. Late in 1936 she began appearing on American radio broadcasts and in U.S. hotels and clubs. From 1943 to 1946 she starred in her own radio programs and again appeared as a top-billed club performer in New York and other cities. She continued European and American engagements in clubs and television through the 1970s.

Materials, dates and provenance

• performer; depicted (sitter): Hildegarde
• composer: Ellis, Ray
• lyricist: Shelley, Gladys
• publisher: Criterion Music Corp.
• Object Name: sheet music
• Physical Description: ink (overall material)
• Physical Description: paper (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 12 in x 9 in; 30.48 cm x 22.86 cm
• place made: United States: New York, New York
• ID Number: 1980.0403.10
• accession number: 1980.0403
• catalog number: 1980.0403.10
• Credit Line: Gift of Hildegarde
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.