Vintage "Connecticut Yankee" Sheet Music, Rodgers & Hart, Matted Wall Art

This rare, historic, and collectible sheet music features delightful graphics. The cover states: Richard Rodgers Presents “A New Musical Adaption of Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee,” Book by Herbert Fields, Music by Richard Rodgers, and Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Directed by John C. Wilson, Dances by William Holbrooke and Al White. The front cover features a charming illustration of a knight riding in a Jeep with a princess. The colors are pink, red, white, and black. It is just amazing and so much fun! In 1927, the novel was adapted into the musical “A Connecticut Yankee” by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. This musical comedy was the inspiration for the later movie of the same name. “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court” is a 1949 American Technicolor musical comedy film directed by Tay Garnett and starring Bing Crosby, Rhonda Fleming, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and William Bendix. Many other movie, TV show and book adaptations have been inspired by Mark Twain’s book. Note that this sheet music is from a musical from Richard Rodgers before he partnered with Oscar Hammerstein. This sheet music and its place in musical comedy history make this a wonderful collector’s item. This is a 14 x 18 inch professionally done, custom double-matted “My Heart Stood Still,” sheet music copyright 1927. On the lower left side of the cover is printed: “Buy United States War Savings Bonds And Stamps.” Music by Richard Rodgers, and Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. The back cover features other songs available from the publisher (see photos). This is original, authentic, sheet music; not a reprint or reproduction. This matted sheet music will arrive to you ready to place into your standard-sized, 14 x 18 inch frame. The photos I’ve taken show how your print looks in the double mat, as it will reach you, and an example of how your matted print will look framed. This matted sheet music is in a hinged mat, backed by foam board, and is sitting in archival polyester picture corners. The music is set up to display as wall art, but it can be removed and played as well. The sheet music is entire and complete. The print is matted with quality, USA made mat board. It is attached with archival polypropylene mounting corners to quality foam board. The mat is hinged with linen hinging tape. Great for home, office, music room, or home theater room! • Mat dimensions: Width, 14 inches x Height, 18 inches; 35.5 cm x 45.7 cm • Sheet music dimensions: Width, 9 inches x Height, 12 inches • Mat color: Black (outer), and Winter White (inner) This is an ORIGINAL, RARE vintage piece of sheet music, not a reprint or reproduction Since it is now 90 years-old it is not in mint condition, and I will note here observations I see. This copy is in excellent vintage condition; the cover colors remain bright and lovely. It shows minor wear, some minor crinkles, with some slight signs of usage on the edges. The contents are completely usable and all the pages are still attached and available. Fortunately most of the wear is located on the edges of the page and inside, and therefore can easily go unseen and hidden away behind the border of the framing mat. Please view the photos I have posted, as they will give you the best idea of how it looks. I have taken additional close-up photos of the cover and sheet music, and can share them with you upon request. By owning this original sheet music you will own a piece of this all-time classic New York Broadway Musical! • Title: “My Heart Stood Still” • Music by Richard Rodgers, and Lyrics by Lorenz Hart • Condition: Excellent • Quantity available: 1 • Edition: First Edition • Binding: Paperback • Publisher: Harms, Inc., New York City, New York, 5-page piece of sheet music “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court” is an 1889 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The book was originally titled “A Yankee in King Arthur's Court.” Some early editions are titled “A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur.” Twain wrote the book as a burlesque of Romantic notions of chivalry after being inspired by a dream in which he was a knight himself, severely inconvenienced by the weight and cumbersome nature of his armor. In 1927, the novel was adapted into the musical “A Connecticut Yankee” by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. A 1931 film, also called A Connecticut Yankee, starred Will Rogers. The story was adapted as an hour-long radio play on the October 5, 1947, broadcast of the Ford Theatre, starring Karl Swenson. “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court” is a 1949 American Technicolor musical comedy film directed by Tay Garnett and starring Bing Crosby, Rhonda Fleming, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and William Bendix. The movie was distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was a popular success and became one of the highlight films of 1949. Since the beginning of the 20th century, this famous story has been adapted many times for the stage, feature-length motion pictures, and animated cartoons. The earliest film version was Fox's 1921 silent version. A 1949 musical film featured Bing Crosby and Rhonda Fleming, with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and Victor Young. In 1960, Tennessee Ernie Ford starred in a television adaptation. In 1970, the book was adapted into a 74-minute animated TV special directed by Zoran Janjic with Orson Bean as the voice of the title character. In 1978 an episode of Once Upon a Classic, "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", was an adaptation, as was the Disney movie “Unidentified Flying Oddball,” also known as “A Spaceman in King Arthur's Court.” The TV series “The Transformers” had a second-season episode, "A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court", that had a group of Autobots and Decepticons sent back to medieval times. In 1988, the Soviet variation called “New adventures of a Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Fantasy over Mark Twain's theme” appeared. More recently it was adapted into a 1989 TV movie by Paul Zindel which starred Keshia Knight Pulliam. “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court” was one of the highlight films of 1949. The critics were generally complimentary with Bosley Crowther of The New York Times saying on April 8, 1949: "The solid, reliable humors of Mark Twain’s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,” which have already done yeoman service in two films and a Broadway musical show, have been given another going over—with eminently satisfactory results—in Paramount’s new film of the same title, which came to the Music Hall yesterday. And for this we can thank Bing Crosby, primarily and above all, because it is Bing in the role of the Yankee who gives this film its particular charm...But it is still Bing’s delightful personality, his mild surprises and sweet serenity, and his casual way of handling dialogue that makes this burlesque a success. No one in current operation could qualify, we are sure, to play the Connecticut Yankee the way the old Groaner does. In 2008, the American Film Institute nominated this film for its Top 10 Fantasy Films list. It has also inspired many other variations and parodies, such as the 1979 Bugs Bunny special “A Connecticut Rabbit In King Arthur's Court.” In 1995, Walt Disney Studios adapted the book into the feature film “A Kid in King Arthur's Court.” Many other adaptations followed. More photos of this matted print are available and can be shared upon request. Contact me with any questions. Thank you for visiting RetroRitaGallery. I hope you will save me to your favorites and check back with me. *Frame and accessories shown in photos are for inspiration only.