96 p. of music; 21 x 34 cm.; Sheets of handwritten music are sewn into a canvas binding with "AB 1864" stamped on the cover; Pages in front are numbered 2-40; followed by [18] unnumbered pages including [6] blank pages; numbering resumes with 41-69; remaining pages unnumbered; Last set of unnumbered pages have different "landscape", or vertical orientation with top of the music against the right-hand side of the right page and continuing to the bottom of the music at the left-hand side of the left page.
Manuscript book containing the scores of dance tunes from Warren's Diggins, Idaho in the 1860's. Peter Beemer, a musician with a small dance orchestra, wrote down and arranged the songs which were whistled, hummed or sung to him by various residents of the area.
Forms part of the McCain Collection for Western Life.
Collection is available for research.
The first written history of the Beemer manuscript is found in a manuscript by Taylor Smith donated by Smith to the Idaho State Historical Society in 1961. Smith's history is published as an appendix in
Both the Idaho State Historical Society Public Archives and Research Library (Boise) and the University of Idaho Library Special Collections Department (Moscow) have photocopies of the manuscript.
[item description], Peter Beemer Music Manuscript, Boise State University Special Collections and Archives.