Early 20th Century Anglo-Indian Family Music Archive – Calcutta Provenance

Early 20th Century Anglo-Indian Family Music Archive – Calcutta Provenance, Sheet Music & Personal Papers

A wonderfully evocative archive of sheet music, songbooks, piano pieces, carols and handwritten musical material, spanning roughly the early 1900s through to the later 20th century.

What makes this collection special is not simply the age of the music, but the story running through it.

Among the sheets and bound albums are handwritten names including Ellen D’Santos, Willie D’Santos and Mrs E. Stapleton, together with several retailer and music-seller stamps from Calcutta, including D. Warkin & Son, Music Sellers, Calcutta. Other pieces carry further Calcutta associations, creating a fascinating Anglo-Indian thread through the collection.

The music itself ranges from Edwardian and First World War songs to 1920s dance music, music-hall favourites, piano novelties, carols, film songs and later popular music. Highlights include There’s a Ship That’s Bound for Blighty, The Doll Dance, Dainty Miss, Maxina, The Policeman’s Holiday, The Mississippi Dippy Dip, The Song of the Rose and several early bound song collections.

Also included are handwritten musical exercises and later personal papers belonging to Ethel Mary Watt-Roy of Harlow, found amongst the music. These papers add another intriguing layer to the archive. Research has revealed possible connections with the wider Watt-Roy musical family, although this link remains unconfirmed and is presented as ongoing provenance research rather than established fact.

The condition varies considerably throughout. Some pieces are well preserved, while others are heavily worn, torn, taped, foxed, chipped or incomplete. We have deliberately left the collection as found, as the wear, repairs, inscriptions and handwritten notes form part of its history and help tell the story of a working family music collection used over several generations.

This is not a pristine sheet-music collection. It is something far more atmospheric: a surviving domestic archive of music-making, ownership, travel and family history, with a particularly strong Calcutta and Anglo-Indian connection.

A detailed master catalogue and provenance statement has been compiled and will accompany the collection.

Sold as one archive and not to be separated.

Why we love it

Because this feels less like a collection and more like opening a family cupboard untouched for decades. Names, places, repairs, pencil notes and old music-shop stamps all survive together, giving a glimpse into the lives of the people who actually played and kept this music.

A remarkable piece of social and musical history.