M. Witmark & Sons

Contents

History

cover 1903
cover 1905
serious work cover 1912

M. Witmark & Sons was a leading publisher of sheet music for the United States "Tin Pan Alley" music industry.

The firm of Marcus Witmark & Sons was established in New York City in 1886. Father Marcus Witmark was the legal head of the company, but from the beginning it was run by his sons Isidore, Julius, and Jay, who were under legal age when the company started (ranging in age from 17 to 14 years old). The started out publishing their own compositions. They were adept at plugging songs, and within a few years were publishing the works of such composers as Victor Herbert, George M. Cohan, Ben Harney and John Walter Bratton.

Witmark originated the practice of giving free "professional copies" of their new music to famous and established singers and bands, which proved so successful an advertising method that it was copied by the rest of the music publishers. After 1891, when a series of treaties between the United States and several European countries (Great Britain, France, Germany, and Austria, among others) was ratified—resulting in U.S. protection for works published in those countries as long as they were published in compliance with the notice requirements of U.S. law—Witmark pioneered publishing versions of British music in the United States and arranging for American hits to be published in the UK

In 1929 M. Witmark was purchased by Warner Brothers.

Imprints, Addresses, Agencies

Imprints

  • M. Witmark & Sons

Plate Numbers

Witmark & Sons' plate numbers are in the format of ####. Dates in italics are estimated.

Plate Composer Work Edition No Year
00520 West I Want Dem Presents Back 1896
00839-17 1/2 Tyers La Fiancée (parts) 1903
0(5422-9) Herbert Babes in Toyland 1903
06844 Edwards Love's Lottery (vocal score) 1904
07866-5 Logan Wistaria 1907
09745-24 1/2 Kriens String Quartet, Op.74 (score) 1912
12124-4 Caro Roma I Come to Thee 1911
15013 Herbert Whispering Willows (Intermezzo) 1072 1915

IMSLP Entries

Plate #Full PlateComposerWorkIMSLP #Full YearYear

Sources Consulted

Authority control

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