Scope and arrangement
The E. Y. Harburg Collection of Music contains mostly sheet music, published and unpublished, of songs composed for stage musicals, motion pictures, as well as songs composed as independent works, and several unidentified or fragmentary songs.
The unpublished versions of songs often differ from those that were published and provide an interesting look into into the songs' context within a musical show or motion picture. The collection also includes songs that were cut from the final productions of shows or films. These characteristics are illustrated by songs such as The Jitterbug. Cut from the final prints of The Wizard of Oz, the unpublished version reveals the exact dialogue and music as was to be used in the film, whereas the published version contains an introductory verse and ending that were composed specifically for publication. By way of his songs, the collection provides an overview of "Yip" Harburg's career from his earliest to final efforts.
Arrangement
The E. Y. Harburg Collection of Sheet Music is arranged in the order it was received. Generally, boxes 1 through part of consists of published sheet music and reproductions of unpublished copyists' sheet music. These are arranged chronologically.
Box 6 through part of 8 contains manuscripts, manuscript copies, unidentified and fragmentary works, and additional copies of sheet music. Two oversized vocal scores are located in boxes 8 and 9.
The [MAI] numbers are for Music Division internal use and can be ignored.