Musical Airs
Songs inspired by the early age of flight.
- By Rebecca Maksel
- AirSpaceMag.com, February 19, 2009
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Smithsonian Institution Libraries
The term “collector” is perhaps too mild a description for Bella C. Landauer. Born in 1875, Landauer, the daughter of a corset manufacturer and the wife of a handkerchief tycoon, avidly gathered labels and bookplates, lottery tickets and handbills, calendars and cigar labels, matchbooks and menus. Her stash of advertising ephemera alone includes 800,000 items.
One of Landauer’s most fortunate obsessions was her interest in aeronautical sheet music. The self-named “Lady Lindbergh-Landauer” first became interested in aviation when her son took up flying. Her extensive sheet music collection, numbering more than 1,200 items, was acquired by the National Air and Space Museum in 1968.
“The Maid in the Moon” (circa 1850), a typical mid-19th century comic song, features a balloon on its illustrated cover, along with a fantastical propellered ship. The Montgolfier brothers began their hot-air balloon experiments in Paris in 1782; some 68 years later, balloon mania was still going strong:
Of the Man in the Moon many people will tell,
But we mus’nt forget there’s a Maid there as well!
A pretty young damsel whom poets delight
To hail as “Fair Luna, The Queen of the night.”
For in truth she has charms, which tho’ oft on the wane,
Their freshness and beauty as often regain;
‘Till Earth’s fairest daughters, tho’ lovely as noon,
Are obliged to look up to the Maid of the moon.
Now, the Maid in the moon, living up in the sky;
In consequence, carries herself somewhat high;
And perhaps is addicted, a trifle or so,
To casting reflections on people below;
But she thinks mens’ politeness has come to a pass,
When at her so rudely each puts up his glass,
And she draws down her veil of thick clouds very soon,
For a modest young lass is the Maid in the Moon!
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Comments (2)
I believe that, from the final sentence of this snippet from the song, you can interpret that the song's lyricist intended the title to be a shortening of something like, "My bomber and I fly high in the sky." Other than that, I'm a long time fan of this site. Keep up the great work!
Posted by Mike Burkholder on February 25,2009 | 01:27 AM
I'm not sure how my submitted comment of 2/25/09 lost its first lines but, in them, I disagreed with the author of this article. "My bomber and me" would be the grammatically incorrect form. If one were to use a pronoun rather than "My bomber and I" that pronoun would be "we" as in "We fly high in the sky." In the same vein, "My bomber and me" would need to be replaced with "us" which would result in the grammatically incorrect "Us fly high in the sky." Although it is the more colloquially popular, "X and me" followed by a verb is still grammatically incorrect. I stand with Jay Garside and his lyrics. I hope that this comment does not make me appear to be a grammar goon because I don't normally point out bad grammar but, when I see correct grammar being identified as being wrong, I feel compelled to respond. Thanks for your great website!
Posted by Mike Burkholder on February 28,2009 | 01:11 PM