Between the Covers

Hardcover. Guest Book. Unpaginated. With the rectos ruled in three columns, "Date; Date; Memoranda," and the versos ruled in two columns, "Name; Address." 12.5 x 20 cm. Contemporary dark green cloth boards, gilt title on the front board, all edges gilt. With "Tree Tops Rogers Rock on Lake George," in neat ink on the front free endpaper. Signed by Samuel Barber on the second leaf verso: "Samuel Barber, West Chester, Pa." With 39 other signatures, including "Paull Ferguson, Phila." on the next six leaves, with handwritten dates from 1926 to 1929. The remaining pages are blank. Samuel Osborne Barber II, born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His "Adagio for Strings" is considered a masterpiece of modern classical music, and he was twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music (for the opera *Vanessa*, and his *Concerto for Piano and Orchestra*.). He attended the Curtis School of Music in Philadelphia. Paull Ferguson, a violist, also attended Curtis. In 1930 he was one of eight Curtis students accepted by Leopold Stokowski for entrance to The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Item #342805