Description
Author: Harry Belding
Publisher: Buck & Lowney
Place of Publication: St. Louis, Missouri
Format: Vintage sheet music
Date of Publication: early 20th century
Condition:
Good. Original early 20th-century sheet music with age toning, edge wear, and surface wear consistent with age and handling. Light creasing and small edge wear present. Interior music pages remain intact and legible. Paper is fragile. Preserved in an archival sleeve.
Description:
Good Gravy Rag is a ragtime composition by Harry Belding, featured in vaudeville performance and published during the height of America’s ragtime era. Ragtime sheet music such as this was central to popular entertainment in the years just before jazz emerged as a dominant musical force, and it reflects the lively rhythms and playful spirit that made the genre widely popular.
The cover design is especially expressive, featuring a steaming platter motif and bold typographic treatment that conveys humor and theatrical flair. The imagery aligns closely with vaudeville traditions, where novelty, visual appeal, and memorable titles played an important role in audience engagement.
The back page promotes Day Dreams and other contemporary publications from Buck & Lowney, offering a glimpse into early 20th-century music-publishing marketing and the interconnected world of popular dance and piano music. This is an original period printing, not a reproduction, and survives as a representative artifact of American ragtime culture and illustrated sheet music.