50 Beauties of Erin

50 Beauties of Erin is a collection of 53 Irish traditional and parlour songs published by Mozart Allan of Glasgow around 1920, arranged for voice and piano with staff notation, sol-fa, and words. The repertoire spans the core of the Victorian and Edwardian Irish song canon — Moore’s Melodies, drawing-room ballads, and national songs — including well-known pieces such as “Londonderry Air,” “The Last Rose of Summer,” “Kathleen Mavourneen,” and “The Girl I Left Behind Me.” The copy held in this collection bears a retail stamp from Pigott & Co. Ltd, 117 St. Patrick’s Street, Cork, one of Ireland’s most significant music retailers, active at that address from the late nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century.

Curator’s note: I purchased my copy at a used bookstore in Maryland, 2026.