“I Saw It in The BRT" Music Cover Page

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According to the New York Transit Museum's Archive Record this object is the cover page for “the song that won a contest put on by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit System. The song mentions 51 businesses that are seen on advertisements in the BRT train cars. Words by Charles H. Willich and Music by George A. Sumner" (New York Transit Museum). Unfortunately there does not seem to be any information about the designer of the cover page, either in the archive record or on the page itself. 

The cover depicts a variety of rectangular advertisements along the sides of the page, in addition to illustrations of crowded trains and the BRT's employee band. Brooklyn Rapid Transit, established in 1896, was one of the three major subway-line companies in New York City (New York Transit Museum). 

This music cover is evidence for how prevalent mass-media, advertising in particular, was in society at this time. So much so that the advertisements themselves were being put into other forms of mass-media. It also shows how the space of public transport became a kind of cultural hub and topic that companies could use to their advantage through advertising. 

Music Cover Page for "I Saw It in The BRT"
Music Cover Page for "I Saw It in The BRT"

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