Tams-Witmark Music Library

Agency History

The Tams-Witmark Music Library was established in 1925 by a merger between the Arthur W. Tams Music Library and the rental library of M. Witmark & Sons. The Arthur W. Tams Music Library began in 1883 as a rental library of sacred music and opera, and by the 1920's had grown to be one of the largest libraries of its kind. The Witmarks had entered the music publishing business in 1885, but started a rental library comparable to and in competition with that of Arthur Tams in 1898. The Tams library continued to acquire mostly sacred music, while the Witmark library handled popular operas and musicals, including those of Victor Herbert, Reginald DeKoven, and George M. Cohan, all of whom had publishing contracts with Witmark. After a merger between the two libraries was negotiated in 1925, the publishing firm, M. Witmark & Sons, retained separate status until it was acquired by Warner Brothers in 1928 as a part of its Music Publishers Holding Corporation. The Witmark name remained in use until 1941.

From the guide to the Tams-Witmark Collection, 1701-1915, (bulk 1801-1900), (Music Division Library of Congress)