Raymond Hamrick's papers reflect his long-standing involvement with the Sacred Harp tradition in north Georgia as singer, scholar, and composer. Of particular interest is Hamrick's correspondence with other prominent Sacred Harp personalities, including A. Marcus Cagle and Hugh McGraw. These letters provide insight into musical aspects of the Sacred Harp tradition as well as the strong sense of community among Sacred Harp singers. The Cagle correspondence folders include some manuscript copies of original music by Cagle. Several folders of correspondence document the development of Hamrick's hymnal collection. Hamrick also corresponded often with scholars who were interested in the Sacred Harp tradition, and frequently loaned rare hymnals from his collection to scholars for research use. The bulk of the correspondence in Hamrick's papers is incoming, but there are some drafts and copies of letters he sent to others. There are also copies of writings on Sacred Harp by Hamrick and others. Hamrick collected newsletters produced by Sacred Harp singing groups, most notably the National Sacred Harp newsletter and the newsletter of the Chicago Sacred Harp Singers. Extensive clippings of news articles on Sacred Harp are found in Hamrick's subject files. The subject files also include information on early Sacred Harp composers William Billings, Jesse Mercer, and B.F. Hamilton, as well as an undated list of hymnals in Hamrick's personal library. Also included with the papers is a reproduction of a chart compiled by Raymond Hamrick, which traces the development of white spirituals in the United States.
