Blue Book Magazine Cover

Museum Catalog Note This publication is a 1927 blue book directory of the Past Presidents Assembly, an auxiliary branch of the National Federation of Music Clubs established in 1923. The volume documents the organization's founding, leadership structure, and initiatives to honor former music club presidents across the United States and internationally. The text outlines the Assembly's major projects: administering cash prizes ($500 and $150) for young artist contests in voice, violin, and piano; publishing this biennial directory with biographical sketches and photographs of past presidents; and sponsoring a national composition contest offering a $500 prize for a musical setting of Katherine Lee Bates' "America, the Beautiful." The contest attracted nearly one thousand manuscript submissions in spring 1927, judged by prominent musicians including Dr. Frank Damrosch. Historical accounts detail the National Federation's founding in 1898 by Rose Fay Thomas, with its first president being Mrs. Edwin F. Uhl. The blue book includes biographical entries on early leaders and lists governors' wives and notable women who contributed to various initiatives.