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Rare First Edition of 'Star Spangled Banner' To be Auctioned at Christie's

By DNAinfo Staff on November 30, 2010 2:43pm

Rare first edition of
Rare first edition of "The Star Spangled Banner."
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Christie's

By Jordan Heller

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — An extremely rare first edition copy of the music and lyrics to "The Star Spangled Banner" previewed at Christie's on Tuesday, three days before the historic pages of sheet music go on the auction block.

The sheet music is just one of 11 known first edition copies of the U.S. national anthem, written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, and is expected to fetch between $200,000 to $300,000 on Friday.

The Christie's copy is the only one that is privately owned — the other 10 are housed in public institutions, including the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library and the White House.

The song was first printed and sold at Carrs Music Store in Baltimore, MD, shortly after Key was inspired by witnessing an American fort withstand a barrage of canon-fire from a British flotilla.

The sheet music bears the sub-heading "A Patriotic Song" — it wouldn't be until 17 years later, in 1831, that the song was officially recognized as the national anthem.