What We Have We'll Hold [U.S. & Territories]
- Title:
- What We Have We'll Hold [U.S. & Territories]
- Alternate Title:
- What We Have We'll Hold [U.S. & Territories]
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Famous Canadian Jubilee Singers
- Date:
- 1898
- Posted Date:
- 2024-04-25
- ID Number:
- 2464.01
- File Name:
- PJM_2464_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1870 - 1899
- Subject:
- Advertising & Promotion
Imperialism
Pictorial
Spanish-American War - Measurement:
- 16.5 x 12.5 page (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- The maps on the front and rear covers of this pocket songbook by the "Famous Canadian Jubilee Singers" proudly identifies the group with both British Imperialism and American Imperialism. The book is entitled "Plantation Lullabies," and the front cover (ID #2464.01) reflects the enthusiasm over the Spanish-American War. It features a large American flag planted in the United States alongside a bald eagle whose talons and wings spread from Puerto Rico and Cuba to the Philippines. The rear cover (ID #2464.02) similarly shows the Union Jack and a crowned British lion whose paws rest on Britain, Canada, India and Australia. Both covers bear the phrase, "What We Have, We'll Hold."
The history of these musicians helps explain the title and multi-national promotion of their songbook. “The Canadian Jubilee Singers and Imperial Orchestra was a successful black company that combined choral and orchestral capabilities. Composed primarily of black Canadian nationals, the troupe was formed in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1879. Having spent five years touring Great Britain during the 1880s, they divided the rest of their time between tours of the United States and Canada.” Abbott 2002, 176. The booklet contains words and music for 13 songs, including black spirituals like “My Lord Delivered Daniel,” “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," and "Roll Jordan, Roll,” followed by the full lyrics for these and 41 others.
The songbook bears no date, but based on its prominent use of the expression "What We Have, We'll Hold," it was likely published around 1898. The phrase has been attributed to a speech in Parliament by Joseph Chamberlain, who served as the Conservative Party's Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1895 to 1903 and was an aggressive proponent of protecting and expanding the British Empire. Powell 2018. But what made the expression known world-wide was its use as the title of a famous patriotic work by a well-known British painter of show dogs, Maud Earl. Her 1896 painting of a stern-faced bulldog astride the Union Jack with ships in the background was titled, "'What We Have, We'll Hold,' A Portrait of Dimboola the Champion Bull Dog." Ibid.
The bulldog had long been a symbol of British power and determination, and patriotic reproductions of Ms. Earl's painting were soon in wide circulation with the title shortened simply to "What We Have, We'll Hold." The painting and the phrase were particularly popular in Canada, where large reproductions were displayed in Ottawa during Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebration in 1897 (Powell 2018) and at the opening of "Gordon Drysdale's great ladies' outfitting establishment" in Vancouver in 1899 (Vancouver Daily World, November 20, 1899, p.6). Postcards in this form were widely exchanged by soldiers in the field and others during the Second Boer War. When Canadian troops left in October 1899 for the War, they were given "an enthusiastic farewell" by "tens of thousands" in Toronto and presented with, among other things, "silver match-safes inscribed with the motto 'What We Have, We'll Hold,' referring, of course, to the Empire." Birch 1899, 241.
Later editions of this songbook carry a different name for the group, the "Canadian Colored Concert Co.," but the covers and contents are otherwise apparently identical. There are newspaper records of the group touring Ohio and Wisconsin under this name in 1903-1906.
Cornell University Library is pleased to present this digital collection of Persuasive Maps, the originals of which have been collected and described by the private collector PJ Mode. The descriptive information in the “Collector’s Notes” has been supplied by Mr. Mode and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cornell University. - Source:
- Famous Canadian Jubilee Singers. [1898]. Plantation Lullabies. Hamilton, Ontario: Duncan Lith. Co.
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.