Public subscription concerts were presented in Philadelphia as early
as 1757, organized chiefly by Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791)--
statesman, judge, inventor, and composer--who claimed the distinction
of being "the first native of the United States who has produced a
musical composition." The Hopkinson Collection includes manuscripts
of works by Hopkinson as well as copies he made for his own library of
music by his contemporaries. These manuscript volumes are
supplemented by thirteen volumes of printed music that represent an
extraordinary compilation of eighteenth-century American and European
music.