[SHEET MUSIC; QUEENSLAND] The Pioneer Schottische, or, The Alligator Hop

[Cover title: The Pioneer or The Alligator Hop. Dedicated to the pioneers of Australia. Performed by the Band of the Grenadier Guards at the Colonial & Indian Exhibition]. London : Keith, Prowse & Co., [1886]. Quarto, original wrappers with charming and vibrant front cover design, 4 pp. music notation; split along spine, moderate foxing, edge wear, water stain to lower corner, a good copy.

The Colonial and Indian Exhibition was staged in London in 1886, and although Mr Hewetson Burne appears to have been something of a one-hit wonder – we can only locate one other published song for which he wrote only the lyrics, not even the music – this is a dazzling edition of sheet music, befitting a piece selected to be played at such a prestigious event. A Melbourne imprint with identical cover design was published by Gordon and Gotch in 1886, and appears better known than this London edition, being represented in a number of Australian libraries.