Five categories are assigned to well loved composers and one represents a team of a lyricist, his stage partner and the composer of his songs.

The earliest of the group is Stephen Foster, who commenced publication of his songs in the late 1840s and died destitute in the 1860s. He is still regarded by many popular music aficionados as America's most popular song-writer. "Old Folks at Home" and "Oh Susanna" are examples of two of his most famous compositions.

In the 1870s, during the height of the Irish immigration to this country, Edward Harrigan and his partner Tony Hart commenced to satirize both tenderly and unmercifully the great influx of Irish to New York City. Harrigan wrote one ditty after another, calling on a professional composer, Dave Braham, to set his songs to music. His audiences were delighted; the hundred songs in the folio have a flavor of their own. Witness the best known of the lot, "The Mulligan Guard".

Victor Herbert's musical comedies contain songs well remembered by millions of Americans over forty today, although some of the melodies were written before 1900. He is represented in two large volumes.

George M. Cohan, "The Yankee Doodle Boy", singer, dancer, producer, composer, lyricist, has his own following, and is entitled to his own folio.

Irving Berlin, whose first lyrics were published in 1906 and who wrote music and lyrics for decades, fills three folios with songs, many forgotten now but many still recalled with affection.

Two boxes are devoted to a few of the collector's favorites such as: Leonard Bernstein, Kurt Weil, Arthur Schwartz, Frank Loesser and Noel Coward.

There are four very important composers of the 20th century who are not mentioned in this guide: Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers and George Gershwin. The works of these composers were previously given to a member of the Levy family who will probably present this music to the Collection at some future date.