Approximately 220 pieces issued before 1801, and about 1,450 imprints for the period 1801-1820. Other categories in this section include early engraved music having title page vignettes and early copyrights (1816-1835).

In addition to the sheet music, this section originally included a number of early American secular imprints of collections, anthologies, periodicals and the like, in addition to a number of 18th century imprints bound up into volumes. Examples included Buckingham’s Boston Musical Miscellany, Wright’s Columbian Magazine for August 1789, the Universal Asylum for March 1790, the Boston Magazine for January 1784, the Pennsylvania Magazine for March 1775, and others, all having either music or something of musical interest in them.

For the Early American Imprints, ca. 1770-1820 section, individual pieces have been cataloged separately and are accessible through the Newberry Online Catalog. They were originally in Driscoll Boxes 1-12. The remaining subsections, Vignettes and Copyrights, are in Driscoll Box 13. Driscoll Box 14 (Miscellaneous imprints) is missing.