Begg Collection

The Begg Collection offers a vibrant snapshot of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Australian and New Zealand music. With its focus on sheet music, it showcases over 13,000 Australian works and a wealth of popular songs, piano and violin pieces, and educational materials. The collection is renowned for its beautifully decorated covers, many featuring Australian performers and themes, capturing the cultural spirit of the era. Originally gathered by Charles Begg, a prominent New Zealand music dealer, the collection reflects his dedication to preserving and promoting music, leaving behind a rich legacy that continues to inspire.

Performing arts

Key items in the collection

The original archive numbered over 100,000 items, from which the Library selected about 13,000 Australian imprints and about 7000 New Zealand, British, US and European imprints. While the collection extends up to the 1950s, its great strength is in sheet music of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Many of these works are in large format and have decorative covers, often with illustrations of Australian performers or Australian themes. There are a huge number of popular songs, especially salon and patriotic songs. There is also a large quantity of piano and violin music.

The collection also includes 577 music albums, mostly technical and educational materials.

About Charles Begg

Early life and career

Charles Begg (1825?–1874) was born in Scotland and started his career as an apprentice in the piano manufacturing industry. He later opened his own piano factory in Aberdeen. In 1861, he emigrated to Dunedin, New Zealand, with his family, where he quickly set up a shop on Princes Street. His business offered pianos, sheet music, and musical instruments, along with repair services.

Expansion and family involvement

After Charles Begg’s death, his widow, Jesse (d. 1914), took over the management of the business, which became Charles Begg & Co Ltd. She expanded the business by opening branches in Timaru, Wellington, and Invercargill. Their two sons also became involved in the company. A branch office was opened in London in 1903.

Legacy and modern-day business

Charles Begg & Co Ltd operated until 1970 when all the shops were sold off to individual owners. Despite this, the Begg name remained well-known in New Zealand. The Dunedin shop was sold to Walter Sinton, the previous manager, and later to Malcolm and Terry Dixon in 1980, who also owned another local business, Terry’s. Today, the business operates as Beggs MusicWorks.

Background to the collection

Beggs Music sold its large collection of sheet music to Terry’s Music Shop in the 1960s. Terry’s also acquired the Dunedin stock when they bought the Begg’s premises from Sinton. The Begg Collection was purchased by the Library from John Evans of La Piesse Galleries, Dunedin, in 1984.

The Begg Collection was integrated into the Australian and overseas sheet music collections. The provenance can be identified by the accession number MUSM 142235.

This guide was prepared using these references:

Gordon Parry, Begg, Charles (1825?–1874), Dictionary of New Zealand biography, vol. 1, Allen & Unwin and Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington, 1990, p. 23