English: Description from Library of Congress web page, "From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life in America / A Century of Immigration, 1820-1924" (https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/haventohome/haven-century.html)

A Little Letter to Father

Pictured on this sheet music cover are two scenes: a father and son parting in the Old World, and the same pair meeting at Ellis Island. Solomon Smulewitz's lyrics recount a familiar tale of woe: "Mother has died in loneliness and poverty. Write a letter to father and send money for him to come to America. Alas, father is too ill to be admitted here. He is permitted to see his son at the gate of Ellis Island, and then will be sent back to Europe."

Original image caption:

Solomon Smulewitz (1868-1943) and J.M. Rumshisky (1879-1956). A Brievele dem Taten [A little letter to my father]. New York: Hebrew Publishing Co., 1911. Sheet music cover. Hebraic Section, Library of Congress (82)