If they had not published it, would it have been forgotten or lost? “It touched an emotion. Somebody was going to publish it.” Newspapers often published poems and ballads in those days. “This one just became kind of a big deal,” she said. It did not officially become the national anthem until 1931, by coincidence the year the society acquired the copy that Christie’s is selling)

Source: New York Times May 28, 2020 15:44 UTC