Musical researches illustrating the influences of music upon mind and morals, religion, the passions, as a medicine, in war, and upon animals; with extracts from the sacred writers and the poets respecting music, and from the historians respecting its practice

This volume contains over 500 pages of essays, research notes, and quotations written by Philip F. Snyder from 1835 to 1893 on the history, structure, and cultural influence of music. The material is evidence of a long-term, comprehensive study of music conducted by Snyder and consists mostly of passages, articles, and extracts copied from a wide variety of works.

Snyder's research on the influence of music covered a wide range of topics and the vast majority of his writings were taken from contemporary scholarly journals and the works of other authors, both ancient and modern. Much of the research in the volume focused on what Snyder believed to be the influence of music on "mind and morals." Essays such as "effect of music on a maniac" and the role of music in war in "stirring belligerent feelings" were written to illustrate this point. Snyder wrote about the history of music and included essays on the role of music in cultures throughout the world (Chinese, Anglo-Saxons, Hebrews, etc.) and these cultures' beliefs associated with music. Also included are the writings of ancient philosophers such as Plutarch and Aristophanes, and their views on music.

Scattered throughout the journal are additional laid-in notes and news clippings. There are clippings from an 1889 newspaper containing articles on Thomas Edison and the association between music and medicine as well as clippings covering various subjects such as the death of a musician.

The volume is a bound between paper covers and leather spine. Multiple pages of varying size and quality, dating from 1835 to 1893, were bound together at a later time.