Elsie Phelan was a composer of light-hearted music in the early 20th century. The Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries contain the sheet music for her Toy-Shop Jingles, written in 1910. They are described as “Easy Pieces for Pianoforte Written Specially [sic] For Small Boys and Girls.” The collection of her works includes “The Noisy Tin Beetle,” “The Laughing Billiken,” The Silly Old Jack-In-The-Box,” The One-Legged Wooden Soldier,” and “The Monkey On A String.” Larsen was a member of the Professional Woman’s Club and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Her obituary in The Cambridge Tribune (June 12, 1915) described her as “a composer of recognized reputation and a pianist of ability.”
