information on early Christian Harmony editions requested

[zca...@aol.com]

As some on this list are aware, there are those of us in Western North Carolina who feel that that a new facsimile of 1873 second edition of the Christian Harmony is a good idea and, after promising to do this for years, it looks like it’s about to happen. We will soon be sending to the printer a new edition using fresh scans from early printings in my possession. The binding will closely match the appearance of early printings with facsimile board covers.

We consider this effort to be complementary to other editions and in no way competitive. Other editions can provide us with clarity and ease of reading but we have chosen to take a preservationist and historical approach, keeping the Walker shapes. It is our desire to provide a fitting memorial to William Walker and the last revision that he had a personal hand in producing while providing books for the WNC events (and one in Arkansas) that wish to hold dedicated Walker book events.

I am now preparing descriptive material for the book. What I need now is more information on the printing history of The Christian Harmony, as well as possible additional errata (we have some and do realize that these can be subjective), and any other information about Walker as it pertains to early printings). Here’s what I have gleaned at this point:

1867 First edition November 1867 -  at least 2 printings with minor changes. - printed by Miller (Sansom St. Address)

1873 Revision:

49 songs added, none removed. Pagination mostly unchanged (some songs shortened and/or moved).  - printed by Miller (Sansom St. Address)  Printed boards or cloth binding? All the early copies in my possession are bound in printed yellowish-tan boards, however Holcombe’s reprint title page, presumably from an 1873 revised second edition or later printing, mentions “handsomely bound in cloth, with gold side stamp, arabesque back and antique edges” I have seen, but not examined, a copy that matches this description. Question: Was this the 1873 original binding or was it bound in boards and a later printing bound in cloth?

What other editions/printings were there between 1873 and 1901?

1901 edition A -  essentially unchanged from the 1873 edition - printed by Miller (Walnut St. Address)

1901 revised edition B: 36 songs replaced by new songs - Printed by Miller (Walnut Street Address) who did this revision?

Are there other revisions or reprints between 1901 and 1958?

1958 - Deason/Parris revision

1979 - Holcombe reprint of 1873 edition or later printing

1994 - Folk Heritage reprint (WNC edition) copy of Holcombe reprint

1994? - Alabama Book (revision?)

2010 - Alabama combined Revision

2015 - Folk Heritage new facsimile (upcoming)

Sorry to be so lengthy but the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of this list is legendary and I humbly ask for your help. Those who feel their response is not of general interest may respond to me off-list. Thanks,

Zack Allen

Folk Heritage Books

Sent from Windows Mail

[Wade Kotter]

Zack:

My copy of the 1873 edition is bound in printed boards and was printed by Miller's Bible and Publishing House at Sansom Street Address. However, on the title page it has the "HANDSOMELY BOUND IN CLOTH..." text, so I think it's possible that Miller made it available in both a printed board binding and a cloth binding (at a higher price) at the same time, not necessarily one after the other. I've seen several 19th century books that were available in a choice of bindings at different prices with that choice mentioned on the title page or elsewhere. It's also my understanding that many 19th century book sellers/printers also stocked unbound text blocks for which a purchaser could choose a custom binding.

Wade

 

Wade Kotter
South Ogden, UT
"Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord"

---

From: zcamail via Fasola Discussions <fasola-di...@googlegroups.com>
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Cc: Maggie Lauterer <mplau...@aol.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2015 5:29 AM
Subject: [fasola-discussions] information on early Christian Harmony editions requested

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[zca...@aol.com]

Thanks Wade.

That clears up at least a part of the mystery. I do recall seeing an older cloth bound Christian Harmony in a display case at the national Sacred Harp convention in Birmingham a few years back but I didn’t get a chance to examine it.

 

 Zack

Sent from Windows Mail

[zca...@aol.com]

Thanks Ted:

I think you are spot-on in the chronology of editions, One Philadelphia directory shows Miller at the Sansom street address as late as 1883, so the two with the Chestnut street address must be after 1883 and before 1901 when Walnut street was the address.

By the way, my 1901 copies all have the embossed cloth spine but all three of the first editions have a embossed leather spine. I do recall seeing what appeared to be an older cloth bound Christian Harmony that I did not recognize in a display case at the national Sacred Harp convention in Birmingham a few years back but I didn’t get a chance to examine it. Could be from the interval above or between 1901 and 1958.

Thanks again for your response

Sent from Windows Mail

From: tmer...@comcast.net
Sent: ‎Thursday‎, ‎July‎ ‎30‎, ‎2015 ‎2‎:‎50‎ ‎PM
To: zca...@aol.com

Ted Mercer here in Chicago.   I don't think the 19th-century editions of

Christian Harmony were ever bound in cloth. I have 3 copies of the 1873 book 

(and possibly another one improperly shelved).  

All are bound in paper over cardboard, and all have an embossed cloth

(and cardboard?) spine.  One is published as follows:

"Philadelphia: Miller's Bible and Publishing House, 1102 & 1104 Sansom

Street, states a price of $2 along with the "handsomely bound in cloth"

etc claim; the other two are published as: "Philadelphia: Published by

E. W. Miller, 1420 Chestnut Street" and in the place where the price was

on the other printing, now has: REVISED EDITION, GREATLY ENLARGED, WITH

THE ADDITION OF MANY NEW TUNES.

My own guess would be that the "Sansom Street" publication was an

earlier one, as it corresponds to the 1867 books, and the boast about the

"cloth" subsequently removed because in fact the "cloth" was only on the

spine of the book and the claim had become an embarrassment.

So I think chasing down an actual 19th-century "cloth" printing might be a

bit like searching for a unicorn.  

Ted

---

From: "zcamail via Fasola Discussions" <fasola-di...@googlegroups.com>
To: fasola-di...@googlegroups.com

Cc: "Maggie Lauterer" <mplau...@aol.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2015 6:29:44 AM

Subject: [fasola-discussions] information on early Christian Harmony editions requested

[Wade Kotter]

Zack:

I believe the books that you saw in glass cases at the National Convention were from the collection of Henry Guthery. The minutes book lists two people by this name, Henry Guthery of Logan, AL and Henry Guthery III of Villa Rica, GA. My guess is that the first of these is the person in question and I'm confident that someone else on the list will know how to get in touch with him.

Wade

 

Wade Kotter
South Ogden, UT
"Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord"

---

From: "zca...@aol.com" <zca...@aol.com>
To: "fasola-di...@googlegroups.com" <fasola-di...@googlegroups.com>; "wadek...@yahoo.com" <wadek...@yahoo.com>
Cc: Maggie Lauterer <mplau...@aol.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2015 3:35 PM
Subject: Re: [fasola-discussions] information on early Christian Harmony editions requested

Thanks Wade.

That clears up at least a part of the mystery. I do recall seeing an older cloth bound Christian Harmony in a display case at the national Sacred Harp convention in Birmingham a few years back but I didn’t get a chance to examine it.

 

 Zack

Sent from Windows Mail

From: fasola-di...@googlegroups.com
Sent: ‎Thursday‎, ‎July‎ ‎30‎, ‎2015 ‎2‎:‎34‎ ‎PM
To: zca...@aol.com, fasola-di...@googlegroups.com
Cc: Maggie Lauterer

Zack:

My copy of the 1873 edition is bound in printed boards and was printed by Miller's Bible and Publishing House at Sansom Street Address. However, on the title page it has the "HANDSOMELY BOUND IN CLOTH..." text, so I think it's possible that Miller made it available in both a printed board binding and a cloth binding (at a higher price) at the same time, not necessarily one after the other. I've seen several 19th century books that were available in a choice of bindings at different prices with that choice mentioned on the title page or elsewhere. It's also my understanding that many 19th century book sellers/printers also stocked unbound text blocks for which a purchaser could choose a custom binding.

Wade

 

Wade Kotter
South Ogden, UT
"Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord"

From: zcamail via Fasola Discussions <fasola-di...@googlegroups.com>

To: "fasola-di...@googlegroups.com" <fasola-di...@googlegroups.com>
Cc: Maggie Lauterer <mplau...@aol.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2015 5:29 AM

[Wade Kotter]

Ted may well be correct about this, although my 1873 copy does not have cloth anywhere, including the spine cover. The spine cover of my copy is leather and has Christian Harmony it "gold" at the top and a raised harp/lyre below. Ted, do your copies have cloth on the spine?  It may also be that the boast, as Ted calls it, about a cloth binding was to test the market to see if anyone might express interest. Zack, I think it would still be worthwhile to try and get a look at that cloth bound copy you saw only at a distance.

Wade

 

Wade Kotter
South Ogden, UT
"Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord"

From: zcamail via Fasola Discussions <fasola-di...@googlegroups.com>

To: "tmer...@comcast.net" <tmer...@comcast.net>; "fasola-di...@googlegroups.com" <fasola-di...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2015 3:38 PM
Subject: Re: [fasola-discussions] information on early Christian Harmony editions requested

[tmer...@comcast.net]

Hello, I already wrote to Zack privately, (because continued exploration

on the full list might not ... well, you know...) but my comment would be

to very much doubt whether any truly cloth-bound books were issued;

only the spine was cloth-bound for all copies (many) I have seen.

The Sansom Street printing for 1873 (the 1st ed was pub from Sansom St)

has the full Madison Avenue slogan "Handsomely Bound in Cloth, with

Gold Side Stamp, Arabesque Back and Antique Edges" but is not in fact bound

in cloth (spine only).  This "Handsomely bound ..." claim is immediately adjacent to

the printed price of $2.00 on the title page,  This coupling of price and

specs on the title page makes me doubt that a choice of bindings, despite its

ingenuity and attractiveness, is a valid explanation of what was going on.

This puffery ("bound in cloth") was removed in the subsequent printings

from Chestnut Street, probably to avoid the embarrassment of

claiming something clearly false.  

Zack is right, this list is a great resource; and if nobody here has ever

seen a cloth-bound version, and if it is unknown in the Carolinas,

I think it tells us something.

Ted Mercer

---

From: "'Wade Kotter' via Fasola Discussions" <fasola-di...@googlegroups.com>
To: zca...@aol.com, fasola-di...@googlegroups.com
Cc: "Maggie Lauterer" <mplau...@aol.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2015 1:34:25 PM
Subject: Re: [fasola-discussions] information on early Christian Harmony editions requested

[P. Dan Brittain]

On Thu, Jul 30, 2015 at 6:29 AM, zcamail via Fasola Discussions <fasola-di...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I am now preparing descriptive material for the book. What I need now is more information on the printing history of The Christian Harmony, as well as possible additional errata (we have some and do realize that these can be subjective), and any other information about Walker as it pertains to early printings). Here’s what I have gleaned at this point:

 

1901 edition A -  essentially unchanged from the 1873 edition - printed by Miller (Walnut St. Address)

1901 revised edition B: 36 songs replaced by new songs - Printed by Miller (Walnut Street Address) who did this revision?

 

I am out of town at the moment, but I have a copy printed in the early 1950's - I believe a group in Canton, GA did it, memory says J A Gilleland. I'll check when I get home Saturday. My poor memory says that either Loy Garrison or J A Gilleland gave it to me in the early 1970's.

As I recall, it is essentially one of the 1901 editions.

 

--

P. Dan Brittain
Harrison, Arkansas

http//:pdanbrittain.com

Transcriptions, Arrangements and Original Compositions
Wind Band, Brass Band, Choir, and Ensembles
Commissions accepted

[Henry Johnson]

I recently obtained a somewhat dilapidated Christian Harmony, pub. by E. W. Miller, 218 Thirteenth St., Phila.  "Entered, etc., in the year 1873 by E. W. Miller and William Walker."  (J. Fagan & Son, Stereotypers, Phila.)  An ad in the front offers, in addition to CH, Southern Harmony, Temple Harp, Crystal Gems, music charts, and tuning pipes.  Which edition do I have?  I also obtained a copy of Temple Harp (Phila., E. W. Miller, 1872) (Aiken shapes)      Henry

[Wade Kotter]

Henry:

Zack mentioned that Miller was at the Samson St. address until 1883, so your copy must be later than 1883 since Miller is listed as being on 13th St. The mention of "Stereotypers" leads me to believe that this is a post-1883 stereotyped reprint of the 1873 2nd ed.

Wade

Wade Kotter 

South Ogden, UT
"Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord"

---

From: Henry Johnson <hanst...@gmail.com>
To: tmer...@comcast.net
Cc: Wade Kotter <wadek...@yahoo.com>; zca...@aol.com; Fasola Discussions <fasola-di...@googlegroups.com>; Maggie Lauterer <mplau...@aol.com>
Sent: Friday, July 31, 2015 12:32 PM
Subject: Re: [fasola-discussions] early Christian Harmony editions // "Handsomely Bound in Cloth?"

[zca...@aol.com]

Zack again. I think Wade is right about this “Chestnut street copy” of the 1873 Christian Harmony being a later printing but it may not be as clear-cut as I once thought. One entry in the 1882 Philadelphia Census of Manufacturers shows Edward W. Miller at 1420 Chestnut St. while another in the same publication shows Miller’s Bible and Publishing house at 1102 Sansom.

I’m not quite sure what to conclude from this. A number of options come to mind but I think they all point to this likely being a later printing. We can only speculate as to how much later.

Sent from Windows Mail

[Henry Johnson]

The Temple Harp (E. W. Miller, Sansom St., Phila., 1872) has an ad in the front for the Christian Harmony:  "384 pp.  Agents' Edition, handsomely bound, Arabesque back, Cloth Sides, with elegant side stamp in gold and blank, with fancy edges. Subscription price, $1.50 each."

[zca...@aol.com]

Hi folks:

I am closing in on the Christian Harmony book reprint project and I will soon be compiling and sharing the information I have gratefully gleaned from folks on the list . . .

I realize that I may be trying the patience the fasola list with do-re-me questions, but it would be a huge favor if someone could post to me a scan of the printed board covers (front and back) of the 1873 second edition of the CH. I would like to compare them to the 1867 and 1901 editions. Any format would be appreciated.

Thanks again for all of your help

Zack Allen

Folk Heritage Books

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From: tmer...@comcast.net
Sent: ‎Thursday‎, ‎July‎ ‎30‎, ‎2015 ‎6‎:‎04‎ ‎PM
To: wadek...@yahoo.com
Cc: zca...@aol.com, fasola-di...@googlegroups.com, Maggie Lauterer

[Warren Steel]

>Are there other revisions or reprints between 1901 and 1958?

>1958 - Deason/Parris revision

>1979 - Holcombe reprint of 1873 edition or later printing

>1994 - Folk Heritage reprint (WNC edition) copy of Holcombe reprint

>1994? - Alabama Book (revision?)

>2010 - Alabama combined Revision

>2015 - Folk Heritage new facsimile (upcoming)

  There is a 1954 "Christian Harmony Book 1," published by the Christian Harmony Publishing Co., Birmingham. Printed by Fleming Printing Co. in Birmingham, it is the work of O. A. Parris, and claims to be "A partial revision of the original Christian Harmony published by William Walker nearly 100 years ago, together with a number of new songs in the old-style harmony."
  Published in the upright gospel music format, with a list of contributors on the title page, it seems to be a kind of "prequel" to the Parris-Deason revision of 1958, with typewritten text and Aikin shapes stenciled by hand. It includes many of the new songs published in the 1958 book, plus a good selection of standards from the Walker Christian Harmony.

--
Warren Steel                              mu...@olemiss.edu
Professor of Music Emeritus      University of Mississippi
              http://home.olemiss.edu/~mudws/

[zca...@aol.com]

Thanks Warren:

I have had a fair amount of information flow in over the past week or so. Michael Spencer mentioned a 1954 paperback edition with some tunes unique to it. Dan Brittain has reprint of the 1873 edition published in Canton, GA, he thinks in the early 50s. I’m pulling together the various threads of the CH publishing history and will share it with this list, hopefully soon.

Zack Allen

Sent from Windows Mail

From: Warren Steel
Sent: ‎Thursday‎, ‎August‎ ‎6‎, ‎2015 ‎1‎:‎10‎ ‎PM
To: zca...@aol.com, fasola-di...@googlegroups.com
Cc: Maggie Lauterer

[Robert Vaughn]

Since Parris and the Christian Harmony Publishing Company titled this book Christian Harmony Book 1, that implies they may have intended to publish a series -- Book 2, Book 3... 

Since this first book was upright SATB, to me that would suggest the "sequels" would have been also. Apparently the only book they followed it up with was the oblong four-staff 1958 revision of Christian Harmony. Possibly "Book 1" was an idea that didn't fly well, so they went back to the drawing board? Anyone have any idea on the history of this?

His glories sing, 

Robert Vaughn Mount Enterprise, TX http://baptistsearch.blogspot.com Ask for the old paths, where is the good way http://mtcarmelbaptist.blogspot.com For ask now of the days that are past... http://oldredland.blogspot.com Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land.

---

From: Warren Steel <mu...@olemiss.edu>
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Cc: Maggie Lauterer <mplau...@aol.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 6, 2015 12:10 PM
Subject: RE: [fasola-discussions] information on early Christian Harmony editions requested