The Psalms and Hymns of Dr. Watts, arranged by Dr. Rippon: with Dr. Rippon's Selection, in one volume Corrected and Improved, by Rev. C. G. Sommers, Pastor of South Baptist Church, N. Y.; and the Rev. John Dagg, President of the Alabama Female Atheneum

Watts, Isaac; Rippon, John; Sommers, Charles G.; Dagg, John

Published by David Clark, Philadelphia, 1838

About this Item

Full leather, edges worn with partial cracks to hinges, "pocket size" 11.3 cm (4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches). [ii] recommendations; (2), vii-xlviii, 1-1305 (of 1314) selections (actually more hymns due to the second section sometimes uses the same number for several hymns). The text has light foxing, some creased corners, one detached leaf, and a few shaken leaves at the end. Missing one or two final text leaves. The pages are not numbered, the selections are; the book is about 2 inches thick. A second title page A Selection of Hymns (same imprint) is between hymn 718 and 719. The front free end paper has "Sarah O. Trimmer, her book, March 9, 1844" and is tattered with a small piece detached. "In 1827, two more Baptists added to the inheritance from Watts and Rippon. Charles G. Sommers (1793-1868), pastor of the South Baptist Church in New York City, and John Leadley Dagg (1794-1884), pastor of Fifth Baptist Church in Philadelphia, issued The Psalms and Hymns of Dr. Watts, Arranged by Dr. Rippon: with Dr. Rippon's Selection. The principal contribution of their work as the provision of improved indexes to Ribpon's arrangement of Watts, the first American edition of which had been published in Philadelphia in 1820 by the Baptist firm of Anderson and Meehan. This was a sizeable book, with more than 1,300 texts. To meet the needs of different users, Sommers and Dagg published a large pulpit version and a pocket version, as well as the standard book, all with the same content. Its popularity extended through several editions, including a "New Edition, corrected and improved by Sommers in 1834. Sommers noted eight points of improvement, the last of which reads: 'As this edition has been prepared with special reference to the Baptist denomination, several of Dr. Watts's hymns which are deemed objectionable, have been omitted, and other hymns on the same subject, and of decided excellence, have been substituted.'" - Music & Richardson, "I Will Sing the Wondrous Story", p. 164. The list of improvements mentioned by Music & Richardson is not included in this later printing."In 1836, Dagg became president of the Alabama Female athenauem, Tuscaloosa, and this role is named on the title page of most editions. He subsequently became president of Mercer University and the most influential Baptist theologian in the region." - ibid.With a signed provenance card from the collection of A. Merril Smoak, Jr., DWS.

Seller Inventory # 11351

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Psalms and Hymns of Dr. Watts, arranged by Dr. Rippon: with Dr. Rippon's Selection, in one volume Corrected and Improved, by Rev. C. G. Sommers, Pastor of South Baptist Church, N. Y.; and the Rev. John Dagg, President of the Alabama Female Atheneum
• Publisher: David Clark, Philadelphia
• Publication Date: 1838
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Fair
• Seller catalogs:
  • Hymnals and Music