Anderson, J.; Howard, S. B. The Social Harp: containing a rich variety of Scriptural Songs, for the use of Christians in their House of Pilgrimage, Adapted to all Occasions & Seasons; Compiled from various sources, by J. Anderson and S. B. Howard, Ministers of the C. P. Church. Louisville: A. F. Cox, Printer, 1858. Revised and Enlarged. [9861]
Full leather, bordered & decorated in gilt front and back, elaborate gilt to spine, joints fine, corner tips worn through, 11.5 x 7 cm (4 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches), all page edges gilt. (i)-iv, (5)-384 pp., text complete, tight. Very good. Hardcover.
This hymnal by Cumberland Presbyterian compilers went through several editions between 1851 and 1870, and all of them are rather scarce.
462 hymns plus 13 doxologies, words only. With index.
The Rev. Jesse Anderson (1812-1885) was made publishing agent of the denomination in 1854, and was editor of the Central Cumberland Presbyterian (Owensboro, Kentucky) at its beginning in 1865. "He was the author of a work on the Identity of the Church, and also of the Life of Jones and Irvine, and was one of the compilers of the 'Social Harp,' a collection of hymns that was popular and used largely in our Church, and to some extent by other Churches." - The Cumberland Presbyterian, April 8, 1886, cited at cumberland dot org.
Rev. S. B. Howard was a member of the Board of Publication from 1851 to 1856.
With a signed provenance card from the music collection of A. Merril Smoak, Jr., DWS.
