Manchester, Wm. C. Songs of Zion, or Conference Hymns, Selected and Original; To which are added, A brief Sketch of the Author's Life and Experience; an Obituary Notice of his late Father, and some Remarks on the Science of Music. Providence: H. H. Brown, 1835. Third Edition, Enlarged and Improved. [8892]
This has a cloth binding that is covered by another cloth wrapper (see pics). 2 3/4 x 4 1/4 inches. 220 pp. of text, defective - lacking the last two leaves of the Index, no free end papers. Fair. Hardcover.
"The great improvement of the present edition is, that it contains about thirty new Hymns, which have been carefully selected from a rich fund of materials, while it retains nearly all of the Hymns contained in the former editions, which may be found in this by referring to them in the Index....As it is the custom of many churches to line their Hymns, especially on communion season, I have inserted a number for that purpose, with a variety of Conference Hymns, from varoius authors, adapted to various occasions and circumstances, all of which are humbly presented to those who wish to use them in praising the Lord, until we sing the new song in the kingdom of God." - Preface.
William Carr Manchester (1794-1861). b. Cranston, Rhode Island; d. Murphy, North Carolina.; the son of Thomas Carr, who was for over fifty years pastor of the Baptist Church in Coventry, Rhode Island. At the time this hymnal was compiled the son William was pastor of the Roger Williams Baptist Church in Providence, Rhode Island. He was a Six Principle Baptist. "Elder Manchester was the ablest and most eloquent preacher in the order...he compiled a Hymn Book which will compare favorably, for the excellency of its hymns, with any that have since been published." - The Narragansett Historical Register, Vol. VII. (1889), pp. 240-241.
With a signed provenance card from the collection of A. Merril Smoak, Jr., DWS.
