The First Baptist Hymnal Published in America

Original calf over oak boards, 3 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches, top 1 1/4 inch of front board missing. Binding very worn; still attached. Lacks the front blanks. Tp edge-tattered, lacking "Evangelical" at top. Title page leaf then (3)-155, [1]. Text complete, many tattered edges/corners, loss of page numbers to some corner tips. Inscribed on the verso of p. 155, "Ebenezer Hogen His Book March 30, 1769."

ESTC W20306; Evans 9297. The last recorded sale was in 1958, English Literature 1500-1800, cat. no. 858, Maggs Bros., London. (RareBookHub)

The first Baptist hymnal published in America. The first book in Reynold's chronological list, Reynolds, Hymns of our Faith, p. xxxi.

"The first known publication of hymns by Baptists was in 1762." - Music & Richardson, "I Will Sing the Wondrous Story," p. 117.

The first 106 pp. are the Evangelical Hymns and Songs; Divine Hymns composed on the Subjects of Dr. Watts's Forty-four Sermons are pp. (107)-139; Hymns for Baptism, by the Reverend Joseph Stennet, M.A. are 141-155.

Benjamin Wallin (1711-1782), b. London, England. Pastor of a Baptist congregation at Mase Pond, London, (1740-1782); "published nearly forty sermons, charges, and other small religious books and pamphlets. In 1750 he published a volume entitled, Evangelical Hymns and Songs, in Two Parts: Published for the Comfort and Entertainment of true Christians; with authorities at large from the Scriptures. The hymns in this volume are 100 in number, and the texts of scripture illustrated in each stanza are quoted in full in the lower part of the page. The versification is homely and the rhymes are often faulty." - Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology.

In this American edition the scripture texts are beneath the titles of the hymns.