Rippon, John. A Selection of Hymns from the best Authors, intended to be an Appendix to Dr. Watt's [sic] Psalms and Hymns. New-York: Printed and Sold by William Durell, at his Book-Store and Printing-Office, No. 19, Queen-Street, 1792. First American Edition. [8654]
Full calf, spine covered with plain calf repair, 13.5 cm (5 1/4 x 3 1/4 inches), corners rounded with small patch of leather missing from back board. Thin vertical crease to center of backstrip repair. Contemporary inscription in brown ink on ffep: "Naomi Bolles property given her by her Father," black wood block letter "A" beneath it. 468 unnumbered pages with 588 hymns, several indices. Text very good, complete, light foxing. Several leaves bound out of order (Hymns 361-366), but complete. Very good.
ESTC W2550. Evans 24749. Words only, no music. Metre and author of each hymn noted; some with suggested use (Prayer for Missionaries, A Blessing humbly requested), or with the scripture verse upon which the hymn is based.
John Rippon (1751-1836), English Baptist minister & hymn-writer, "one of the most popular and influential Dissenting ministers of his time." Educated for the ministry at the Baptist College, Bristol, "in 1773 he became Pastor of the Baptist church in Carter Lane, Tooley Street (afterwards removed to New Park Street), London, and over this church he continued to preside until his death, on Dec. 17, 1836...His most famous work is his Selection of hymns for public worship, which appeared in 1787...In 1791 he published a Selection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes...Dr. Rippon performed an important service to Baptist Hymnody, and also, it is said, gained for himself 'an estate' through its immense sale." - Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology.
"Like the majority of his co-religionists, Rippon gave his warm sympathy to the Americans during the war of independence, and was in correspondence with leading baptists on the other side of the Atlantic."...From 1790 to 1802 Rippon edited The Baptist Annual Register." Rippon collected material relating to Bunhill Fields, the nonconformist burial ground in London, and his eleven volumes of manuscripts were purchased by the British Museum from a descendant in 1870, which included biographies of hundreds of nonconformist ministers.
"Rippon is best known as the compiler of a 'Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors, intended as an Appendix to Dr. Watts's Psalms and Hymns,'...Rippon published a tenth edition, with sixty additional hymns, in 1800, (London). A thirtieth edition, with further additional hymns, appeared in 1830; and in 1844 appeared the 'comprehensive edition,' known to hymnologists as 'The Comprehensive Rippon,' containing all 1,170 hymns in one hundred metres. Among a few hymns of Rippon's own composition are some of acknowledged merit, such as 'The day has dawned, Jehovah comes.'" - DNB.
With a signed provenance card from the collection of A. Merril Smoak, Jr., DWS.