Aikin, J. B. The Christian Minstrel: A New System of Musical Notation; with a collection of Psalm Tunes, Anthems, and Chants, selected from the Most Popular Works in Europe and America. Designed for the use of Churches, Singing-Schools, and Societies. Philadelphia: T. K. Collins, ca. 1850. [8777]
Photocopy title page of 1855 edition tipped in at front. Back cover recommendations dated 1846. Leather spine with printed paper over card, covers quite worn with some loss of paper, spine very worn, joints cracked. Oblong 15 cm (6 x 9 3/4 inches), lacks all free end papers. DEFECTIVE: lacking title page, leaf 401-402, and the two leaves pp. 413-416; many edges tattered, some with loss. Pages run (3)-400, 403-412. Poor. Hardcover.
Seven-note shape-note system.
Jesse Bowman Aikin (1808–1900), b. Chester Co., PA, a farmer by trade and a member of the Church of the Brethren. He became a "singing master" and was the first person to produce a successful song book in the seven-shape note system, entitled The Christian Minstrel. The book went through as many as 171 editions (Jackson, White Spirituals, p. 320). "He vigorously defended his 'invention' and his patent, which included the elimination of bass and treble clefs and the simplification of time signatures. After the influential Ruebush & Kieffer Publishing Company began using his notehead shapes around 1876 (previously they used Funk's shapes), the Aikin shapes eventually became the prevailing standard in shape note and gospel music publication, although few other compilers adopted his other innovations." - wikipedia.
With a signed provenance card from the collection of A. Merril Smoak, Jr., DWS.