Watts, Isaac; Barlow, Joel. Doctor Watts's Imitation of the Psalms of David, corrected and enlarged; To which is added A Collection of Hymns; The whole applied to the State of the Christian Church in general. Hartford: Barlow & Babcock, 1785. First Edition. [9978]
Full leather, binding in two pieces and shaken, 15 x 8.5 cm (5 7/8 x 3 1/4 inches). [i]-[vi], [7]-300; [xiv], [301]-348. Complete text. Leaf 63-63 with small tear at bottom corner, affecting a few letters; larger tear with loss at bottom corner leaf 247-248 affecting a few words. Fair.
Evans 18931. BAL 860.
This is the first edition of Barlow's revision, with the undated certificate on p. [3]. It is evidently an unrecorded issue, not matching any of the three described in BAL. Leaf P5 (pp. 177-178) is a cancel, with the correct orientation of the S at Line 1, stanza 4, but this is on page 177 and not page 178 as described in that reference.
"The first authorized revision of Watts's Psalms was made under a resolution of the General Association of Connecticut passed in June, 1784...In a preface of his own, immediately following this certificate, Barlow explains the revision from his point of view...Barlow's revision was published at Hartford in 1785..The volume is a narrow 16mo, of some 350 pages, not ill-printed by having a poor appearance on account of the quality of the paper...The printing of the book by Barlow himself suggests an understanding with the General Association that it be published at his personal risk or profit..." - Benson, The American Revisions of Watts's Psalms, pp. 5-7.
Barlow's revision was replaced with Dwight's in 1801, after Barlow went to France and became involved with the French Revolution, an action which displeased the churches of Connecticut.
With a signed provenance card from the music collection of A. Merril Smoak, Jr., DWS.