Harris, J. Casgliad o hymnau o'r awdwyr goreu : yn cynnwys dros ddau gant a hanner o rai newyddion ; yn ffurf corff o dduwinyddiaeth, ac ar fesurau atebol, gan mwyal, o lyfr Tonau Dr. Rippon. Utica: W.C. Rogers,1838.
First American edition arranged by W.H. Thomas. A Welsh hymnal. "A collection of hymns from the best writers..." First published in Swansea 1824.
(32mo) pp. 573. Full calf with gilt decoration on spine and board edges, front hinge tender but holding, board edges rubbed, boards marked. Internal pages have fox spotting, very legible, tear out of page 251 reaching into text. With the owner’s name stamped at the front board: David D. Williams. Rubbed covers and spine. OCLC: 20837076 at 4 libraries. Hardcover. Overall GOOD condition.
Utica, New York, was an important cultural center for Welsh immigrants to the United States in the 19th century. This little Welsh hymnal, owned by David D. Williams, stands as a testament to that community built in Upstate New York. In the same year that this, the first American edition of this hymnal, was published, the lexicographer, John Russell Bartlett, remarked on the number of Welsh publications in the region, and he even wrote in his Dictionary of Americanisms, that “one may travel for miles [across Oneida County in New York] and hear nothing by the Welsh language. This rich Welsh heritage, however, was reduced by the American Civil War (1861-1865), which saw a migration of the Welsh westward.
This little book is thick with the cultural heritage of those who moved from Wales to New York in the 19th century.
MB403