Dr. Dwight’s Revision (1801)

“In 1797 the project of a second authorized revision of Watts’s Psalms took definite shape. In June of that year the General Association of Connecticut requested President [Timothy] Dwight ‘to revise Dr. Watts’s imitation of the Psalms of David, so as to accommodate them to the state of the American Churches; and to supply the deficiency of those Psalms which Dr. Watts had omitted.’”–Benson, p. 75.

Dr Dwight’s revision appeared in 1801 at Hartford with the following title page:

The Psalms of David imitated in the language of the New Testament and applied to the Christian use and worship / by I. Watts ; a new edition in which the Psalms, omitted by Dr. Watts, are versified, local passages altered, and a number of Psalms are versified anew, in proper metres by Timothy Dwight …

(NOTE: The following list is an approximation of the varied publication history of The Psalms of David imitated in the language of the New Testament … and in no way should be considered complete. Additionally, the terms “edition,” “printing,” and “issue” have not been used consistently in various bibliographies. Therefore, the usage of such terms has little bearing on the organization of this list.)

(Beinecke copies are noted in bold.)

  • 1801 (P)
    Hartford : Printed by Hudson and Goodwin, 1801. (Za D96 801P)
    Shaw & Shoemaker 1621
  • 1802 (Pb)
    Brooksfield, Mass. : E. Merriam & Co., 1802.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 1894
  • 1803 (Pc)
    Exeter, New Hampshire : Henry Ranlet, 1803.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 3807

    Keene, N.H. : Printed by and for John Prentiss, 1803.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 3808

    [New Haven] : Printed for Hudson & Goodwin, 1803. (Za D96 801Pcc)
    Shaw & Shoemaker 3815

  • 1804 (Pd)
    Boston : Printed by David Carlisle,1804.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 5861

    Charlestown : S. Etheridge, 1804.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 5862

    New Brunswick : Printed by A. Blauvelt, 1804. (Za D96 801Pdc)
    Shaw & Shoemaker 5865

    Albany : Printed and published by Whiting, Backus & Whiting …, 1804.
    (Za D96 801Pdd)
    Shaw & Shoemaker 6209

  • 1807 (Pe)
    Philadelphia : Printed by Bartram & Reynolds for Thomas Dobson, 1807.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 12137
  • 1808 (Pf)
    [New Haven] : Printed for Hudson & Goodwin, 1808. (Za D96 801Pf - 4 copies)
    Shaw & Shoemaker 14499
  • 1809 (Pg)
    Montpelier, Vt. : J. Parks, 1809.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 17013

    New York : Published and sold by J. Seymour & Co., 1809. (Za D96 801Pgb - 2 copies)
    Shaw & Shoemaker 17278

  • 1811 (Ph)
    Hartford : Printed by Hudson & Goodwin, 1811.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 22377
  • 1812 (Pi)
    New Haven : Published by Howe & Deforest, Walter & Steele, and Samuel Wadsworth, 1812. (Za D96 801Pia - 2 copies)
    Shaw & Shoemaker 24845

    Walpole, N.H. : Isaiah Thomas & Co., 1812.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 24849

  • 1813 (Pj)
    Boston, Mass. : Printed by Nathaniel Willis, 1813.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 27924

    Concord, N.H. : Printed by I. and W.R. Hill, 1813.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 27925

    Haverhill, Mass. : Published and sold by W.B. & H.G. Allen, 1813.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 27926

    Philadelphia : Benjamin C. Buzby, 1813.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 27927

  • 1814 (Pk)
    Hartford : Printed by Hudson & Goodwin, 1814. (Za D96 801Pka)
    Shaw & Shoemaker 30892

    Montpelier, Vt.: Lucius Q.C. Bowles, 1814.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 30893

    Newburyport [Mass.] : W.B. Allen & Co., 1814.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 30894

  • 1815 (PL)
    Exeter [N.H.] : Published and sold by C. Norris & Co., 1815.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 34096
  • 1816 (Pm)
    Exeter [N.H.] : C. Norris & Co., 1816.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 36982

    Havervill, Mass. : Burrill and Tileston,1816.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 36983

    New York : E. Duyckinck, 1816. (Za D96 801Pmc)
    Shaw & Shoemaker 36984

    New York : Rob. McDermott, 1816. (Za D96 801Pmd - 2 copies)
    Shaw & Shoemaker 36985

    Newburyport, Mass. : Printed by Wm. Hastings …, 1816.
    Shaw & Shoemaker 36986

  • 1817 (Pn)
    Albany : Printed by Websters and Skinners, 1817. (Za D96 801Pna - 2 copies)
    Shaw & Shoemaker 40223

    Hartford : Printed and published by George Goodwin and Sons, 1817. (Za D96 801Pnb - 2 copies)
    Shaw & Shoemaker 40225

    New York : J.L. Tiffany, 1817. (Za D96 801Pnc)
    Shaw & Shoemaker 40228

  • 1818 (Po)
    Newburyport : Published for West & Richardson …, 1818.
  • 1819 (Pp)
    Hartford : G. Goodwin and Sons, 1819. (Za D96 801Pp)
    Shaw & Shoemaker 47339
  • 1821 (Pq)
    New Haven : Wadsworth, 1821. (Za D96 801Pq)
    Shoemaker 4693
  • 1822 (Pr)
    New York : Published and sold by Charles Starr, 1822. (Za D96 801Pr)
    Shoemaker 8042
  • 1827 (Ps)
    New Haven : L N. Whiting, 1827. (Za D96 801Ps - 2 copies)
    Shoemaker 28168
  • 1828 (Pt)
    Elizabethtown, N.J. : Elijah Booth, 1828.

    Philadelphia : S. Eckstein, 1828.

    Philadelphia : Published by M’Carty and Davis, 1828.

  • 1829 (Pu)
    Philadelphia : J. M’Dowell, 1829.
  • 1830 (Pv)
    Hartford : Printed by P.B. Gleason and Co. …, 1830. (Za D96 801Pv)
    Checklist Amer. imprints 523
  • 1832 (Pw)
    New Haven : Durrie & Peck, 1832. (Za D96 801Pw - 2 copies)
  • 1834 (Px)
    New Haven : Durrie & Peck, 1834.

    Geneva : Published by R. Robbins, 1834.

    Elizabethtown, N.J. : T.O. Sayre, 1834.

  • 1836 (Py)
    Elizabeth-Town, N.J. : T.O. Sayre, 1836.

    Cooperstown : H. & E. Phinney, 1836.

  • 1837 (Pz)
    New Haven : Durrie & Peck, 1837. (Za D96 801Pz)

    1839 (P*)
    Derby : Printed and published by Henry Mozley and Son : 1839.


This listing was compiled with the help of the following sources:

Benson, Louis F. “The American revision of Watts’s ‘Psalms’ ” in Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society, vol. II (1903-1904), pp. 18-34, 75-89.

Blanck, Jacob. Bibliography of American Literature.

Evans, Charles. American bibliography: a chronological dictionary of all books, pamphlets, and periodical publications printed in the United States of America from the genesis of printing in 1639 down to and including the year 1820.

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