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Divine Songs for Children, or more specifically, its full title Divine Songs Attempted in Easy Language For the Use of Children, reveals its intended audience plainly and immediately.

Printed by Archibald Loudon in 1812, Divine Songs is aimed at young, religious readers.  The context of the book is straightforward; it has a title page, twenty-eight hymns, and lastly the Ten Commandments.  There is nothing else.  The children who would have used this book are not interested in anything else, more information or filler is boring to most children.  One exception to this is illustrations.  There is only one illustration in the book (a frontispiece); it is small, only taking up about a third of the page.  Likely no other illustrations were added to keep production costs down, and the final price low as well.

Keeping in mind the intended audience, Divine Songs was likely not very expensive.  This is further supported by the modest craftsmanship of the book itself.  It is simply bound; no boards were used, it is only held together with stitching.  The text printed throughout the book was not done meticulously.  The margins are irregular.  On some pages, the text goes fully to the bottom of the page with no lower margin.  On others, the text starts immediately at the top.  The same inconsistency occurs with the size of the gutter.  Considering that Divine Songs was deliberately made like this for its audience, its uncomplicated craftsmanship likely allowed the price to be kept relatively low.  This way, the book could be realistically accessed by children.

The book is very small, measuring 10.25cm x 6.8cm x 0.2cm.  To visualize, when closed Divine Songs is a little shorter than the size of my hand.  I have not tried it myself, but I imagine any pocket that can fit my hand would very easily fit Divine Songs.  It is currently in a fragile state (212 years will do that to any boardless book), so I would not recommend anyone try it.  However, being pocket-sized would have applied itself well to a life of travel, perhaps back and forth between church and home?  

Hymns are songs meant to be sung in worship and are very commonly used during official services.  Divine Songs has twenty-eight hymns printed in it.  Some songs are more broad, such as “A general song of praise to God” and “Heaven and Hell.”  Others are a lot more specific and likely personal to a child, such as “Love between Brothers and Sisters.”  It has something for every occasion.  The book was very likely intended to be owned and read by a child and brought back and forth from home to church or school.  Hence the content and the small and easily portable size.

We know from the title that Divine Songs Attempted in Easy Language For the Use of Children was intended to be used by religious children.  But looking further at the author, Isaac Watts can give us a more specific understanding.  Isaac Watts was a protestant minister, born in England in 1674, he is sometimes known as the “father of English hymnody” (Watts).  Given that he is a very well-known protestant, the book was probably made for other protestants.  However, the Church of England did not approve of hymns until 1820 (Divine Songs was published in 1812), so Anglicans likely will not purchase the book (Hymn).

We have an idea of the type of person who would have owned Divine Songs.  Unfortunately, we do not have information on who this owner actually was.  There is a name written in the book, very likely the name of the owner, but it cannot be read with certainty.  I have talked more in-depth about Sarah in a previous blog post.

Works Cited

“Hymn.” Encyclopædia Britannica Online, Encyclopædia Britannica Inc, 2020.

“Watts, Isaac.” Encyclopædia Britannica Online, Encyclopædia Britannica Inc, 2020.

Divine Songs for Children is a little mystery tucked within the Dickinson College Archives.  Initially, the book appears ordinary and plain; it resides discreetly within a protective clamshell box.  The box is designed to look like a typical hardcover book, it has a spine and the edges (where the pages of a book would be visible) are set deeper in and covered.  The boards are covered with orange-brown cloth.  As I picked the box up and gazed upon it, I recognized the gold streaks that run horizontally across the cloth.  The interwoven gold threads shimmer in the warm light of the archives.  Running my hand over the cover I could feel the coarse texture of the fabric.  It almost seemed like I could feel each individual thread.  The front board of the box, its “cover”, is labeled with a copy of the copyright page.  The spine is labeled with the condensed title, “Divine Songs,” the book’s publication year and location, Carlisle 1812, and the call number.  From a quick glance at the camouflaged box, nothing hints at the little secret tucked within.

Only upon opening the box did I realize it was not the book itself.  To the probable annoyance of my peers, I expect I audibly gasped when instead of pages I was greeted with the beautiful metallic marbling of the box’s interior and a surprise palm-sized book tucked perfectly within.  Underneath the marbled endpages, the same coarse-threaded cloth covers the inside.  The marbling is the same orange-brown tones, now with added silver, bronze, and gold pigments.  In the warm light, the metallic tones shimmer terrifically.  Now, I am finally facedwith the real Divine Songs for Children.  It is a small, unembellished blue book.  Surrounded by the splendor of the box, you would expect to be let down by its simplicity, but I was thrilled.  In comparison to the clamshell, Divine Songs seems tiny (it is less than half the size: the clamshell box is 21.8cm x 14.7cm x 2.6cm, Divine Songs is 10.25cm x 6.8cm x 0.2cm).  It is bound without embellishment: the binding is made of the same paper as the inner pages, there are no boards or endpages, all sewn together with thread.  The front and back cover have a single-color faded marbling design.  The pages of the book do not feel brittle, as I expected from such an old book.  The paper is soft and pliable.  It is small, cradled in my hands, delicate and malleable.

There is a frontispiece on the very first page; it is the only illustration in the book.  The frontispiece is rectangular and off-center (the margins are not evenly spaced on all sides).  It depicts three children standing across from a woman sitting in a chair.  The illustration uses only black ink; it takes advantage of the negative space to create the children’s faces and their clothes.  The copyright page follows.  It credits the full title: Divine Songs Attempted in Easy Language For the Use of Children by Isaac Watts.  This edition was published in Carlisle in 1812 by Archibald Loudon.  There is no information about an editor or any additional information about how this book came into print.  Sprawled across both pages are handwritten words in script.  It is not very legible, the ink has faded and bled.  It very likely is a signature or a name and a date.  The book is twenty-nine pages in total, including the copyright page.  The Ten Commandments, “put into a short rhyme” follow the final hymn.  The book ends with a summary of the commandments, “With all thy soul love God above, And as thyself thy neighbor love,” and “FINIS”.

The margins are inconsistent throughout the book.  The text is never perfectly centered, and the direction it leans is inconsistent.  On the first couple of pages of the book, the text nearly touches the bottom of the page; the upper margin is big, while the bottom margin is near nonexistent.  By the end of the book, the text is more centered.  The text on page 13 is printed on an angle.

There are signs of wear throughout the book, but the most significant damage appears to be a water stain on the top left of the first page.  Throughout the book, the paper is discolored and the edges are chipped.  A couple of the pages appear to have burn damage (most noticeably pages 4 and 5).  The chipped edges are most notable here and are a dark brown color.

Who owned Divine Songs?  Who brought it to the archives?  After 200 years the book is still in good condition, so likely it was maintained.  It was cared for and valued by someone.  But by who?  

Unfortunately, it is not known how this book found itself in the Archives of Dickinson College.  On the inner margin of the 3rd page there is a “Dickinson” stamp.  The Dickinson College Archives used to use ink stamps, like the one in Divine Songs; however, their use was discontinued in 1956.  The “Dickinson” stamp is most often accompanied by a secondary stamp, which indicates the book’s inventory number: this stamp is missing from Divine Songs.  Instead, the call number is written in pencil on the upper margin of the 2nd page.  Either this book entered the archives after the use of these stamps was discontinued, or, more likely, it was decided Divine Songs for Children was too small and valuable for the second stamp.  From 1927 until the end of the century, donations and acquisitions to the archives were handwritten in ledgers.  Often the entries were vague and left out “unremarkable” titles.  It would not have been feasible to handwrite everything acquired by the library, still, this unfortunately leaves many books in the archives without records.  Divine Songs is not mentioned in these ledgers.  Either it was received after 1927 and was not documented specifically or it was received before 1927, prior to the use of ledgers or records at all.  We do not know how Divine Songs for Children got to the archives, or about its life before then.

The Dickinson College Archive’s copy of Divine Songs for Children, printed by Archibald Loudon in 1812, is far from in its pristine condition.  It has many signs of wear, along with indications of its importance.

The archives have no records of any previous owners of the small book (it measures a modest 10.25cm x 6.8cm x 0.2cm ).  However, it is apparent from markings on the first two pages of Divine Songs that it had at least one owner before its time in the archives.  On the very first page of the book, above the frontispiece, someone wrote on the upper margin in script.  Overtime, the ink has faded and expanded.  This, together with what appears to be water stains on the top left corner of the page, makes it difficult to read the words with certainty.  The first line seems to be someone’s name, maybe “Sarah Muller.”  Or maybe it’s “Sarah Milter.”  Presumably, this “Sarah” was an owner of Divine Songs, possibly even the book’s original owner.  Written underneath the name is a date, “January 11th, 1834.”  Before the date there is another word, which I believe says, “born on.”  January 11th, 1834 is likely Sarah’s birthday, meaning the book might have been a gift for her birth or her baptism. 

Given the content of the book, the owners were almost certainly religious; likely they were protestants, as the author of the hymns used in Divine Songs, Issac Watts, was a Protestant minister.  We do not know if Divine Songs for Children had a different owner before Sarah or if she was the first.  There are twenty-two years between the year written in the book and its year of publication (Divine Songs was published in 1812); unfortunately, there is no information or evidence about where the book was during this time, or of any further owners, before or after Sarah.  On the following page, there is more handwriting in the upper margin, however it is illegible.

Besides the handwriting on the first page, there are many other signs of wear and use throughout the book.  As I mentioned briefly earlier, there is a water stain on the first page and several other less severe stains on the following pages.   The marbling on the cover is worn down, and the edges of the pages have small chips.  On the top edge of a couple pages, most prominently page 5, there are what appear to be burn marks.  Perhaps someone held the book too close to a candle?  There are some areas where the text has faded, but never to the point of illegibility.  Based on the wear that Divine Songs for Children has endured, I think it is unlikely that this book was heavily used, especially by a child.  It is still, even after 212 years, in very good condition.  There is no glaring damage, no tears or rips, no harsh creases.  The book was used, yes, it was owned and read.  But likely, it spent most of its life tucked away.

It is unclear when Divine Songs for Children was acquired by the Dickinson College Archives.  There is no record of when, or how, the book came into the archive’s possession.  There is a Dickinson ink stamp on the inner margin of the third page; these ink stamps were used until 1956 when the practice was updated.  Ordinarily, books with the Dickinson ink stamp also had a stamp showing the book’s inventory number.  Divine Songs’ call number is written in pencil on the second page, but there is not a second stamp in the book.  Starting in 1927 until the end of the century, acquisitions of the Dickinson College Archive were recorded in handwritten ledgers.  Unfortunately, these records were not always comprehensive, and specific titles would get left out.  For example, a record would say a title “and three other books” were donated, leaving many texts in the archives without records or histories.  Divine Songs for Children is one of these texts.  It is not found in the ledgers.  Maybe it was acquired before 1927 and before the use of the ledgers?  Or maybe it was acquired since but not documented specifically?  The book’s past is lost; its history is unknown.

We do know, however, what has happened to Divine Songs for Children since arriving in the archives.  In 2020, the Dickinson College Archives worked with a preservation specialist to have a clamshell made for the book.  This endeavor was headed by James (Jim) Gerencser, the Associate Dean for Archives & Special Collections.  Because Divine Songs was not bound with any boards, it is fragile and susceptible to damage.  The clamshell would act as a protective box for the book.  The clamshell was custom-made for the book to fit perfectly within it.  The clamshell was created by Linda Sale, a preservation specialist from Octávaye.  Founded in 2001, Octávaye is a company based in Texas that “provides artifactual restoration and preservation services by adding contemporary approach through art and design,” (as stated on their Instagram, @octavaye).  Looking through their profile and a blog post by another client (“Octavaye”), Octávaye specializes in custom protective boxes for books and other documents, without working on the book itself.  Octávaye’s boxes are intricate and meticulous, covered with stunning fabrics and hand-marbled paper, often crafted with moving parts to support the book.

The clamshell for Divine Songs was designed to appear like a typical book from the outside.  There is a recreation of the title page on the “cover” ofthe clamshell, and on the “spine” is a label with the title, Divine Songs, and the book’s call number.  The clamshell is significantly larger than the small Divine Songs (the clamshell’s dimensions are 21.8cm x 14.7cm x 2.6cm).  Along with the clamshell’s firmer makeup, its larger and more standard size allows Divine Songs for Children to be easily and safely shelved alongside other books in the Dickinson College Archives.  In total, the creation of the clamshell box cost $350.00.  This book is a valued piece of the archives, based on the effort and money put into preserving it.

Works Consulted/Cited

“Octavaye.” What’s in Woodson, 17 Nov. 2020, https://woodsononline.wordpress.com/tag/octavaye/.

“Octavaye-Preservation Instagram Profile.” Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/octavaye/?hl=en. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.

Ossoinig, Wendy. “OCTAVAYE LinkedIn.” LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/octavaye/. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.

“Watts, Isaac.” Encyclopædia Britannica Online, Encyclopædia Britannica Inc, 2020.

Baedeker travel guides were premiere copies bought and loved by millions of travelers from the mid-19th century onwards. Baedekers raised the standard for modern-day guidebooks, their content, format and organization informing what we understand to be an excellent guidebook by today’s standards.

Bookseller and publisher Karl Baedeker’s creation of these informative travel companions was sparked after taking a trip to Paris. He found that the guidebooks he came across were severely lacking in terms of enriching cultural content, linguistic aids and illustrated maps. Baedeker pursued his passion project of creating a premiere set of guides complete with detailed maps of each region to facilitate easy navigation for travelers, a star rating system to inform level of luxury, transit information to allow travel via the growing rail networks, as well as advice on how to navigate local customs.

The explosive success of Baedeker fueled an uptick in mass tourism from the mid to late 19th century. These travel guides made traveling for leisure accessible to ordinary people, bought by both aristocrats and travelling explorers as planning tools to explore the world’s most renowned tourist destinations. Independent travelers empowered with the information to craft their own journeys abroad embarked on trips pocket-money friendly, not having to rely on the Grand Tour, an expensive expedition only

With the publishing of travel guides like Palestine and Syria, Karl Baedeker’s empire opened the door to millions of ordinary travel hungry people. The practice of travel previously privileged only to young, aristocratic men now opened up to include all sorts of different people. Originally printed in German, as Baedekers gained popularity they were translated into Italian, French and English for readers across Europe to enjoy.

Bibliography

Dawson, David. “The History of Baedeker Guidebooks.” Gothic Futurism, 1 Jan. 2024,
gothicfuturism.com/travelling-the-world/the-history-of-baedeker-guidebooks/.

Sorabella, Jean. “The Grand Tour: Essay: The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Heilbrunn Timeline
of Art History.” The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, Oct. 2003,
www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grtr/hd_grtr.htm.

English 222 is an introductory course in the Dickinson College English Department with a writing emphasis. Student posts explore their public-facing writing style,  describing aspects of the book they have adopted for the semester from the Dickinson College archive.  The goals for the course::

1. Explore the relationship between the book as a material object and the cultural, technical, and historical elements that influence and make the object. We focus upon the book in the West.
2. Establish methods of handling and examining books in their various forms. Explore through class readings the historical, theoretical, and imaginative writing on the book. Apply some of the methods of book making in hands-on projects. Work with the ideas of books in a semester-long project and a final project.
3. Understand the methods of critical bibliography and how bibliographic methods can engage literary theory and history. In the final project students will investigate a topic in book history with independent research and hands-on experimentation, presenting their work in original and persuasive use of media.