{"id":175,"date":"2024-10-24T20:54:39","date_gmt":"2024-10-24T20:54:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook2024\/?p=175"},"modified":"2024-12-20T03:04:02","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T03:04:02","slug":"the-life-and-legacy-of-p-p-bliss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook2024\/2024\/10\/24\/the-life-and-legacy-of-p-p-bliss\/","title":{"rendered":"The Life and Legacy of P.P. Bliss"},"content":{"rendered":"

Several contributors compiled the tunes of \u201cGospel Hymns Combined,\u201d Ira D. Sankey, James McGranahan, and George C. Stebbin, D.L Moody, Rev. Robert Lowry, and W. Howard Doane. However, the back cover of the booklet gives special consideration to one name\u2014P.P. Bliss (figure 1).<\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 1: Back cover of \u201cGospel Hymns Combined\u201d displaying special consideration to the works of P.P. Bliss.<\/p><\/div>\n

Born July 9, <\/span>1838,<\/span> in a log cabin nestled within the central corridor of the Pennsylvanian Appalachians just outside of Clearfield County<\/span> (Reese 1999)<\/span>. Phil<\/span>ip<\/span> Bliss earned recognition as one of the most famous American songwriters in history<\/span>. So much so, that his peers, including Ira Sankey, respected and acknowledged his superior talent<\/span> (<\/span>Reese, 1999)<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 2: Illustration of the 1876 Pacific Express Railway Accident which took the life of P.P. Bliss and 160 others.<\/p><\/div>\n

His passion for writing Sunday school prayer melodies <\/span>most likely stems<\/span> from his early adoption of Christianity in his childhood as well as his work as a schoolteacher at the end of his formative years<\/span> (Reese, 1999)<\/span>. At the age of twelve, Philip Bliss made his first public confession of Christ and joined the Baptist church<\/span>. He <\/span>later engaged in Methodist camp meetings and revival services<\/span> (Reese, 1999)<\/span>. <\/span>At the age of eighteen, Philip Bliss became a schoolteacher in New York where his musical talent would <\/span>be recognized<\/span> by a number of musical cliques<\/span> (Reese, 1999)<\/span>.<\/span> After only 4<\/span> years in New York, he returned to his home state and began tutoring pupils to supplement his income. After securing a spot and completing his stay in the Normal Academy of Music in New York, and moving to Chicago thereafter, his career eventually found <\/span>great success<\/span>, <\/span>earning him<\/span>self more than <\/span>$90,000, or over three million dollars in today’s currency, <\/span>nearly all<\/span> of<\/span> which <\/span>was<\/span> purportedly <\/span>g<\/span>iven<\/span> to Evangelic<\/span>al charities<\/span> <\/span>(Reese, 1999)<\/span><\/span>. In Chicago, Bliss would mingle with other contributors of \u201cGospel Hymns Combined\u201d such as D.L Moody and Ira Sankey, all of whom would regularly collaborate<\/span> <\/span>(Reese, 1999)<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 3: The Philip Paul Bliss house, reopened as the Philip P. Bliss Gospel Songwriters Museum in 1965; added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1986.<\/p><\/div>\n

T<\/span>r<\/span>agedy struck Philip\u2019s life in 1876 (Reece, 1999), when a snowdrift upturned the Pac<\/span>ific Express train as it passed through Ashtabula, Ohio, launching hum and 160 others from the rails and down into the icy waters of the ravine 75 feet below (figure 2).<\/span> Philip Bliss never got the chance to <\/span>witness<\/span> the printing of \u201cGospel Hymns Combined\u201d in 1879, although the book<\/span> is<\/span> a <\/span>testament <\/span>to his lifelong commitment to gospel music considering the multiple acknowledgements to his work. Philip Bliss stands alone in the musical canon of American Gospel music. His home, now known as the Philip Paul Bliss House, <\/span>opened<\/span> as the Philip P. Bliss Gospel Songwriters Museum in 1965 and was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1986 (figure 3)<\/span> (Ross, 2009)<\/span>. Just as important as Philip Bliss were the publishers who made it possible to distribute his renowned and much enjoyed music, <\/span>Biglow<\/span> & Main of New York and Chicago and John Church & Co. of New York and Cincinnati.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 4: Formatting of Biglow & Main publishing\u2019s first print, \u201cChapel Melodies,\u201d 1868.<\/p><\/div>\n

Founded in 1868<\/span> by Sylvester Main and his son Huberty Platt Main<\/span>, <\/span>Biglow<\/span> & Main <\/span>began as a publisher <\/span>of hymnals<\/span> in New <\/span>York<\/span> (National Endowment for the Humanities, 2024)<\/span>. Their first publication was \u201cChapel Melodies\u201d in 1868. The title page <\/span>nearly identically<\/span> mirrors the <\/span>for<\/span>matting <\/span>o<\/span>f<\/span> \u201cCombined Gospel Hymns\u201d apart from the varying fonts (figure 4) and includes music notation (figure 5)\u2014a feature they would <\/span>depart<\/span> from in the future publication of \u201cCombined Gospel Hymns\u201d. Notably, <\/span>this publication also credits <\/span>Rev. Robert Lowry<\/span>. <\/span>Perhaps as<\/span> a turn of fate<\/span>,<\/span> the publishing house appointed<\/span> Ira Sankey <\/span>as president in 1895<\/span> (National Endowment for the Humanities, 2024)<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 5: Musical Notation included in Biglow and Main\u2019s \u201cChapel Melodies,\u201d 1868.<\/p><\/div>\n

John Church & Co. Of New York and Cincinnati co-published this book\u2014<\/span><\/span>a music retailer and manufacturing house founded in 1859 in Cincinnati that primarily produced sheet music and pianos<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(Stinnet, 2024)<\/span>. Despite John Church\u2019s propensity towards sheet music, the publication notably<\/span> omits<\/span> music notation altogether, bringing into question why exactly<\/span> Biglow & Main chose<\/span> Mr. Church\u2019s company <\/span>in particular<\/span> to<\/span> be a co-publisher of \u201cCombined Gospel Hymns.\u201d One reason might have been the momentum of John Church\u2019s company at that time. <\/span>Clearly, the<\/span> publishing house played a <\/span>significant<\/span> role in the music industry of the late 1800\u2019s, as The National Register of Historic Places added the original John Church building to their list <\/span>(Stinnet, 2024),\u00a0<\/span>despite no longer being in operation<\/span> (figure 6). Nevertheless, <\/span>John Church & Co. Handled both the printing and binding of this book in-house in Cincinnati<\/span> (Stinnet, 2024)<\/span>. John Church later expanded into cities like New York, Chicago, and Boston after finding <\/span>great success<\/span> in Ohio<\/span> (Adams, 2021)<\/span>. <\/span>As a result of their success in the music industry, the Royal <\/span>Manufacturing<\/span> Company bought <\/span>Mr. Church\u2019s company a<\/span>s they acquired <\/span>many others<\/span> into the fold in 1891 (figure 7).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 7: Records of the merger between the Royal Manufacturing Company with various music manufacturing and printing houses including John Church & Co.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Figure 6: John Church & Co. Building, Chicago.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Bibliography<\/p>\n

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Reese, Ed. \u201cLife and Ministry of Philip Bliss.\u201d <\/span>Christian Biographies<\/span><\/i>, June 13 1999, <\/span>https:\/\/www.wholesomewords.org\/biography\/biobliss.html<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

National Endowment for the Humanities. \u201cBiglow & Main.\u201d <\/span>Hymnary<\/span><\/i>. Accessed October 13 2024. <\/span>https:\/\/hymnary.org\/person\/BiglowMain<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adams, Nathaniel. \u201cJohn Church Company & Royal Manufacturing Company – Cincinnati, Ohio.\u201d <\/span>S. Nathaniel Adams, <\/span><\/i>Documenting history as well as my experiences with repairing and restoring vintage guitars<\/span><\/i>, August 17 2021. <\/span>https:\/\/www.snathanieladams.com\/2021\/08\/john-church-company-royal-manufacturing.html<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stinnet, Michael. \u201cChurch, John & Company.\u201d <\/span>Antique Piano Shop<\/span><\/i>. Accessed October 13 2024. <\/span>https:\/\/antiquepianoshop.com\/online-museum\/church-john-company\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Ross, Stephen, Ross, Dorothy. \u201cPhilip P. Bliss Songwriters Museum.\u201d <\/span>Wholesome Words<\/span><\/i>. Accessed October 13, 2024. <\/span>https:\/\/www.wholesomewords.org\/biography\/biobliss16.html<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Several contributors compiled the tunes of \u201cGospel Hymns Combined,\u201d Ira D. Sankey, James McGranahan, and George C. Stebbin, D.L Moody, Rev. Robert Lowry, and W. Howard Doane. However, the back cover of the booklet gives special consideration to one name\u2014P.P. Bliss (figure 1). Born July 9, 1838, in a log cabin nestled within the central […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5523,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-origins","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5523"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}