the book collector
No bibliographical comparison of all eleven surviving copies of the Bay Psalm Book has been attempted – Amory, for example, was reduced in 1990 to comparing four facsimile editions in order to uncover some bibliographical evidence. 13 But perhaps one of the gravest failings in the literature is the lack of recognition of the bibliographical abilities of a Belfast coal merchant, and that the identification of the eleventh copy of the Bay Psalm Book by James Weatherup as documented in his notes and correspondence above finally accords its re-discoverer his proper due. Appendix: A Twelfth Bay Psalm Book? In the second half of the nineteenth century the acquisition by pri- vate collectors of three of the five or six copies of the Bay Psalm Book owned by the Old South Church Boston unleashed the possibility that wealthy collectors of early American imprints might acquire other copies. Charles Deane was a subscriber to A Literal Reprint of the Bay Psalm Book (1862) which was printed for only 50 sub- scribers. 14 At the back of his copy of the Literal Reprint Deane had bound-in a series of letters and notes dated 1880–85 which illustrate the confusion surrounding the number and location of Bay Psalm Book volumes, including erroneous statements that circulated at that time, and speculative hopes of obtaining a copy by the leading American bibliophiles in the late nineteenth century. 15 Amongst this correspondence there is mention of what appears to be an unac- counted-for Bay Psalm Book copy. The evidence is in the form of two letters from John Russell Bartlett asking Charles Deane to confirm a list of known copies of the Bay Psalm Book documented by Justin Winsor. 16 In the first letter 13 . Amory, ‘Pollishings’ pp. 12–13. 14 . A Literal Reprint of the Bay Psalm Book (Cambridge, Mass., printed for Charles B. Richardson, 1862) was described by Hugh Amory as being ‘only marginally more common than the original’ commenting that it ‘is noteworthy for its amazing ability to reproduce in metal all the typographical flaws of the original’ Amory, ‘Pollishings’ p. 6. 15 . Correspondence between Charles Deane and James Hammond Trumbull, Wilberforce Eames, H. B. Shurtle V and John Russell Bartlett in the collection of Anthony S. Drennan. 16 . Charles Deane (1813–89) was known for his library which was described as amongst the most valuable in New England; John Russell Bartlett (1805–86) was benefactor
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