THOMAS JOHNSTON
Thomas Johnston (b. ca. 1708; d. Boston, Mass., 8 May 1767), a singer, organ builder, engraver and japanner, and publisher, was active in Boston from 1726, when he joined the Brattle Street Church. He worked as a skilled craftsman, decorating houses and furniture, and mastering the technique of japanning. He also engraved maps, trade cards, bookplates, book illustrations, currency and music. He built organs and was also a musician, leading congregational singing at the Brattle Street Church (1739) and perhaps serving as a soloist at King's Chapel (1754, 1756). In 1752 he overhauled the organ in Boston's Christ Church (Old North Church). Instruments that he is known to have built himself include an organ commissioned by St. Peter's in Salem, Massachusetts (1754), one for St. John's in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (1760), and one for the Concert Hall in Boston, probably made in the 1750s.
Amerigrove, Bio-bib, DAB, Grove. Also Hitchings 1973; Owen 1979, p. 23-27; Wolfe 1980, p. 19-21.
COLLECTION OF PSALM TUNES, 1755-67
Bound at the back of many metrical psalters of the mid-1750s and 1760s is an untitled supplement of psalm tunes with a brief introduction headed "To learn to sing' and an imprint on pages 1 and 2 reading 'Engrav'd printed & sold by Thomas Johnston Brattle Street Boston 1755.' Johnston's supplement originally contained sixteen leaves of music. In succeeding years the book underwent two major changes. In 1760 Johnston brought out a version in the notation of John Tufts's Introduction (Boston, 1720s), in which the note-heads were letters designating solmization syllables (see Nos. 491, 493). Several years later, per-haps as early as 1763, Johnston reengraved his supplement, using the diamond-shaped note-heads of the first issue, and expanding the size to twenty-two leaves of music.
Collection of Psalm Tunes, [1st ed.], 1755
ASMI 304
[Collection of Psalm Tunes, with an introduction 'To learn to sing."]
Engrav'd printed & sold by Thomas Johnston Brattle Street Boston 1755-
16 numbered leaves, printed on alternate facing versos & rectos. 114.5 x 9 cm. Engraved throughout by Thomas Johnston.
L. 1, 'To learn to sing, instructions; 1. 2-16, music.
51 compositions for 3 voices (1 for 4); textless. No attribs. 18 1st Am. pr. identified (BUCKLAND, COULCHESTER, EVENING HYMN, NEW YORK, PALATINE HYMN, PSALM 136, ST. PETER'S, WARWICK). 12 American compositions (Anthem to 100 [PSALM 100 NEW], SOUTHWELL NEW), 45 traced to non-American sources, 4 unidentified (NEW YORK, PSALM 51 NEW, PSALM 108, WARWICK).
16 Core Repertory (1st Am. pr. BUCKLAND [BATH]).
E7442 (Shipton & Mooney note, 'One of any of the several printings made to be bound at the end of psalmbooks, q.v.' E40680 and 40681, as well as others, reproduce on Readex MWA copies of Brady and Tate, New Version, with Johnston's supplement). NBUG, RPJCB (inc.); copies b.w. other items in CtHC, CtY, DLC, MB, MH (5), MHi (3), MSaE, MWA (5; 1 inc.), MiU-C* (2), NN (2), NjPT (2), RPB.
NOTE: Items with which Johnston's supplement is bound are listed in Table 11. This 1755 issue is there called Issue A.
The copies show small variations. For example, in the tune PSALM 113, p. 7, the bass part in some concludes the fifth phrase on C and has a G for the fourth note in the seventh phrase, both errors; in others, the bass part concludes the fifth phrase correctly on D, and has F for the fourth note in the seventh phrase. Also, in some copies EVENING HYMN, P. 11, is set for two voices, with the middle staff blank; in others, the middle staff is filled in. The uncorrected copies are clearly earlier; and most are bound with psalters of earlier date than the corrected copies.
Collection of Psalm Tunes, [2d ed.], 1756-59?
PREFATORY NOTE: Two copies of Johnston's supplement with letters for note-heads have been found. One has sixteen pages but is misbound, with pages 1 and 8 exchanged and upside down. That and the close cropping of the border of page 2, on which the last part of the imprint appears, make it impossible to reconstruct the full imprint. Except for page 7 and page 8, which are exchanged, the order of the music in this issue is the same as in the sixteen-page issue with a 1755 title-page date.
The second copy with letter notation (see No. 305A) contains only fourteen pages and is hence almost surely incomplete. On p. 8 it is dated August 1760. The order of the music is similar, if not identical, to that of the twenty-two-page issue, which can be dated 1763 or later (see '3d ed.' below).
ASMI 305
[Collection of Psalm Tunes, with an Introduction 'To learn to sing.']
Engrav'd printed & sold by Tho Johnston. Boston NE... [p. 2 cropped.]
16 numbered leaves, printed on alternate facing versos & rectos. Engraved throughout by Thomas Johnston in letter notation.
[1756-59?] The date of the psalter with which the item is bound indicates that it followed the 1755 edition into print. The ordering of the music, however, resembles that of the 1755 issue and differs from the issue of 1763. Since the version dated 1760 (see below, No. 305A) conforms to the musical ordering of the 1763, this undated issue must have preceded it. Thus the dates 1756-59 are proposed. Contents same as 1st ed. (No. 304).
Music same as 1st ed.
E9069 (MWA). MWA (b.w. Brady and Tate, New Version, Boston: D. and J. Kneeland for J. Wharton & N. Bowes, 1762).
ASMI 305A
[Collection of Psalm Tunes, with an Introduction 'To learn to sing.']
Engrav'd printed & sold by Thos. Johnston.
14+ numbered leaves, printed on alternate facing versos & rectos. Engraved throughout by Thomas Johnston in letter notation.
[1760.] p. 8 dated: 'Boston N.E. Augt. 1760. Contents same as main entry, except: music, 1. 1-14.
45 compositions for 3 voices; textless. No attribs. No 1st pr. identified. 2 American compositions (ANTHEM TO 100, SOUTHWELL NEW), 39 traced to non-American sources, 4 unidentified (same as No. 304).
13 Core Repertory.
Not in Evans (no copy on Readex). RPB* (lacks all after 1. 14; b.w. Appendix, containing a number of hymns, taken chiefty from Dr. Watts's scriptural collection, Boston: printed for the Company of Stationers, 1763, call number h Coll. BI 1214 1763а).
NOTE: The issues of the '2d ed.' are designated B-1 and B-2 in Table 11.
Collection of Psalm Tunes, [3d ed., 1763-67]
ASMI 306
[[Collection of Psalm Tunes, with an introduction "To learn to sing."] Engrav'd printed & sold by Thomas Johnston Brattle Street Boston 1755.
22 numbered leaves, printed on alternate facing versos & rectos. Engraved throughout by Thomas Johnston.
[ 17 ^ 63 -67.] This issue could not have appeared before 17 ^ 63 because it contains ST. CLE-MENTS, a tune claimed as a 1st pr. in A. Williams, The Universal Psalmodist (London, 17 ^ 63 . All of the copies examined are bound with metrical psalters dating from 17 ^ 63 or later; three are bound with 17 ^ 63 psalters, suggesting that Johnston's work was printed before the end of 17 ^ 63 or early in 1764. Johnston died 8 May 17 ^ 67 L. 1, "To learn to sing, instructions; 1. 2-22, music. L. 1-16 printed from the same plates, re-engraved, as the 1st. ed. (No. 304). The pages are reordered as shown in Table 10.
70 compositions for 3 voices (1 for 4); textless. Attribs. to Holdray'd, Tansur (10). 114 prob. 1st Am. pr. identified (ABINGTON, ALL SAINTS, BANGOR, BARBY, BLENHEIM, FAREHAM, HARTFORD, MIDDLEBOROUGH, MORNING HYMN, NEWBURY PORT, PLYMOUTH, PSALM 25, ST. CLEMENTS, TRINITY). 2 American compositions, 61 traced to non-American sources, 7 unidentified (MIDDLEBOROUGH, NEWBURY PORT, NEW YORK, PSALMS 51 NEW, 67, 108, WARWICK).
25 Core Repertory (poss. Ist Am. pr. ALL SAINTS, BANGOR, PLYMOUTH).
Not in Evans (MWA copy b.w. Brady and Tate, New Version, Boston, 1767, on Readex
E10558). Copies in CtHT-W (2, inc.), CtY (inc.), DLC (2), ICN, MB, MSaE (2), MWA (7; 3 inc.), NN (2), NNUT, NcWsM, NjPT (inc.), RPB (2; inc.), RPJCB (inc.).
NOTE: This item is designated No. 306 in Table 11. Copies in NNUT and PPiPT have not been examined to determine which issue they are.
NOTE: Question marks appear in the list above with items for which missing title-pages make positive identification impossible.
ASMI pp. 374-379.