Shaker Hymnals

Shaker hymnals (hymn books) from the Edward Deming Andrews Memorial Shaker Collection at the Winterthur Library and the Communal Societies Collection at the Burke Library, Hamilton College.

The Edward Deming Andrews Memorial Shaker Collection contains 113 hymnals compiled by members of American Shaker communities between 1808 and 1935. Most songs are notated using letteral notation, a notation system that denotes musical pitch using letters placed above or below a central pitch. Inscriptions note information on authorship, date, originating community, delivery method, and use. Authors, both individuals and families, are commonly noted by initials or abbreviated names, and communities by their spiritual names. Inscriptions may also reveal specific purposes for songs, such as funerals or welcoming visiting communities. The Era of Manifestations (1837 to the mid-1850s) is heavily represented by gift songs, believed to have been received in visions and delivered by Mother Ann (Ann Lee).

Digitization and indexing of these volumes was made possible through a grant from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation and with additional financial support from the Communal Studies Association's Hidden Collections initiative.