Images courtesy of the Mike Castro collection
A few
weeks ago I put out a special request for anyone out there who had ever heard
of a Welsh edition of Tabernacle Shadows. I had a vague memory of seeing one
several decades ago, but had never had it confirmed since. I reasoned that, if
it existed at all, it probably originated in America, with all the Welsh
immigrants, including people like William Hickey of Tredegar, South Wales, who
was in CTR’s group back in the mid-1870s.
Well, I
was right, and I was wrong. First, I was right, the book does exist. It is 144
pages, and was published in both hardback and paperback. The hardback cover is
shown at the head of this article, and grateful thanks are due to the Mike
Castro Collection for providing the images. But in another aspect, I was wrong,
as shown by the title page below.
Image courtesy of the Mike Castro Collection
As noted
above, I assumed that the book, if it existed, originated in America. But the
title page clearly shows the publisher to be Watch Tower, with an address in
Eversholt Street, London. This dates the book to between 1903 and 1914, when
IBSA became the publisher’s imprint from Craven Terrace, London. The printers
were Hazel, Watson and Viney, a well-known British company that also printed
British editions of Studies. The copy pictured was originally purchased on eBay
from the UK.
Armed
with the correct Welsh name I found that the National Library of Wales at
Aberystwyth has a copy. Their index states that it is translated into Welsh
from English, and they give an estimated date of 1913, which is when it first
appeared on their shelves and in their catalog. Quaintly they ascribe the
authorship to one Charles Theodore Russell. I have a reader’s ticket to this
library, but my last visit was to examine ancient Welsh Bibles, while Mrs J was
hunting up Welsh folk songs. I never thought to check Watch Tower history. The
next time I visit I will examine the volume, and maybe even get them to adjust
the author’s middle name!
2 comments:
What a spectacular find! Looks hard-bound, too.
I have the Special Issue of ZWT from 1899, also the 1920 reprint, but both are paperback.
Again, thanks so much for sharing this piece of history!
I agree with Andrew. A spettacular find!
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