The Watchtower (IBSA) recordings

The Photo Drama discs were 12" in diameter. Note that the dates on the label refer to the various patents of the recording company, and do not refer to recording dates.

The Angelophone discs were only 7" in diameter.
 

 

 

The Rutherford recordings were 12" in diameter. The transcription records were 16"

 

 

 Introduction by Jerome:

Back in September 2011, I was given permission to reprint an extract from a 1993 article on the Watchtower recordings. The selection dealt with the Angelophone recordings. Noticing that this proved quite popular in the intervening months, I have now obtained permission to reprint the whole article here on Blog 1, after it recently appeared on Blog 2.

The only stipulation made by the original author is that it should be printed as a time capsule, with no updating. So the current facts and figures given are those current in 1993, not today. Then there is certain information the writer would not have had available at that time, such as our more detailed understand of CTR’s religious background, and William Conley being the first Watch Tower president. The latter information was only published for the first time later in 1993. So there may be little inaccuracies to find; however, they have no real bearing on the subject of the article – the historic recordings.

Just one interpolation has been made in red as a result of comments made when the Angelophone extract was published, but that only serves to vindicate the original writer.

The article as it stands was first published in April 1993 in issue 27 of The Historic Record, a specialist magazine for collectors of shellac records, generally playing at 78 revolutions per minute (rpm). The magazine had an international readership, but was published in Britain; so the article comes from that angle, including British rather than American English spelling. The general readership had no interest in the Watchtower as such, but in subsequent issues several collectors from around the world came forward who had examples of its output.

The article concentrates solely on recordings in the English language. There is a vast untapped field for research out there for all the foreign language recordings that were made, both for different countries and for different language groups existing within the United States.

At the end of the original article were a number of pages detailing the various recordings that had been published:  Photodrama, Angelophone, Rutherford lectures, Watch Tower Male Voice Quartet, Organ Records, Advertising Records, etc. These lists have been omitted because this information can now be readily obtained through the internet for any who may have sufficient interest.

It was noted in the comment section on Blog 2 that shellac has proved to be a surprisingly durable storage medium, far superior to current electronic media such as CDs and DVDs. A recent sound archive discussion list commented that commercial coarse groove discs (78s) and vinyl (33s and 45s) do not immediately need to be recopied, as long as the originals are kept in good condition. Unlike recent media storage systems, they have proved to be quite stable information carriers. In practice it means that the recordings of CTR and Rutherford, going back nearly 100 years, could well be more durable than modern Watchtower DVDs.

A religious organisation that issued over 200 different titles on 78 rpm shellac, and who once produced over a hundred thousand records in a year at its peak.  A religious group that sent its workers from house to house in the 1930s with portable phonographs to play 12” recorded sermons on the doorstep. A group that had previously compiled an eight hour audio/visual experience, using dozens of specially produced records. An organisation that in over a hundred years had four presidents, all of whom made recordings – in one case, singing! An overview of historic recordings would not be complete without considering the output of the Watchtower Society – the official arm of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Today the Witnesses are well-known for that unexpected knock on the door, to share their views on scripture. Active in Britain since the 1880s, vigorous proselyting has been one of their distinguishing features. For thirty years (1914-1944) the gramophone or phonograph was an essential piece of their equipment.

The Watchtower magazine was founded in July 1879 by Charles Taze Russell, later known as Pastor Russell. He had been involved in one of the independent Bible study groups common in America at the time, and contributed a number of articles to small Adventist journals like George Storrs’ Bible Examiner and Nelson Barbour’s Herald of the Morning. He differed from the mainstream Adventist belief in a visible return of Christ, and also common beliefs on the end of the world. His journal promoted the second coming as an invisible presence – Christ turning his attention to the earth – and far from being burned up, the earth would one day become a paradise during a literal millennium. The first issue of ‘Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’ Presence’ was an ambitious six thousand copies. Today the (retitled) ‘Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom’ – with much the same basic message – has a circulation of over fifteen million copies each issue in 112 language. It is also produced on cassette: the historic successor to the 78s. By the time of Russell’s death in 1916 there were 1,200 known congregations of Bible Students as they were then called, including nearly 200 in Britain.

In 1881 Zion’s Watch Tower carried the article ‘Wanted – One Thousand Preachers’ – setting wheels in motion that eventually lead to a worldwide organisation of evangelisers. That same year proselyting started in Britain. In 1884 ‘Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society’ was incorporated in the State of Pennsylvania. To hold property and conduct business in the British Empire, the ‘International Bible Students Association’ was later formed. The names ‘Watchtower’ and ‘IBSA’ are the key to identifying official historic recordings today. Charles Russell became the first president of what would commonly be called ‘The Society’.

Prior to the First World War, the Bible Student movement was still numerically small. However, they were very adept in making their message heard. In America there were well-publicised debates with recognised clergy. (Note the warnings about ‘Russellism’ in the film ‘Elmer Gantry’). In Britain there were large public meetings at venues like the Royal Albert Hall and the Bible Students’ own London Tabernacle in Paddington. Hundreds of millions of free tracts were distributed. At one point ‘Pastor Russell’s Sermons’ were being carried by over three thousand newspapers. It was not surprising that recorded sound and the fledgling film industry would be utilised in the campaign.

THE PHOTODRAMA OF CREATION (1914)

In 1914 the Society premiered its own audio/visual production called The Photodrama of Creation. It contained about five hours of 4 inch lantern slides and three hours of motion pictures – both slides and films being coloured by hand. The total eight hour production was eventually shown in four parts. It took over two years to make and cost the Society over $300,000 to produce. Running costs were met by local groups.

After visiting key cities in America, the British premiere took place in July 1914 at the Princes Theatre, Shaftsbury Avenue. Russell travelled over in person to introduce it. It told the history of the Bible and the world to date, and then the Bible Students’ view of the future. The whole commentary was recorded on 12 inch records, produced by the American Gramophone Co., Bridgeport, Conn.

Russell’s voice could reportedly hold an audience for hours, but it was not suitable for the Photodrama, lacking sufficient ‘bite’ for the acoustic recordings of the day. So only two records actually featured him in person. These contained mini-lectures to introduce and conclude each part, and to cover the intermissions. They were designed to synchronise with films of Russell speaking on the screen. This early attempt at a ‘sound’ film depended on the projectionist keeping a variable speed projector in line with the records played on two large turntables at the front of the hall. It was easier said than done. In the first showings it was not uncommon for Pastor Russell to bow and walk off the screen while apparently still speaking... His brief comments welcomed the audience, gave brief summaries of the drama, and stressed the Bible Students’ slogan – ‘Seats Free – No Collection’.

The actual programme had 24 double-sided recordings containing a total of 96 short speeches at 80 rpm, made by a professional elocutionist named Harry Humphrey, who sounded quite like Pastor Russell. These accompanied the lantern slides. The films were generally accompanied by commercial recordings of classical music. However, some hymns that introduced each part and filled the intermissions must have been specially recorded; the words are taken from the Bible Students’ own hymnals. For example, the old gospel hymn ‘In the Sweet By and By’ uses the words credited to Maria, Russell’s wife, in the 1890 hymnbook. The rousing ‘Our King is Marching On’ (John Brown’s Body) has the line, “The Gentile Times are closing for their Kings have had their day” – a special reference to the Bible Students’ view of the year 1914.

After London, the British version of the Photodrama went on tour. In areas that had no electricity, a shorter version using just tinted slides was shown with a limelight lantern. As a result, a number of extra sets of records were produced. Additionally, many wanted to purchase the two records of Pastor Russell’s voice as a souvenir, particularly when he died in 1916.

THE ANGELOPHONE RECORDINGS (1916)

With the success of the Photodrama in mind, and the realisation that records were now highly popular, a few Bible Students set up the Angelico Company in 1916. Ostensibly it was to manufacture and sell phonographs, but with each purchase came a set of 50 Angelophone recordings. For some reason they were numbered 49-98, although it is certain that no 1-48 were ever issued. The records were small seven inch discs using the ‘hill and dale’ method to squeeze two minutes on a side at 85 rpm. They were advertised as ‘Old Fireside Hymns’ sung by the celebrated baritone Henry Burr. On the reverse side (also at 85 rpm) were a series of two minute sermons to explain the hymns. These were uncredited, but were Pastor Russell’s own voice. Those who had questions could write to a ‘Free Information Bureau for Angelophone Patrons’. This of course was the Watch Tower Society.

It must have sounded a good idea on paper; reaching people who might be prejudiced by the words Watch Tower. In practice, it was a disaster!

For a start, Henry Burr sounds rather the worse for wear. The hymns contain some high notes that his baritone had considerable difficulty in reaching. (When this extract was first published a blog reader quoted a modern Wikipedia article to the effect that Burr was a tenor. However, the advertising material for Angelophone at the time called him a baritone. Whatever his range, this was not Burr’s finest hour.) Limited to two minutes many hymns were abridged. The reverse side, Pastor Russell’s short sermons – and the only reason the Bible Students would purchase – was even worse! Russell was now in very poor health and died in October 1916. His voice, unsuitable for the Photodrama, was even more unsuitable now. The recordings were very poorly made, and today (without a transcript) much of what is said is indecipherable. It appears to have been the same at the time because complaints flooded in, and the Watch Tower had to announce they had been re-recorded. This time, Harry Humphrey was hired again. His voice was slightly slower, so the speed for his recordings was reduced to 80 rpm. There is some improvement, but not a lot, and the records soon ceased production. The Angelophone Hymnal disappeared from the Society’s cost list after 1919.

THE RUTHERFORD-KNORR RECORDINGS (1934-1942)

The second president of the Society was Joseph Franklin Rutherford, a Missouri lawyer, popularly known as ‘Judge Rutherford’. Under his presidency a number of changes occurred. Believing the present world order to be in its ‘last days’ since 1914, an increased sense of urgency was felt. While Russell had encouraged missionary work, this had been optional and mainly carried out by travelling colporteurs. In Rutherford’s era active proselyting became an article of faith. In 1931 the Bible Students loyal to the Society adopted the name Jehovah’s Witnesses (based on Isaiah 43 v.10) to stress their active ministry. 78s would have a key role in this.

The advent of radio saw the Society embrace this medium for witnessing: they obtained their first radio station WBBR in 1924. It was the first non-commercial station in New York City. Throughout the 20s and 30s Rutherford’s voice became well-known over the American airwaves, and was beamed to Britain from stations like Radio Normandie. At its peak, over 400 stations gave the movement airtime. They used transcription records, which were 16 inch in diameter, ran at 33 rpm and played from the centre outwards – a problem for collectors who wish to play surviving copies today. Massive leaflet drops encouraged the public to tune in, and on at least one occasion a free 78 was given away for advertising purposes. The magazine Golden Age (now called Awake) for January 15^th, 1936, page 240, asked, “Are you willing to pleasantly surprise your neighbours by giving them an advertisement in the modern manner? Have you a phonograph? If so, you may have FREE one 12 inch record...(if you) agree to play the record seven times EACH WEEK until February 23 in the hearing of guests, tradesmen...and other callers...” History does not record just how pleasantly surprised the neighbours were, or what happened if you didn’t manage the seven times a week...

Rutherford’s radio ministry hit problems in the 1930s. His style was blunt, and he refused to be censored. The Catholic Church particularly objected. He criticised certain doctrines, and more sensitive at the time, the involvement of some clerics in politics. The rise of Nazism and Fascism was supported by some as a bulwark against Communism. With hindsight one can see how misguided some were, and Rutherford’s polemics seem prophetic. But at the time strenuous efforts were made to silence him. In 1936 the Archbishop of Philadelphia, Dennis Dougherty, endorsed a campaign to boycott Gimbel Brothers stores if their radio stations honoured its contract with Rutherford, and darkly threatened “more drastic action” if the broadcasts continued. The ensuing battle involved petitions of millions of signatures, quickly organised by the Witnesses, but in 1937 they switched full throttle to an even more direct approach to the public.

Already since 1931, transcription records had been circulated for use in rented halls or public places. In the depression not everyone had a radio, and those that did could always turn it off. It was a little more difficult to silence a visiting group of Witnesses with a loudspeaker in their car!

As the use of radio declined, so mobile transcriptions machines flourished. Photos from London in the 1930s show that some enthusiasts decorated their vehicles to resemble the Watch Tower on the front of their magazine! The curiosity value would claim initial attention, and the indefatigable Witnesses would then canvass the area. These 16 inch records are rare today because the users were asked to destroy them when they became worn and the sound quality deteriorated.

The main problem with this work was the size and cost of the machinery. So in 1934 a new series of 12 inch 78 rpm records was announced, that Witnesses could play in people’s homes. By 1936 this evolved into all Witnesses taking a phonograph and records from door to door. The first Society phonograph weighed a hefty 20 lb – although some used old prams to propel them. By 1936 the Society manufactured a lightweight machine, and in 1940 designed a special machine that could be played closed in a vertical position by the touch of a button. It could replay one recording, store several others, and had compartments for the Witness’s literature, or – like as not – his sandwiches. They would knock on doors, announce they had an important message for the householder, and – straight into the recording... It was difficult to argue with a record – it just carried on regardless, and the novelty had many listening – the first time anyway.

In 1937 a follow-up work started. Those who listened first time around were encouraged to have a regular meeting with the Witnesses. 78s again played a key role. Hour long lectures, previously reserved for the transcription records, were issued on series of 78s to be used in the discussion. The old transcription machines were adapted to play 78s and the older discs were phased out.

Some recordings contain surprises. On side P-113 labelled ‘Safety’ the actual talk of the title has finished, and Rutherford presents a resolution to an enthusiastic 30,000 crowd. There follows a short radio announcement, and then the hymn ‘On the Rock of Ages Founded’ is sung by the Watch Tower Male Voice Quartet. Around this time the Society also issued seven Quartet 78s recorded by Columbia, featuring the singing voice of Fred Franz. This is of interest because Franz would become the Society’s fourth president in 1977, until his death in 1992.

Two recordings in the ‘Rutherford’ series are particularly collectable today because of their historical overtimes. P-114 ‘Enemies’ was the subject of a court case taken to the United States Supreme Court. A Witness named Newton Cantwell, with his two sons, played this record to two Catholics in New Haven, Connecticut, who objected to its message. The listeners could have shut the door on the Witnesses (or as a Middle West farmer once did, blown their phonograph apart with a shotgun!) – instead they called the police, and the Cantwells were arrested. They were charged with a breach of the peace and soliciting funds without a licence. The local court convicted them and the Society took this test case as high as it could go. In 1940 the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the conviction. This decision in favour of religious freedom was of importance to not just the Witnesses. The book ‘Reconsecrating America’ by George Goldberg, page 22, relates how the State Prosecutor lost his case by a most remarkable blunder. He argued that it was unlawful “to stir up strife and discontent.” Justice McReynolds then noted that Jesus had stirred up a “good deal of trouble in Jerusalem.” The State’s counsel shot back: “As I remember my Bible, something was done about that!" That was too much for the Judges and the Witnesses won their case!

The other recording, and probably the most interesting listening today, is the lecture ‘Government and Peace’ spread over P-205 to 218. This talk was given at Madison Square Gardens in 1939, and relayed by telephone link to Alexandra Palace and other locations in Britain. Those listening must have wondered what was happening because twenty minutes into the talk a riot broke out!

Somehow (and the how was a matter for considerable debate later) about 500 supporters of Charles Coughlin filled the seats directly behind and above the speaker’s platform. Coughlin was a radio priest whose supporters formed ‘The Christian Front’. He was to be mercilessly lampooned by the folk singer Woodie Guthrie in the anti-fascist song ‘Lindberg’. Rutherford’s lecture was anathema to the Couglinites. When he reviewed the world’s problems since the last Holy Year, including the persecution of the Jews, they started booing. For about ten minutes cries of “Viva Franco”, “Heil Hitler” and “Kill that damn Rutherford” filled the air, and missiles peppered the platform. The loyal audience of 18,000 applauded Rutherford on, as Witness ushers tried to quell the demonstration. Three ushers were later charged with assault by aggrieved demonstrators, but the case was thrown out of court. After about ten minutes the nearly 70 year old speaker left his prepared script. “Note today the Nazis and Catholics that would like to break up this meeting but by God’s grace they cannot do it,” he thundered! There was a howl of approval from the audience and huge applause. The recordings of this incident were used effectively by the Witnesses in attracting new converts for several years.

Rutherford died in early 1942. His last recording was P-292. He was replaced as president by Nathan Homer Knorr. Knorr was a very able administrator, but not a fiery orator like Rutherford. The recording sessions continued with Knorr’s talks at the 1942 conventions (P-292 to 330) but it was not the same. With the war on none of these recordings came to Britain, and shortage of materials prevented their release in America until mid-1943. Further shortages of phonographs disrupted this work, and in 1944 it was generally discontinued.

The times they were a’changing. A phonograph on a doorstep, however strange it sounds today, yielded excellent results for the Witnesses in the 1930s, but in the more sophisticated 40s it would not do. One of Knorr’s first acts on becoming president was to institute a series of new training schools. By 1944 there was an army of trained volunteers who could effectively use their own voices to spread their message. Later generations of Witnesses would still embrace all modern means of communicating their beliefs. There would be more films, vinyl recordings, tapes, videos and mountains of literature, but the age of the 78 for the Watchtower Society passed into history in 1944.

We need information

We need information about Charles Nathan, a Watch Tower evangelist active in West Africa sometime between 1914 and 1930.

Additional fact: Nathan was an American.

We now think that the account about Charles Nathan is fiction, a composit. Thanks to those who tried to help. The account is found in a recent book by E. C. Osondu.

Photo Drama

 

If you want to help, we've just started accumulating Photo Drama related articles, and we will appreciate any you can send.

Another pair of eyes.

We need a proof reader. I'm giving preference to those who live near me or Bruce. We need someone with really good American grammar and spelling skills. And with a good pair of eyes. Fact checking skills would be good too.

If you're interested, email me your c.v. This is a volunteer job. No pay at all. And it's usually a bit frustrating.

-Rachael

Seven

Let me tell you about our Chapter Seven. Maybe you can help.

Entitled "Russell and Barbour: The Fruitage," it profiles the most significant of their "converts" between 1877 and 1878. These are key years. The people we profile were actors, major players. Their role in defining the movement and in its fragmentation is important. Some of them will be new to our readers.

We profile Caleb Davies, a hardware merchant. He named one of his sons after Horatius Bonar and another after John Paton. We have a family photo. We would like to see his private letters, no matter how insignificant. We haven’t located any except for those appearing in Paton’s World’s Hope.

William I. Mann appears next. We have a solid biography. We need a photo. I would like to know something about his education, which seems to have been considerable. We found one group photo of workers at Jones & Laughlin, but we’re uncertain he’s in the photo, and faces are blurred beyond rescue.

Charles W. and Emma P. Buvinger are next. Their grandson provided us with good documentation and two really nice photos. There are pages from a Civil War diary out there somewhere. They may not be useful, but we don’t know.

Next in order is Joshua Tavender, a soap and candle maker from Utica, New York. We have a line drawing portrait. We’d like an actual photo, and almost anything else would be useful. We have everything from the Utica newspapers. No need to send articles from them.

J. C Sunderlin is next. We have a good, solid biography. There are a few Civil War letters out on the lose. We own two originals and have copies of two more. We have his compound oxygen letter. We have a good photo, and what is probably a photo of his first wife. (We’d like to verify that). We would like to know where he was educated for the Methodist ministry.

A. P. Adams follows. We have his photo, an original taken by Sunderlin. We haven’t scanned it yet. But we have it. Thanks to a blog reader who took time out of a busy trip to Boston, we have the Methodist archival papers. There is probably nothing additional we need for this chapter. We need his small book, Bible Theology. We have Bible Harmony, and don’t need that. We have the first year of his magazine, Spirit of the Word. We have no other issues, though it was published up to and probably past 1907. It had a very small circulation, mostly local to the Boston area. Any issue would help.

This was on ebay and we missed it ....

This is an envelope addressed to C. W. Buvinger, MD while he was attached to Sherman's Army in Georgia. Buvinger met and admired Storrs. He was swayed by Barbour, and we lose sight of him after about 1880, as far as his belief system goes. Interestingly, his wife was attending "Russellite" meetings in Pittsburgh in the early 20th century.

We do not know where C. W. Buvinger finally stood on issues dividing Barbour and Russell. We have limited access to Buvinger family papers. They say very little about religious issues.

Need this stuff:

We continue to need anti and controversialist material published during Russell's life-time or shortly thereafter. You may want to ask before you scan something. But generally speaking, we don't have most of it.

Dr. Charles Wesley Buvinger

With help from Bruno, one of our regular readers:

Buvinger was an associate of Storrs, Barbour and Russell.

We have a photo

We have a photo with a "watermark" background. Anyone talented enough to remove the "watermark"?

I'm stumped ... maybe you can help

An article in the National Baptist of 1878 says:

 

We do not hold that we are to live each day as though we expected the Lord to come on that day, any more than we are to live each day as though that day would be our last. If we believed that the Lord was coming to-day, we should take very little trouble about next year’s elections, or about any future event. We believe we are each day to discharge the duties of that day. Practically, and so far as regards our future state, the hour of death, the hour of the Christian’s release, is the Coming of the Lord. This may come at any day, at any hour. And it becomes us to be in readiness for it.

 

I know I read something in Zion's Watch Tower that addressed this view. Now that I want to use it, I can't find it. Maybe you can.

 

And ...

 

The New York Independent, a Congregationalist paper, in the same year wrote:

 

Their way of considering Christ’s kingdom as visible, physical, and political is intensely Jewish and non-Christian in its character. It proves somewhere a false exegesis – that a doctrine is deduced from Scripture, which is not in harmony with the spiritual nature of the Christian system. There is no deeper truth in the Bible than this: ‘Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.’ Those who are now looking for such a glorious personal Advent with the succeeding political reign of Christ in Jerusalem, seem to us to dishonor Gospel dispensation.

 

I have the same issue here. I know Russell considered the charge that his system was derived from the Old Testament and was thus not Christian. I can't find the reference, and I'm out of ideas.

 

Another ...

 

The Interior, a protestant magazine, editorialized on the 1878 propheic conference:

This convention gives a new impulse and added respectability to a doctrinal affectation which is much more fashionable, just now, than godliness.

No doubt it is pleasant to one who loves the good things of the world – honor, fame, power, exalted rank – and who is not specially solicitous that others shall enjoy the same to ‘stand and wait,’ as Dr. Tyng said in his address that they were doing, in the blessed hope that the Lord will suddenly come bringing all these glorious things to the, unearned, and damnation to fourteen hundred millions more who sit in the shadow of ignorance.

 

Russell considered this too, I believe. I can't find his comments on any of these objections. I seriously need some help.

Lucinda Storrs

George Storrs' Mother

Original of this Painting is in a Pennsylvania Museum.

Permission to use must be obtained from the Pennsylvania Acad. of Fine Arts

 



How sending stuff helps us ...

These paragraphs are derived from material sent by two blog readers, each sending something different, and from a book in our research collection. If we'd had to rely just on our own material, this would not be nearly as detailed.

- "The story is in the details." - B. W. Schulz

Outside observers and antagonists commented on the mixture of doctrines out of which Watch Tower teachings were compounded. They seldom identified the exact sources. After William G. Moorehead, a professor at United Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Xenia, Ohio, pronounced “Millennial Dawn of C. T. Russell a mixture of Unitarianism, Universalism, Second Probation, and Restorationism, and the Swdenborgian method of exegesis” he was parroted endlessly and uncritically. Charles C. Cook suggested more wide ranging sources for Russell’s theology:

 

It seems as though in his earlier years, in his haberdasher’s shop in Allegheny, when business was dull, or after business hours, Russell had gathered together all the scraps and remnants of ancient errors, such as Gnosticism (know-it-all-ism), Manicheism, Arianism, Sabellianism, Apollinarianism, Nestorianism, Eutychianism, Pelagianism, etc., etc., and had cast them, one and all, into the fusing-pot of his own great and fervid imagination, and that “Millennial Dawnism” came forth to enlighten (?) benighted humanity.[1]

 

            Russell’s theology derived from none of these “ancient errors.” While C. C. Cook, D.D., was apparently educated somewhere, we are safe in claiming that he either could not define these ancient belief systems or he simply made this up out of his own “fervid imagination.” Claims such as these were scare tactics used without regard to the facts. Two elements are at play here. Some expected something ‘original’ from Russell, and failing to find it wrote off everything he taught. Russell, of course, would have been horrified at the suggestion that he originated anything. He sought to recapture Scriptural truth and the First Century Christian polity. Labeling Watch Tower teachings allowed opposers to avoid engagement. It was like slapping a poison label on a bottle of water without having tested it. Most “refutations” of Watch Tower teaching consisted of personal attacks or the suggestion that believing Millennial Dawn doctrine led to a degraded Christian personality. There was a restating, sometimes an inaccurate one, of Watch Tower teaching presented for the “shock” value. There was almost never a serious attempt at refutation.

            While Russell and his associates derived their beliefs from varied sources, most of them came from within the One Faith movement. This doesn’t mean they uncritically accepted everything that came their way, and they certainly achieved something less than unity. But it was the unique doctrinal blend believed by the majority that gave them a separate identity. This was a process that covered some years, culminating with the publication of Millennial Dawn: The Plan of the Ages in 1886. Zygmunt suggests that Russell’s election as pastor and an increasing doctrinal unity were key elements in establishing a separate identity:

 

The transition from study-circle to congregation reflected not only Russell’s emergence as a leader within the Allegheny group but also the crystallization of a more or less distinctive doctrinal system. Although “bible study” continued to be an important feature of congregational activity, its initially “open-ended” exploratory character tended to wane in proportion as basic “truths” were discovered and instituted as creedal tenets. Formal sermon and “bible discourse” became more prominent parts of the proceedings, congregational “bible study” increasingly assuming the form of a selective review of scriptures supporting particular beliefs, and eventually being supplemented by more devotional exercises. The crystallization of a doctrinal system was important, in turn, in transforming the purely local congregation into a trans-local sectarian movement.[2]

 

            While we must note that Zygmunt supposes a unity that didn’t completely exist in 1876 or for some years thereafter, this is a good summary of events. Zygmunt’s research suffered from lack of resources and an occasional presumption made without evidence, but he was correct when he wrote: “The movement’s collective identity and earthly mission were derived directly from this configuration of beliefs.”[3]

---

[1]           C. C. Cook: More Data on Pastor Russell, the author, no date but c. 1912, page 4. Having read much of what Dr. Cook wrote about Russell and about the Catholic Church, one of the authors suggests that “C. C. Cook” is a misspelling for “C. C. Kook.”

[2]           J. Zygmunt: Dissertation, page 205

[3]           J. Zygmunt: Prophetic Failure and Chiliastic Identity, published in Jon R. Stone [editor]: Expecting Armageddon, Essential Readings in Failed Prophecy, Routledge, 2002, page, 68.

From the Private Blog

Until volume one of the new book is published, almost all new material is going up on http://truthhistory.blogspot.com/ ... The exceptions will be any articles that "Jerome" publishes to this blog, and the last chapter, when it is further along, will be published to this blog.

This allows newly interested readers to see material and hopefully stay interested until the book it out. We're trying to work around a busy schedule. School has started. I have six classes this year (to teach that is). Though one of our readers described Bruce as a retired teacher, he continues to teach though with a reduced class load. The district superintendent where he lives more or less shed tears at the thought of his retirement. [Insert giggle here.]

So we're both really busy at the moment. I'm working through near the last edits  on already finished chapters. At some point I'll need a fourth pair of eyes to read this. While that will probably be someone local to me, I may let a blog reader do that. As I edit and fact check I've found a few additional things to add. Usually that's just a sentence or two. Sometimes I write something longer.

One of our readers sent along some controversial booklets. One of them was on my list of "oh I really want this" stuff. I've read it three times and passed it and my notes on to Mr. Schulz. No reply from him yet, but he's on the sickish side (old age stuff mostly), and often slow to reply to emails like that. What I found won't change any thing. For volume one, it will add a sentence or two. We'll use more of it in volume 2 where we discuss Russell's deteriorating relationships with One Faith and Adventist groups.

Another, really silly controversialist booklet makes claims about the origins of Russell's theology. The writer's personality resembled a male donkey's (yes, I just more or less politely called him a rude name), but we'll use what he wrote on that subject. I makes a point that we made, but in (to me) an unsatisfying way.

We own one of the booklets sent to us, but I'm glad it's out there. It's very scarce. We quote from it. I know there are some things we cite or quote from that are very hard to find. I like it best when our readers can follow our research trail with relative ease. Some will disagree with us on some points. That's fine. I approach that on two levels. 1. We're writing this book;  you aren't. But if you can prove us wrong based on a post here, we'll examine your proof and maybe change something. 2. If you have a point of view difference, write your own book. (At least two, maybe three of you are. We look forward to seeing what you write.)

We've been saved from folly dozens of times by blog readers. But we require proof, not a mere assertion. There are many assertions in conversationalist and academic literature made about Russell and the Watch Tower. Many of them are myth, lacking any proof. You differ from us? Present your proof. Give us some indication that you know the subject matter. 

We still need someone in the New York City area to visit Columbia University and make some photocopies. We cannot pay your expenses. Our research fund is empty. Anything we buy (photocopies, original documents, etc) come out of household money right now.

We continue to need someone living in the Washington D.C. area to visit the Library of Congress on the same basis as above. There are two items there we need to see. One we can have microfilmed for about $350.00. We don't have the money, and, if we did, we have questions about the worth of the material. It requires an educated eye. (We'd help with that.) 

So ... for now, most things are on the public blog. Be sure to check it. Don't give up on the private blog. Just expect longish periods between posts.

The Mystery of Herman Heinfetter

 

This article may appear a detour from the early days of Charles Taze Russell, although the history relates to concurrent events in Britain during that era. But it gives details about a work that could almost be viewed as a forerunner of the New World Translation. Herman Heinfetter produced more than one Bible translation in the mid-19^th century, with a choice of words that will sound familiar to many blog readers. And it is now known that he had an interest in American authors such as George Storrs.

 

For example, in his booklet The Revealed History of Man (published in 1854) Heinfetter wrote: “I am indebted to the Reverend George Storrs of Philadelphia for perceiving that Almighty God has revealed to man that there is an Eternal Death, and for many of the arguments I have employed in the foregoing statement of the subject, his little work, An Enquiry – Are the Wicked Immortal? is well worthy of being read.”
 

The original article below was published in the quarterly journal of the International Society of Bible Collectors in 1995, and details the research methods that had to be used in the pre-internet age. Permission has been given by the original author for it to be reproduced here.

 

 

 

One of the more mysterious entries in DMH (Darlow and Moule's 'Historical Catalogue of Printed Bibles' revised Herbert 1968) is that for Herman Heinfetter.  DMH 1957 states "In ULC (University Library of Cambridge) the name is treated as a pseudonym for F. Parker of whom nothing is known."  This article is an attempt to unravel the mystery.
 

Heinfetter or Parker actually produced two different New Testament translations.  Over 23 years (1842-1864) they ran to six editions and appeared in a variety of formats from pocket size to large octavo presentation volumes.  Outside the DMH remit he was also an indefatigable tract writer for over 40 years.  He produced what is probably the first real Sacred Name New Testament as we shall see.
 

HIS BACKGROUND
 

Frederick Parker, to give him his full title, was born in South Lambeth, Surrey, England in 1804.  He was a prosperous businessman.  He died aged 84 on 10 February 1888 in Highgate, London, survived by five children.  His scholastic background (or lack of it) is not known, but late in life he made references to past meetings with scholars, and being a member of the Anglo-Biblical Institute.  Like many other sincere people he had a burning desire to right the wrongs in English Bible translation as he saw it.  In his case he also had a convenient fortune to spend on the project.  He once calculated that he was spending eight hundred pounds each year on his Biblical work, which in the 1850s was a sizeable amount. No one ever seemed to buy Fred's Bibles!  They were all privately printed and sent as unsolicited gifts to (as he put it) "relatives and acquaintances - it may be in number 50 - trusting that one might escape being cast into the fire and in fitting time be the means of unfolding the truth to the Christian world".

The low print runs explain their scarcity for Bible collectors today.  Some were sent or donated later to libraries, so today the British Library holds 18 volumes, UCL holds 7, and there are at least 8 volumes in Dr. Williams' Nonconformist Library in London.
 

So why the mystery?  Why did Frederick Parker hide behind the pseudonym Herman Heinfetter?  In 1885 he gave the answer.  In a final tract, an attack on the newly published Revised Version, he now used his own name and explained:  'As long as I was in business, I judged it better to publish under the assumed name of Herman Heinfetter, and the address of my printer; I judged a knowledge of my being in business would impair my statements in scholastic estimation; and that by a knowledge of my being engaged in publishing, my transactions in business would be imputed not to have received sufficient attention."
 

Frederick still neglected at this late stage to mention what his actual business had been, but it was probably unique for a Bible translator.  Britain has conducted a detailed census every ten years (apart from wartime) and when the census enumerator called on Fred on 30 March 1851 he gave his occupation as - Animal Charcoal Manufacturer...  Basically, Fred would burn the remains of animals, once the glue and gelatine factories had finished with them, to produce a special grade of charcoal.  Animal charcoal was used commercially in the production of deodorants, artists' materials, and also filters to decolourise sugar.  Not that he necessarily stoked the fires himself.  The Trade Directories of the day had a well-defined class system and Fred was listed as 'Gentry' and he died 'A Gentleman'.  In spite of his publishing he still left a sizeable fortune along with property to his heirs.

 

It does however present an incongruous picture.  One can perhaps understand why Fred chose to keep quiet about it in the academic world.

HIS TRANSLATION
 

Parker's original work was issued in parts, starting with Romans in 1842.  By 1857 the complete New Testament was being advertised in nine volumes, ranging from the 2nd to 4th editions.  A comparison of the 1st, 3rd and 6th editions of Luke in ULC show that each edition underwent considerable revision.

 

These small pale blue volumes were published by Cradock and Co., London.  They each contain not one but two translations, what Parker called 'A Literal Translation' and then 'An English Version'.  The volume of Matthew (1853) for example carries the full title:  'A Literal Translation of the Gospel of Matthew on Definite Rules of Translation and an English Version of the Same'. The introduction indicates that Parker used the Griesbach recension of the Vatican manuscript as his main text. 

The Literal Translation reads very much like an interlinear, and is replete with footnotes.  Parker assumed that his readers would have convenient access to all his pamphlets - so referred to them at every possible opportunity. Then at the end of each volume is the 'English Version', without notes, which is somewhat easier to read.
 

In the 1860s the translations were issued separately and complete in large quarto volumes, now published by Evan Evans, London.  In 1864 came the 6th and final editions.  'The Literal Translation of the New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ from the Text of Vatican Manuscript' (with notes) retailed for a guinea (21 shillings) - assuming that any were sold commercially.  "The English Version" was ten shillings and six pence (with a smaller version for five shillings) although the heading on extant copies 'With the Author's Respectful Compliments' suggests another free distribution.  There was also a third version entitled 'A Collation of an English Version of the New Testament...with the Authorised English Version.’  Using different typefaces this provided an interlinear comparison of Parker's English Version with the Authorised (King James) Version.  These last volumes of 1864 carried a dedication to the Members of the Anglo-Biblical Institute "in grateful remembrance of their defense of Biblical criticism."
 

In 1865 he made a start on the Old Testament, using the Vatican manuscript's Septuagint as the basis, but only Genesis was to appear.

 

One of the most distinctive features of Parker's translations is his use of the name Jehovah for God in the New Testament.  Earlier NT translations by Harwood, Newcome, Macrae, Lingard, et al. had used Jehovah on occasions where the sense might be clarified in OT quotations.  The usual example is Matthew 22 v.44 "The Lord said to my Lord" a quotation from Psalm 110 v.1 where in Hebrew the first 'Lord' is plainly the Hebrew Tetragrammaton (YHWH).

 

Parker was most concerned about the difficulties created, as he saw it, by using 'Lord' for both Father and Son in translation.  Initially he had a different solution.  In a preface dated July 1st 1849 (but used for several years thereafter) he remarked:  'As I do not see the possibility of distinguishing in English between the appellation 'Lord' when used in relation to God and when used in relation to Christ, in any way consistent with our usage in relation to Sense and Sound, I have substituted in my versions for 'Lord', used in relation to God, the appellation 'God', as ensuring a just apprehension of the sense.'
 

He carefully restricted this substitution in both his translations to OT quotations that used YHWH, although most surprisingly his 1853 edition of Matthew still renders Matthew 22 v.44 as "The Lord said to my Lord" - one of the very few verses in his Literal Translation to lack a footnote!
 

By the time the one volume editions appeared in the 1860s he had made the decision to use Jehovah extensively to cover this problem. However, he was still very careful to restrict the substitution to OT quotations where YHWH originally occurred.  The name Jehovah was now used about 140 times in his New Testaments.

 

HIS THEOLOGY
 

Between 1841-1885 Parker issued numerous booklets and tracts to accompany his translations.  Many dwell at length on the Greek language, and his theories on grammar, punctuation and word order.  Doctrinally he advocated that Good Friday should be Thursday; that while the Biblical Sabbath was Saturday, every day was really a Sabbath; he attacked transubstantiation; opposed the taking of oaths; criticised the Revised Version for confusing the Lord God with the Lord Jesus; and argued that worship directed to the Son meant respect, while absolute worship only went to God the Creator.
 

It can be seen from the above that in common with Unitarians, Christadelphians, and many Adventist and Church of God groups of the day, Parker could not accept the doctrine of the trinity.  This is reflected in his translation, and is nowhere demonstrated better than his rendering of the final clause in John 1 v.1.  The 1851 English Version reads, "the word became a God".  By 1864 this had evolved into, "the command had relation to a God".  But the inference is clear.
 

This controversial rendering 'a god' has a long history, going back at least to Edward Harwood's 'Liberal Translation' of 1768 ("and was himself a divine person").  In the 19th century it had been used in the Unitarian Improved Version NT of 1808 (based on Newcome) and was also to be used in the interlinear of Benjamin Wilson's Emphatic Diaglott.
 

In several respects, the translations by Frederick Parker and Benjamin Wilson echo each other.  Both used the Vatican manuscript as their standard text.  Both started life as part works, and became definitive one volume editions in the 1860s - Parker in Britain and Wilson in America.  Both are non-Trinitarian in concept.  Both use Jehovah in the NT, although Parker's use vastly outstrips that of Wilson.  One can speculate whether there was any link between the two men, or did they travel down similar roads independently?  It may simply be a familiarity with the 1808 Improved Version which as well as 'a god' also uses Jehovah on occasion.  And who travelled this particular road first?  Likely it was Parker who was an older man, and whose translation work began much earlier.
 

HIS PLACE 

So at the end of the day where did Fred Parker belong?  Although certain of his ideas could be found in established groups of the day, Fred in fact did not belong.  Fred was completely on his own!
 

His final series of tracts, issued from 1883-1885 poignantly illustrate this.  They were sent out in large numbers to all the dissenting ministers, theological colleges and groups he could think of.  Only one recipient responded and that was by sending it straight back marked 'Inconsequent Rubbish!'  Now in his 80s, Fred struggled with the postmark to comment darkly that it must have come back from a member of the Upper House of the Convocation of York!  In his very last tract he lamented:  'Here on the 30th June 1885 I stand alone, unaided by one clergyman, or one dissenting minister, or one brother, and feel that there is no one that will do aught, but try to stop my voice.  This nature soon will do.  At 81 years of age we aught to reckon time by hours, and I wished, ere I was called hence, to make one more effort, one that will sound through the length and breadth of England and America as long as time endures.  For this end did I make this record, and do leave it to give utterance for me, when my bodily utterance shall cease'.
 

His Last Will and Testament made provision for the continued copyright of his writings with the rather forlorn hope that one day there would be an awakening of interest.  But copies of his work in the major libraries languished in the stacks.  Some of those sent as gifts to Unitarian ministers eventually found their way into Dr. Williams' Library, London.

And then, one hundred years on, an aspect of his work was rediscovered. The New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, produced by Jehovah's Witnesses in 1950, also used Jehovah in OT quotations.  To show they were not alone in this practice, the 1984 Reference Edition of this translation contained a numbered list of 'J' references, where other translations also included the Tetragrammaton in some form in the NT. Most of these other translations were Hebrew versions of the NT using YHWH, but there, as reference J-24 is Herman Heinfetter.
 

Following on from this, in 1988 the witnesses produced a two volume encyclopedia called Insight on the Scriptures.  The main article 'Jehovah' in volume 2, page 11, has a facsimile display of early translations where Jehovah (or similar) is used in the NT.  The sole English version represented is Mark 12 v.29,30 by Herman Heinfetter, taken from his 1863 Literal Translation (likely from a 5th edition in Dr. Williams' Library).  The extract reads: "The Jesus answered him, verily first it exists, here, O Israel, Jehovah our God, one Jehovah he exists, and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength".
 

Whatever our own views may be on Frederick Parker's theology, one can imagine how grateful he would be to know that the mysterious Herman Heinfetter, Victorian Bible translator, had not been entirely forgotten.

 

 

ON THE TRAIL OF HERMAN HEINFETTER

The starting point was Heinfetter's 1885 tract NON-ATTAINMENTS OF THE REVISED VERSIONS OF 1885 OF THE BIBLE, published under his real name, F. Parker.  A copy is in the Pusey Library, Keble College, Oxford. Nearly all direct quotations from Parker in the above article are taken from this tract.  Crucially the tract contains his real name and address.
 

The address led to the Census Returns in Portugal Street, London.  Here Parker's age, place of birth, profession and family details are recorded.  These were supported by the Trade Directories in the Guildhall Library, London.  Starting at 1885, a quick search in Somerset House produced his Last Will and Testament which gave additional information.  The total cost of the above research was a pleasant afternoon one vacation and one dollar for a copy of his will.  As to his religious background I am grateful to correspondents at Manchester College (Unitarian) for disproving any official connection with that body.  As his 1885 tract shows, Parker was on his own. Thanks are also due to the Bible Society Library for making materials available.

 

The only discordant note came surprisingly from Dr. Williams' Library.  Whilst generously supplying the required information, one official wrote about my quest: "I have the suspicion that those with nothing else to do either produce new translations of the Bible or write about those who did".  Obviously not a member of the International Society of Bible Collectors!