Publication Background
Marcus Lafayette Swan was born in Knoxville in 1827, the son of prominent lawyer William H. Swan, Jr. (1798–1859). In 1847, his father married Hannah Wells Crozier, who hailed from a prominent family of Knoxville politicians and businesspeople. The Croziers' business enterprises included a printing company, Crozier & Barton, which had published hymn books as early as 1825, and thus may have inspired the Swans to publish their own collection of songs. The Harp of Columbia, published by the Swans as a singing school manual in 1848, was moderately successful, and was reprinted several times during the 1850s.
During the Civil War, Marcus Swan supported the Confederacy, and fled to Bellefonte, Alabama, when the Union Army occupied Knoxville. While living in Bellefonte, he wrote the introduction to The New Harp of Columbia, which was published in Knoxville in 1867. By the time of his death, Swan had amassed a relatively large fortune.
The New Harp of Columbia has been reprinted numerous times since its initial publication. Musicologist Dorothy Horn suggests the success of The New Harp is due to its excellent printing and its larger than normal sample of standard tunes favored by various Protestant denominations.
Read more about this topic: New Harp Of Columbia
Famous quotes containing the words publication and/or background:
“Of all human events, perhaps, the publication of a first volume of verses is the most insignificant; but though a matter of no moment to the world, it is still of some concern to the author.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“In the true sense one’s native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)