My copy of 'Songs of the West' is undated but it's not a first edition - it says
'To the memory of the late D Radford Esq. JP of Mount Tavy,....'
'Also to that of The Rev. H. Fleetwood Sheppard, MA...'
In the introduction it mentions that Mr Radford died January 3rd 1900 at the age of 72 and Henry Fleetwood Sheppard died December 27th 1901, aged 77 years.
So my book is from the early 1900s.
The Preface is interesting. It says they made some considerable changes, admitting that the songs were set as duets and quartettes to 'catch the public taste, and to humour it. But now that real interest in Folk airs has been awakened, we have discarded this feature.'
They also found that the arrangements were too elaborate so they simplified the settings.
Then they 'omitted 22 songs and supplied their places with others, either because the others are intrinsically better, or that they have earlier and more characteristic melodies, or again because the songs though sung by the people, did not seem to us to have been productions of the folk-muse.
Again, when our first edition was published, modal melodies were not appreciated, and we had regretfully to put many aside and introduce more of the airs of a modern character. Public taste is a little healthier now, and musicians have multiplied who can value these early melodies.
Consequently we have not felt the same reserve now that we did in 1889'.
The Preface isn't signed but on the title page, in smaller print, it says:
New and revised edition under the musical editorship of Cecil J. Sharp, Principal of the Hampstead Conservatoire

Robyn