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RELIGION

A B BIBLES C D-E F-G H-J
K-L M N-P Q-R S T-V W-Z
Compiled by The Ladies
Waite, Cora, ed. Cook book of tested recipes compiled by
the ladies of the Mission Band of Emmanuel Church Little Falls, N.Y. Little Falls, NY: Herkimer County News, [ca. 1890]. 8vo. 47, [1] pp.
$65.00
Uncommon church cookbook, compiled by the Mission Band of Emmanuel Church women's group, with all recipes bearing attributions.
Stapled in original printed paper wrappers; wrappers lightly stained, and chipped over edges and spine. Pages age-toned but generally clean, a few with short edge tears. (13751)
FIRST English Translation of
the Apostolic Fathers
Wake, William, ed. & trans. The genuine epistles of the Apostolical Fathers S. Barnabas, S. Clement, S. Ignatius, S. Polycarp. The shepherd of Hermas, and the martyrdoms of St. Ignatius and St. Polycarp, written by those who were present at their sufferings. London: Ric. Sare, 1693. 8vo (18 cm, 7"). [6], 196, [6], 9–168, [173]–547, [9 (index)] pp.
$600.00
Click the interior images for enlargements.
First edition of the first English-language collection of these early Christian writings, translated by William Wake, archbishop of Canterbury. The First Epistle of St. Clement to the Corinthians has a separate title-page and pagination (with continuous register); the Epistle of St. Polycarp to the Philippians, Genuine Epistles of St. Ignatius, and Martyrdoms of St. Ignatius & St. Polycarp have separate title-pages but continuous pagination; and Part II (the Epistle of St. Barnabas, Shepherd of Hermas, and Second Epistle of St. Clement to the Corinthians) has a separate title-page with full publication information.
Wing (rev.) G523A; ESTC R10042; Allibone 2534. Contemporary speckled calf, framed and panelled in blind with blind-tooled corner fleurons, rebacked some time ago with speckled calf preserving original gilt-stamped leather spine label and rebacking extending into lower portion of front cover; corners rubbed, spine label cracked. Free endpapers lacking. Front pastedown with inked presentation inscription to a seminary and two small adhesions from a now-absent bookplate; title-page with early inked owner's name in upper margin. Pagination skips 169 through 172, with text and signature collation uninterrupted. Very minor small area of waterstaining to lower inner margins of about half of the volume, pages otherwise clean. (20831)
Walker, Clement. Relations and observations, historicall and politick, upon the Parliament, begun Anno Dom. 1640 ... together with an appendix, touching the proceedings of the Independent faction in Scotland. [London?], 1648. 4to (18.3 cm, 7.25"). A–T4t2V–Z4Aa2; [12], 174 pp. [with] An appendix to the History of Independency ... London, 1648. 4to. a–c4(-c4); [2], 20 pp. [with] Anarchia Anglicana: Or, the history of Independency. The second part. [London], 1649. 4to. A–Z4Aa–Kk4; [8], 256 pp.; 1 double-page plt. [with] The high court of justice; or Cromwells new slaughter house in England ... [London], 1651. 4to. A–I4; 71, [1 (blank)] pp. [with] M., T. The history of Independency. The fourth and last part. London: H. Brome & H. Marsh, 1660. 4to. A–R4; [8], 124 pp.
$1000.00
Click any image where the hand appears on
mouse-over, for an enlargement.
First edition under this title of the first two parts of this anti-Puritan history of the rivalry between the Presbyterian and Independent factions of Parliament, with early printings of the third and fourth parts. The brief introductory portion, originally titled The Mystery of the Two Juntos, was first published in 1647; after the second part (Anarchia Anglicana) appeared in the following year, Walker was sent to the Tower and died there shortly thereafter. The third (The High Court of Justice; or Cromwells New Slaughter House in England) and fourth part (History of Independency) are present here in 1651 and 1660 printings, respectively.
This variant reads “II. Bookes”on line 7 of the title-page; R4 is cancelled and not present here, as is the case in most copies. The second portion has a separate title-page printed in red and black, giving Anarchia Anglicana: Or, the History of Independency as the title and the pseudonymous Theodorus Verax as the author.
Relations: ESTC R205117; Wing (rev.) W334A. Appendix: ESTC R233193; Wing (rev.) W321A. Anarchia: ESTC R27579; Wing (rev.) W317. High Court: ESTC R207365;Wing (rev.) W325. History, fourth part: ESTC R18043; Wing (rev.) M81B. Fourth part: Issued as part of Wing W324, “and possibly separately” as well according to ESTC. Contemporary calf, covers framed and panelled in blind with blind-tooled corner fleurons, sometime rebacked with first leaves tipped (back) in; spine with new gilt-stamped title, sides rubbed and abraded. Front free endpaper lacking. Front pastedown with old institutional bookplate and pencilled notations, title-page with faded rubber-stamp (and with author’s name added in an early hand), back pastedown and lower edges of closed book rubber-stamped. Two title-pages with one short tear from outer edge each, not touching text; title-page verso with shadows of pencilled numerals. Lower and outer margins trimmed closely, in some cases touching catchwords, signature marks, or shouldernotes.

The Great New Testament Epic
Wallace, Lewis. Ben-Hur a tale of the Christ. New York: Harper & Brothers, (© 1880). 8vo (17.5 cm, 6.9"). 552, 12 (adv.) pp.
$200.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition, later issue of this best-selling novel, one of the classic works of historical fiction. This is the third state, with the “To the wife of my youth” dedication page, no date on the title-page, and advertisement list beginning “The Octavo Paper Novels in this list . . .”
BAL 20798; Grolier, American 100, 82; Russo & Sullivan, Bibliographical Studies of Seven Authors of Crawfordsville,Indiana, 315–17; Wright, III, 5720. Publisher's textured brown cloth with bevelled edges, spine with gilt-stamped title; binding slightly shaken, edges and extremities rubbed, sides with spots of discoloration. Hinges (inside) tender. Ex–social club library: 19th-century bookplate on front pastedown, title-page pressure-stamped, dedication page with inked numeral, back free endpaper with slip. Front free endpaper with faint early inscription, front fly-leaf with inked ownership inscription. Pages age-toned; a few leaves with light staining, most clean. (26381)

Puritan Ex-Pat
Repatriated & Re-“Involved”
Ward, Nathaniel. A word to Mr. Peters, and two words
for the Parliament and kingdom. Or, An answer to a scandalous pamphlet, entituled, A word for the Armie, and two words to the kingdom: subscribed by Hugh Peters. Wherein the authority of Parliament is infringed, the fundamentall laws of the land subverted; the famous city of London blemished; and all the godly ministers of the city scandalized. In vindication of all which, this small treatise is published, by a friend to the Parliament, city, and ministery of it. London: Pr. by Fr: Neile for Tho: Underhill, 1647. Small 4to. [1] f., 38 pp.
$875.00
Ward (1578–1652), a clergyman and compiler of a law code for Massachusetts, was a Puritan who lived in Massachusetts from 1633 to 1646. The present work was written in “Answer to a scandalous pamphlet, entituled, A word for the Armie, and two words to the
kingdom: subscribed by Hugh Peters;” which in turn was a reply to Ward's A Religious Retreat Sounded to a Religious Army in which Ward called for state control of the army — a bold suggestion during the Civil War!
Click the image for an enlargement.
Wing (rev. ed.) W792; Thomason E.413[7]; Sabin 101330; ESTC R21688. Removed from a nonce volume. Old two-digit number in upper outer corner of title-page. Sewing starting to separate. In modern wrappers. (20998)

Against! “Secret Confederations”
Warfield, Charles. The kingdom and glory of the branch, and testament of the west. Baltimore: William Wooddy [sic], 1833. 8vo (21.9 cm, 8.6"). 261, [3 (blank)], 263–341, [1 (blank)] pp. (lacking port.).
$500.00
Click the interior images for enlargements.
Sole edition of these mystical meditations composed by the eccentric founder of the Branch Tabernacle in Baltimore. Anti-Masonic sentiments are woven throughout, e.g., “General George Washington, of N. America, used a Masonic influence to the best of Purposes; and we know that a man of less virtue, would have acted very differently. . . . If secret Orders are patronized, at large,— their pretentions will extend to Legislative counsels, and to the Judiciary, and Executive departments, and, that too, with much unfairness.” (pp. 180–81). Warfield also has a great deal to say about government, U.S. law, women, and slavery, all mixed in virtually at random with his religious proclamations.
Scarce. Only 11 institutions, all in the U.S., report holdings via OCLC.
Sabin 37866; American Imprints 22538. Period-style quarter tan cloth with light blue paper–covered sides, spine with printed paper label. Frontispiece portrait lacking. Light to moderate foxing. (23903)

Scarce Treatise: The Reformation in the
Netherlands
Water, Jona Willem te. Kort verhaal der Reformatie van Zeeland in de zestiende eeuwe; benevens eenige verhandelingen dienende tot ophelderinge van de historie der kerk-hervorminge aldaar ... Middelburg: Pieter Gillissen, 1776. 8vo (20.9 cm, 8.25"). [6], xviii, 117, [11] pp.
$875.00
First edition of this history of the Dutch Reformed Church, written by a clergyman and professor at Leiden University. The title-page is printed in red and black.
Click the images for enlargements.
Provenance: Covers gilt-stamped with the device of Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere.
Binding: Contemporary calf framed in gilt triple fillets and blind roll, rebacked preserving original spine gilt extra with gilt-stamped leather title-label; covers gilt-stamped with supra-libros as above. All edges marbled.
Uncommon: OCLC and NUC Pre-1956 find only six U.S. locations.
Bound as above; spine leather with small chips and cracks, sides with small unobtrusive areas of rubbing and light discoloration. Binding overall solid and still
attractive; interior clean and nice. (25320)

The CALVINIST REPUBLIC of
Ghent
Water, Willem te. Historie der Hervormde Kerke te Gent, van haeren aenvang tot derzelver einde; mitsgaders een kort verhael der gereformeerde doorluchtige schoole te Gent. Zedert den jaere 1578. tot het jaer 1584. Hier zyn bygevoegt de levens-beschryvingen der naemruchtigste predikanten te Gent. Utrecht: Gisbert. Tieme van Paddenburg & Abraham van Paddenburg, 1756. 8vo (21.3 cm, 8.4"). [50], 293, [1 (blank)] pp.
$300.00
Click the interior images for enlargements.
First edition of this history of the Dutch Reformed Church in Ghent, written by the pastor of Zaamslag, Zeeland (and father of Jona Willem te Water, professor at the University of Leiden). The work focuses on the period from 1578 to 1584, when Ghent was led by a pro-Calvinist city council.The title-page is printed in red and black, and the text is decorated with foliate initials and woodcut head- and tail-pieces.
Uncommon: OCLC locates only seven U.S. institutional holdings, one of which has since been deaccessioned.
Pirenne, Bibliographie de l'histoire de Belgique, 2125. Recent quarter calf with sides covered in German-style brown paper speckled with black, leather edges tooled in blind, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and gilt-dotted raised bands. All edges stained red. Pages lightly age-toned, with some mild offsetting; first and last few leaves foxed; clean. (25854)
Waterford (Ireland). The great charter of the liberties of the city of Waterford, with explanatory notes. To which is added a list of the mayors, bailiffs, & sheriffs of the city of Waterford, from the year 1377, to the year 1803, inclusive. Kilkenny: J. Reynolds, 1806 [but 1831?]. 8vo (23.8 cm, 9.4"). 110, [14 (1 blank)] pp.
$1750.00
Click the interior images for enlargements.
Waterford’s original charter, granted in 1171 and expanded
by King John in 1210, was revoked on more than one occasion
over
the city’s ongoing resistance to Protestantism. It
was first printed in 1752 in two editions, one in the original Latin and the
other in an English translation by Timothy Cunningham. The present printing
of the charter issued by Charles I, only the second edition in English, covers
the legalities of the rights of mayors, sheriffs, and citizens, as well as those
of
trade
issues including the making and selling of usquebagh. The list
of city officials extends to 1831 rather than the 1803 described by the title,
but these leaves were almost certainly added later to remainder copies, as the
paper is different. According to RLIN and OCLC, this rare item is
held
by only one institution outside of Ireland; no holdings are
listed by NUC Pre-1956.
NSTC C4545. Period-style calf, framed and panelled in gilt rolls,
panels with gilt-stamped corner fleurons, spine with gilt-stamped leather
label and gilt-stamped shamrock devices in compartments. Title-page mounted;
one leaf with paper flaw with absence of a few letters, one lower outer corner
torn away; previous sewing holes visible. Pages with edges untrimmed, and
margins/corners variously spotted/soiled for what seem to be various reasons;
some leaves chipped or dog-earred, especially in last section, and one leaf
in that part pulled away from sewing.
Manuscript notes
extending the roster of sheriffs added to the bottom of two pages.
Watts,
Isaac. The improvement of the mind, in two parts. Also, a discourse
on the education of youth, and remnants of time, employed in prose and verse.
Bennington [VT]: Pr. by Anthony Haswell, 1807. 12mo (17 cm, 6.75"). 382 pp., [1
(blank)] f.
$90.00

Watts was not only known as a writer of hymns, including those for children, but was also a philosopher, writing a book on logic. This work sets forth an ambitious and well-reasoned program for Christian liberal education.
Click the interior image for an enlargement.
Shaw & Shoemaker 14175; On Watts, see: The Dictionary of National Biography, LX, 670. Contemporary speckled calf, somewhat rubbed, corners bumped with a little loss of leather therefrom. Occasional spots of browning or foxing and some small dog ears. Bookplate on front pastedown. (5620)
Wells, Seth Youngs. Millennial praises, containing a collection of gospel hymns, in four parts; adapted to the day of Christ's second appearing. Composed for the use of his people. Hancock: Pr. by Josiah Tallcott, jr., 1813. 12mo. viii, 288, [4 (adv.)] pp.
$3500.00
Click the interior images for enlargements.
First edition of the very first Shaker hymnal, including the text without music for 140 hymns. The work also has the distinction of being the first book from a Shaker press, having been preceded only by broadsides and pamphlets. That the Hancock printers were still learning their art is evident by the at times wobbly impression of the type, the sudden shift to a smaller point size in part of the table of contents, etc. But it is a noble effort.
This work appeared during the period of American Shaker history when attention was expended on codifying Shaker beliefs and practices. This is the first attempt to codify the hymnal.
Shaw & Shoemaker 30511; Richmond 1416. Full original calf, plain style, rubbed overall with small chips on front cover; chip at head of spine, front joint starting. Paper browned, and some stains; a bit of blue crayon doodling in blank area of top left
corner of p. 50. Early leaves with stitch holes in inner margin, not touching text; three leaves with tears, not affecting text. Ex–theological library with area of spine blacked out where call number once was; library name and five-digit number rubber-stamped on front pastedown, accession number inked and rubber-stamped at base of p. [iii]. (21139)
Why, Again?
(Wesleyan Methodism).
An answer to the question, Why are you a Wesleyan Methodist? London: Pub. by
John Mason, 1842. 8vo. 80 pp.
$60.00
Possibly a first edition as no edition statement is found. Other printings in 1842 state "Second Edition," "Third Edition," etc.
Sewn, no wrappers. Title-page detached, torn, chipped, stained. Text dusty.
(Wesleyan Methodism). Vevers,
William. An appeal to the Wesleyan societies, on the attempt now made to subvert
their constitution. London: Sold for the Author, by John Mason, 1834. 8vo. 42
pp.
$95.00
The fourth edition of an impassioned plea for the Wesleyans to
adhere to the Constitution of 1795.
Disbound from a nonce volume; dusty, age-toning, six-digit
number stamped on title-page. Sewing perished.
A
Guide for
(ALBANY) Youth in
Their
FIRST
Attempts
at Prayer
Westminster
Assembly (1643–52). The
shorter catechism: Composed by the Assembly of Divines ... containing the principles
of the Christian religion; with Scripture proofs. Albany: Websters & Skinners,
1814. 16mo (13.3 cm, 5.25"). 70, [2 (blank)] pp.
$125.00
Click the image for an enlargement.
Early Albany printing of the Shorter Catechism, followed by prayers
and a hymn for young children.
Very few institutions hold actual hard copies of this edition, as opposed
to microform; OCLC locates
only two U.S. institutional holdings,
one of which has since been deaccessioned.
Shaw & Shoemaker 33653. Later paper wrappers, lightly
dust-soiled. Front flyleaves with early pencilled inscriptions; first page
of preface with rubber-stamped numeral in lower margin. Foxed; upper corners
bumped yet paper untattered. (25893)
Westminster Assembly.
The Assembly's shorter catechism. New York: S.W. Benedict, 1857. 48mo
(11.1 cm, 4.4"). 31 pp.
$45.00
Westropp, Hodder Michael; & Charles Staniland Wake. Ancient symbol worship. Influence of the phallic idea in the religions of antiquity. New York: J.W. Bouton & London: Trübner & Co., 1874. 8vo (24.7 cm, 9.75"). 98, [6 (adv.)] pp.
$200.00
First edition: Two papers read before the Anthropological Society of London on 5 April, 1870, discussing artifacts and religious practices connected to various literal and allegorical phallic representations. The illustrations found in the second edition were issued there for the first time.
The advertisement leaves are devoted specifically to books of phallic subject matter.
NSTC 0803266; Allibone, Critical Dictionary, 1505. Publisher’s green cloth, front cover with gilt-stamped medallion, spine with gilt-stamped title; cloth rubbed at corners and pulled at spine extremities, board edges lightly discolored. Pencilled owner’s name in upper margin of title-page. Title-page and two others pressure-stamped; preface with inked annotation and stamped numeral. Pages slightly age-toned, else clean.

Lappish Devotionals Rare, by Our Tracing
Wexels, Wilhelm Andreas. Rokkus-ja oappo-girje. Samas jårggaluvvum. Kristianiast: Kr. Gröndahl lut prenttijuvvum, 1840. [1] f., 209, [1 blank] pp.
$450.00
Click the interior image for an enlargement.
Devotional exercises in Lappish. This translation of “Bønne-og leerebog,” excerpted from Wexels's Andagtsbog, was done by Niels Joachim Christian Vibe Stockfleth.
NUC Pre-1956 locates only one copy; RLIN adds no others.
Quarter recent leather over marbled boards; spine with gilt-stamped title label and five raised bands, two inscribed lines above and below each gilt band. Edges stained green. A handsome copy. (24884)
Wheatley, James. An extract of the life and death of Mr. John Janeway. London: John Paramore, 1783. 12mo (19 cm, 7.5"). 40 pp.
$300.00
Originally printed in 1749, this piece was excerpted and edited by James Wheatley from James Janeway’s Invisibles, realities, demonstrated in the holy life and triumphant death of Mr. John Janeway. John Janeway was a Puritan scholar who died at an early age; his brother’s account of his religious experiences was considered exemplary reading for quite some time, and went through numerous editions.
The title-page proclaims “This book is not to be sold, but given away.”
ESTC N9602. Recent marbled paper–covered boards, spine with printed paper label. Title-page with repairs to margins and one page crease; title-page verso rubber-stamped by a now-defunct institution. First few leaves with inner margins repaired. Pages untrimmed, and gently age-toned.

Preached
in Yorkshire
Whitaker, Thomas Dunham. Religion and loyalty connected; being the substance of a discourse preached in St. John's church, Leeds, on the general fast day, February 28th, 1794.... Leeds: Pr. for Thomas Wright, 1794. 4to. 20 pp.
$40.00
First and only edition of this sermon delivered in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Quite scarce: NUC Pre-1956 fails to find even a single copy, and the electronic ESTC (accessed April 1996) located only one U.S. copy, at Rutgers University.
Disbound, but preserving original front printed wrapper; very dust-soiled; untrimmed.

Preparing for the End Times
White, Ellen G. The great controversy between Christ and Satan: The conflict of the ages in the Christian dispensation. Washington: Review & Herald Publishing Association, (© 1911). 8vo (22.5 cm, 8.9"). 718 pp.; 41 plts.
$150.00
Best-selling evangelical exhortation to prepare for the return of Christ, written by one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and originally published in 1858. Focused partly on the history of Christianity (especially the Reformation) and partly on the coming earthly war between Christ and Satan, this work is strongly anti-Catholic and anti-Spiritualism. There were several editions, with the present example being the final major revision of the work; this edition is illustrated with
a frontispiece and 40 plates depicting biblical and historical scenes as well as notable churches and holy sites. Each chapter also has a headpiece involving an interesting frame/border, and there are a few tailpieces.
This is an original edition, not a facsimile reprint.
Binding: Publisher's light blue cloth, front cover pictorially stamped in black and gilt with scene of an angel holding a chain and the key to the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1), spine decoratively stamped in black and gilt.
Binding as above, cocked, spine slightly sunned, corners and spine extremities with minor rubbing; small smudge to outer upper edge of front cover. Front pastedown with inked inscription dated 1916. A few corners dog-eared; four pages with offsetting from now-absent laid-in items, pages otherwise
clean. All edges marbled. (25796)
White,
John. The third and last letter to a gentleman dissenting from the Church
of England... The second edition. London: C. Davis, W. Craighton, & M. Cooper,
1745. 8vo (21.7 cm, 8.6"). [2], 85, [1] pp.
$450.00
Defense of various practices of the Church of England, although
the author acknowledges a certain want of discipline among his coreligionists;
the piece is followed by an appendix addressing the question of whether Dissenters
are being forced to act against their consciences in subscribing to the Church
Articles. This is a reissue of the first edition; in some copies, a 10-line
errata slip is pasted over the printed 3-line errata on p. 85, but this example
is as issued, with the printed errata only.
ESTC T25456. Sewn, signatures separating, now in a Mylar folder.
Edges untrimmed. Title-page with small numerical stamp and slight spotting;
title-page and page edges darkened; a copy dog-eared and bumped.

BEFORE His Falling-Out with
the Wesleys — Travels in Georgia
Whitefield, George. A journal of a voyage from London to Savannah in Georgia. In two parts. Part I. From London to Gibraltar. Part II. From Gibraltar to Savannah. [bound with the same author's] A continuation of the Reverend Mr. Whitefield's journal from his arrival at Savannah, to his return to London. London: Pr. for James Hutton, 1739. 8vo. [2] ff., 38 pp., [1] f.London: Pr. for James Hutton, 1739. 8vo. 55, [1 (blank)] pp.
$2000.00
Click the interior images for enlargements.
George Whitefield (1714–70), a Calvinist preacher who had
also been an early follower of the Wesleys during the nascent years of Methodism,
was a prime mover in the Great Awakening in the English colonies in American
during the second quarter of the 18th century. The present works recount his
travel to and in Georgia in aid of the Wesleys' efforts there; the Continuation
offers half a dozen pages speaking to time spent in Ireland.
Fifth edition of the Voyage from London and second edition of the
Continuation.
Voyage from London: Sabin 103534; Alden & Landis
739/343; ESTC T29204. Continuation: Sabin 103535 & 103538; Alden
& Landis 739/340; ESTC T34033 & T34025. Recent full calf antique-style
with gilt concentric panels on covers and gilt corner-devices on same; round
spine with raised bands, each accented by gilt rules. 19th-century wood-engraved
portrait of Whitefield added as a frontispiece. A very pleasing volume. (21775)

“I Never Did Pretend to These Extraordinary Operations of Working Miracles”
Whitefield, George. The Rev. Mr. Whitefield’s answer, to the Bishop of London’s last pastoral letter. London: Pr. by W. Strahan for J. Oswald, 1739. 8vo (20.6 cm, 8.1"). 27, [1] pp. (without half-title and final adv. leaf).
$550.00
First edition: The Rev. Whitefield's reply to Bishop Edmund Gibson, who had rebuked Whitefield for presenting himself as an “enthusiast” who received direct revelation from God. Whitefield (1714–70), a Calvinistic Methodist whose friendship with John Wesley ended over theological disputes, was a controversial evangelist, a prolific sermonist, and a prime mover in the American Great Awakening of the mid-18th century.
Here he not only rebuts Gibson's charges, but also accuses the Church of England of preaching false doctrine.
ESTC T44854; Sabin 103577. Recent quarter calf and marbled paper–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and gilt-ruled raised bands. Lacking half-title and final advertisement leaf; p. 3 incorrectly numbered 1, matching ESTC's description. Pages lightly age-toned, a few with small areas of staining in outer margins. (25955)
In
Furtherance of Whitefield
& His Reply
(Whitefield,
George). Presbyter
of the Church of England. [drop-title] A supplement
to the Rev. Mr. Whitefield's Answer to the Bishop of London's last pastoral
letter. [London: No publisher/printer, 1739]. 8vo (20.6 cm, 8.1"). 8 pp.
$475.00


Sole edition: Supplement to the Rev. George Whitefield's reply to Bishop Edmund Gibson, in which Whitefield took the Anglican Church to task. This anonymously published item contains “Notes on the Pastoral Letter,” an attack on Gibson's language and theology in the pastoral letter which started the controversy, and “A Remark on the Weekly Miscellany of August 18th, 1739; with an Extract of a Letter from Mr. Seward, Relating to the Writer of the Same.”
ESTC T222052. Recent quarter calf and marbled paper–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and gilt-ruled raised bands. Pages age-toned, edges slightly ragged. Inner margin of title-page with staining just touching text, and an unobtrusive repair. (25958)

NOT by a “Free-Thinker”
Whitehead, William Adee. The alleged atheism of the Constitution. From the Northern Monthly for November, 1867. Newark: 1867. 8vo. 15, [1 (blank)] pp.
$95.00
With a brief survey of early STATE-constitutional relationships to (Christian) religion.
NSTC 2W17788. Original wrappers, front wrapper chipped at edges, back wrapper chipped at inner edge and with paper remnants affixed at top. Leaves loose (wrappers included). Long tear in fore-margin of title-leaf and small chips in inner margins of title-
and final leaves. Some short marginal tears. Small chips to lower outer margins. Lengthwise fold mark. (8931)
Anabaptists
& God's
Omnipresence
Wigand, Johann.
De Anabaptismo Grassante adhuc in multis Germaniae, Poloniae, Prussiae, Belgicae
et aliis quoque locis, dogmata et argumenta cum refutationibus. Lipsiae: Georgius
Defnerus, 1582. 4to. I: [8] ff., 594 [i.e. 593],[1] pp., [11] ff. [with the
same author's] De ubiquitate, seu, Omnipraesentia Dei. Tubingea: In officina
Georgij Gruppenbachij, 1589. 4to. [4] ff., 115, [1 (blank)] pp.
$1875.00
Click the interior images for enlargements.
Wigand (1523–87), a strict-doctrine Lutheran theologian, was no friend
of the Anabaptists, whether we speak of the earliest believers during the
first two decades of the Reformation or those of the third quarter of the
16th century such as Menno Simons. Still, his history of the Anabaptists is
an appreciable one and prints or reprints many important documents, as for
example those resulting from the 6 February 1554 discussion between Menno
Simons and Martinus Micronius.
The second work here is a solid work of Lutheran doctrine on the omnipresence
of God and His presence in the Eucharist.
Provenance: 17th-century
signature on title-page of Caspar Lutz; late-19th-century signature of Howard
Osgood on same (and his bookplate on the front pastedown). Pressure-stamp
of a theological library on title-page (properly deaccessioned).
Evidence of readership:
Scattered underlining in both works and a few instances of
marginalia of a few words. Marginalia of second work in a different hand and
sometimes cropped by binder.
I: VD16 W2708; Hillerbrand, Anabaptism; 2426. II: VD16
W883; Kuczynski, Thesaurus, 3664. Full dark walnut modern calf
old style: Spine with raised bands accented with gilt beading on ech band
and blind rules above and below each band, the latter extending onto covers
to terminate in trefoils; burgundy leather author label and gilt place/date
at base of spine; blind-tooled device in spine compartments. Blind double
fillets framing covers. Browning to text, paper good and supple. (25819)

White Writer Black Dialect
Williams, John G. “De ole plantation.” Charleston, S.C.: Walker, Evans, & Cogswell Co., printers, 1895. 8vo (23 cm; 9"). xi, [1 (blank), 67, [1 (blank)] pp.
$350.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Scarce original edition of Williams's account in black dialect of social and religious life among rural blacks in Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction South Carolina. The
chapters include “An old-time Saturday night meeting,” “Brudder Coteny's sermons,” and “Glimpses of a vanished past: Two pictures of old plantation life.”
Not in Library Company, Afro-Americana (rev. ed.). Recent red cloth with black leather spine label. Library pressure-stamp (defunct library) in margin of one page. A delicate book, as one must expect given the place and date of publication. Old stab holes in inner margins. (26097)
Willison,
John. A fair and impartial testimony, essayed in name of a number of ministers, elders,
and Christian people of the Church of Scotland unto the laudable principles,
wrestlings & attainments of that church...with remarks; and humble pleadings
with our mother church, to exert herself to stop defection, and promote reformation....
Pittsburgh: Zadok Cramer (pr. by Cramer & Spear), 1808. 12mo (17.5 cm, 6.9").
234, [6] pp.
$325.00
First American edition, preceded by two scarce Edinburgh and Glasgow issues
(in 1744 and 1765, respectively), of this impassioned anti-Episcopalian commentary
on the contemporary state of Scottish Protestantism, written by an evangelical
divine who labored mightily in the name of unity of the Church of Scotland.
The work serves as an important source of information on both civil and church
history of the period; this copy is also an example of a very early Pittsburgh
imprint, following the first recorded printing in that city by only two years.
Shaw & Shoemaker 16746. Contemporary treed sheep, worn and front
cover with incisions; both covers with water damage to lower edges, spine
with head chipped and gilt-stamped title somewhat rubbed. Front free endpaper
with early inked notations and inscription dated 1819; title-page with early
inked ownership inscription in upper margin. Some age-toning, occasional
spots, last few leaves with waterstaining to lower outer corners—solid,
and in much better condition inside than the binding description would augur.
For
a page dedicated to the
FRIENDS/QUAKERS, click here.
Blind Allan Sight Lost & Restored
Wilson, John. Blind Allan, a tale, from “Lights & Shadows of Scottish Life.” [Glasgow?, Edinburgh/]: Pr. for the booksellers, n.d. [ca. 1837]. 12mo. 24 pp.
$70.00


Polynesia & Tahiti — 7 Maps & 6 Plates — Absorbing Narratives
Wilson, William, ed. & illus. A missionary voyage to the southern Pacific Ocean, performed in the years 1796, 1797, 1798, in the ship Duff, commanded by Captain James Wilson. Compiled from journals of the officers and the missionaries; and illustrated with maps, charts, and views ... London: Pr. by S. Gosnell for T. Chapman, 1799. 4to (28.5 cm, 11.25"). [12], c, 420, [12] pp.; 7 fold. maps, 6 plts.
$2000.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition. This account of a mission to Polynesia and Tahiti (funded by the London Missionary Society) supplies, it must be said, much more by way of the missionary travellers' interested observations of lands and people's exotic to them than it does reports of the proselytizations they pursued; it was compiled by chief mate William Wilson from his own journals and those of Captain James Wilson. Dr. Thomas Haweis, co-founder of the London Missionary Society, edited the work and the Rev. Samuel Greatheed provided (anonymously) the “Preliminary discourse; containing a geographical and historical account of the islands where missionaries have settled, and of others with which they are connected.” The Hill catalogue says, “The narrative is fresh, although sometimes naive, and provides a glimpse of everyday life on the islands that the mariner or naturalist didn't consider worth reporting.” There is a most interesting Appendix, also, canvassing everything from native dress to houses to dances to cookery to canoes to marriage and the place of women to funeral customs — not forgetting human sacrifice and sports.
The volume is illustrated with six plates and seven oversized, folding maps, and includes an extensive list of subscribers. An inferior, less expensive edition appeared in the same year, printed by Gillet; the present example is sometimes identified as the Gosnell edition to distinguish it from the Gillet production.
ESTC T87461; Hill, Pacific Voyages, 1894; Sabin 49480. Contemporary reverse sheep, framed and panelled in blind, spine with leather title-label; leather peeling at extremities, front joint repaired and back one starting from head, spine with label rubbed and two compartments discolored. Hinges (inside) reinforced with cloth tape; front free endpaper lacking. Front pastedown with institutional bookplates; dedication leaf with pressure-stamp in upper margin and rubber-stamped numeral in lower margin. Title-page and dedication with offsetting to margins; title-page with small hole not touching text. First map foxed, with tears along two folds; sixth map with jagged tear along one inner corner; other maps lightly foxed. Occasional stray small spots of staining and some offsetting from plates onto opposing pages; a few page edges slightly ragged. In sum, in fact, a sound, clean, and pleasant volume. (19603)
[Wollaston,
William]. The religion of nature delineated. London: Samuel Palmer, 1726.
4to (25.2 cm, 9.9"). 219, [13] pp.
$500.00
Deistic examination of the natural origins of morality, emphasizing
truth as the foundation of virtuous behavior. Benjamin Franklin’s first
professional typesetting experience was his composition work on the 1725 edition
of this popular and influential treatise (Thomas Jefferson had a copy in his
library), and that printing is here reissued with only the title-page date changed.
Franklin published a response in the same year, the Dissertation on Liberty
and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain, in a small edition of perhaps 100 copies.
This
has a very few, very elegant headpieces, tailpieces, and historiated initials.
ESTC T138654. Contemporary calf double-panelled in blind, outer
and innermost panels speckled; blind-stamped corner fleurons, center panel
framed in blind roll; spine with raised bands and painted gilt cross decorations.
Leather worn, with medium-sized abrasions, and cracked over joints; binding
still holding reasonably solidly. Front pastedown showing traces of now-absent
bookplate; title-page with small inked notation in upper outer corner, and
first text page with personal stamp. Pages gently cockled, with a few scattered
spots, but generally clean.

Woolley, Milton. The career of Jesus Christ: Being a supplement to the author’s Science of the Bible. Streator, IL: Free Press Publishing House, 1877. 8vo (20.7 cm, 8.2"). Frontis. (incl. in pagination), 52, [2] pp.; [60 (20 blank)] ff.
$600.00
Uncommon sole edition of this Freethinker interpretation of the New Testament, focusing on an astrological/astronomical analysis in which Jesus personifies “the annual Sun” and the events of the Gospels overall serve as a representation of the phenomena of the seasons. Wooley uses these “discoveries” to claim that Christianity as a religion is “a fraud of the blackest dye” (p. 51), adding that the working classes (former slaves explicitly included) are duped and oppressed by the capitalists (Northern and Southern) who encourage them to besot themselves with religion, whiskey, and tobacco rather than work towards real, liberating knowledge.
Click the image to the left
for an enlargement.
The printed Career is followed in this little volume by an extended manuscript section containing neatly written excerpts from Wooley’s Science of the Bible or an Analysis of the Hebrew Mythology.
Contemporary half calf over textured cloth, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and gilt-ruled raised bands; front cover detached, leather scuffed. All page edges marbled. Upper portion of front free endpaper torn away; two front fly-leaves partially excised. Back free endpaper with pencilled owner’s name. Printed portion very slightly age-toned, with faint creasing to first section.

Wycliffe's
Dialogues on Doctrine
Wycliffe, John. Dialogorum libri quatuor, quorum primus divinitatem et ideas tractat, secundus universarum rerum creationem complectitur, tertius de virtutibus vitiisque ipsis contrariis copiosissime loquitur, quartus Romanae Ecclesiae sacramenta, eius pestiferam dotationem ... Francofurti et Lipsiae: Impensis Io. Gottl. Vierlingii, 1753. Small 4to. 318 pp.
$750.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Wycliffe (d. 1384), he of Bible translation fame, found his life complicated by his religious beliefs as they conflicted with accepted church doctrine. This is only the second printing of his four dialogues on church doctrine, the first having occurred in the early years of the Reformation (1525) when it became clear just how much of a precursor of Luther's Wycliffe had been.
Uncommon: OCLC locates only six copies of this in the U.S., including this copy deaccessioned from one of those six reporting institutions.
Provenance: From the collection of 19th-century scholar Dr. Johann August Neander (1789–1850), a convert from Judaism who became a leading scholar of Christian church history.
19th-century German boards covered with black mottled paper. Ex-library with minimal markings; adhesive shelving label to spine, blacked over. Text age-toned but paper very good; a nice wide-margined copy. (16899)
Bulls
Bow Down &
Fiends Are POWERLESS
Ximénez,
Mateo. Compendio
della vita del beato Sebastiano d'Apparizio, laico professo dell'ordine de'
Minori Osservanti del Padre S. Francesco della provincia del Santo Evangelio
nel Messico. Roma: Stamperia Salomoni, 1789. 4to (24.2 cm, 9.5"). xvi pp., port.,
228 pp., [1] f. [with] Coleccion de estampas que representan los principales
pasos, echos, y prodigios del Bto.. Frai Sebastian de Aparizio, relig[ios]o.
franciscano de la provincia del S[an]to Evangelio de Mexico. Dispuesta por el
R.P. Fr. Mateo Ximenez. Roma: por el incisor Pedro Bombelli, 1789. 4to (23.5
cm, 9.125"). Engr. title, [100] of [129] plts.
$7500.00
Click any image where the hand appears on
mouse-over, for an enlargement.
From humble carter to revered and beatified lay Franciscan is not an easy course to pursue in life, but Sebastián de Aparicio (1502-1600) accomplished it in Mexico. Although he was married multiple times, he is said to have remained chaste, deciding in 1574 to abandon his secular lifestyle for that of a lay Franciscan. He is said to have had great ability to manage and calm animals, including near-wild bulls. His life was filled with teaching, begging, and
accomplishing near-impossible things. Offered here is the first edition of Ximénez's biography and the fine album of plates illustrating events in Aparicio's life (see our caption, above).
Finding the "life" and the volume of plates together is uncommon. Only by happenstance did the two volumes come to us within months of one another, from two different continents, allowing us to marry them for this offering. For example, in the U.S., only the Lilly and Bancroft Libraries report owning both works. There is some question as to the number of plates in a complete copy of the Colección: Some sources call for an engraved title-page and 128 plates, while others call for 129 plates. There seems not to have been an edition of the Vita in Spanish.
Vita: Palau 377047; Sabin 105727A. Colección:
Palau 377048; Sabin 105728. Vita: Contemporary Italian binding of
quarter leather with "wallpaper" covered boards; edges of boards seriously
rubbed and exposing underlying paste boards. Internally very good. Colección:
20th-century Spanish quarter leather, with paper in imitation of treed calf
on the covers. Private ownership stamps on title-page. Missing 29 plates; the
other hundred in very good! condition.

Shaker “Statement”
Youngs, Benjamin Seth. The testimony of Christ's second appearing; containing a general statement of all things pertaining to the faith and practice of the Church of God in this latter-day. Albany: E. & E. Hosford, 1810. 12mo. xxxviii, 620, [2] pp.
$450.00
Click the image to the right
for an enlargement.
Stated second edition, “corrected and improved,” of this important early Shaker book about their beliefs and history. First published in Lebanon, Ohio, in 1808. Preface signed in type by David Darrow, John Meacham and Benjamin S. Youngs, of whom the two first-named “signed their names not as authors, but as counsellors, and as sanctioning the work.”
Shaw & Shoemaker 22127. Full original sheep, spine showing flex marks with small chips at extremities and a gilt-stamped leather title-label; first and last leaves with offsetting from leather turn-ins. Short tear at top margin of one leaf, without touching any text; some scattered spots of foxing. Ex-library with (attractive) old pressure-stamp to half-title, five-digit accession number
rubber-stamped on front pastedown and base of p. [iii], evidence that an inked call-number on spine was sometime obscured. A clean, nice, solid copy. (21126)
Death
to the Anabaptists!
Zurich.
Rat. Abschid der Stette Zürich Bern vnnd sant Gallen,
von wegen der widerteüfer aussgangen. [Augsburg: Silvan Otmar, 1527]. Small
4to (19 cm; 7.5"). [6] ff.
[SOLD]
Rare and highly important first printing of the concordat of the
cities Zurich, Bern, and St. Gall, against Anabaptists. In early August 1527
the city of Zurich invited the cities of Bern, St. Gall, Basel, and three others
to come to Zurich for a conference in hopes of adopting a single document for
gaining control of “the dangerous Anabaptists.” The conference,
held 12–14 August 1527, agreed upon a mandate, which was signed by Zurich,
Bern, and St. Gall.
Click
the images for enlargements.
The concordat defines Anabaptism as a vice and the punishment ranges from
fines to “drowning without mercy” depending on who the accused
Anabaptist is; “foreigners” (non-natives of the jurisdictions),
preachers, and backsliders are dealt with the most severely. Every citizen
is bound to denounce anyone known to be or even suspected of being an Anabaptist.
The concordat was a codification of Zwingli's extreme animosity towards the
sect. It is considered
a
major document in Mennonite history.
Provenance: Ownership
signature on title-page of Howard Osgood, noted late 19th- and early 20th-century
collector and scholar; old circular pressure-stamp on same page of a seminary
(properly released).
WorldCat locates only three copies in North America and COPAC locates only
the copy at Oxford, but there is a copy at the British Library.
VD16 Z572; Pegg, Great
Britain and Ireland, 3953; Pegg, Swiss Libraries, 5426; Kuczynski; 9; Hohenemser; 3326;
Boekenoogen, p. 17; Hillerbrand, Anabapist Bibliography (1991 ed.), 116. In
later plain wrappers. One word of title underlined in blue pencil; other minor pencillings; a five-digit number in ink in the upper inner corner of the title-page. Provenance indications as above
and light dust-soiling to outer leaves, otherwise clean. (25951)
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