Discourses on Various Subjects

Jacob Duche; Benjamin West [frontispieces]

Edité par J. Phillips / T. Cadell et al., London, 1779

A propos de cet article

London: Printed by J. Phillips, George-Yard, Lombard-Street; And Sold by T. Cadell, in the Strand; H. Payne, Pall-Mall; C. Dilly, in the Poultry; and J. Phillips, 1779. First Edition. Two volumes; octavos (21cm.); early 20th-century brown library cloth, upper covers debossed "Mercantile Library Co." in blind, gilt-lettered spines; xii,[28],362; [8],430pp. (both volumes lacking final blanks, else collated complete); engraved frontispieces signed in margin "West." Ex-Mercantile Library Co. with their extensive early 20th-century century rubber-stamps throughout, boards a bit scuffed at spine ends and corners, evidence of spine labels removed, lacking all of the library binding's endpapers, hinges cracked, Vol. I frontispiece starting to separate, uneven foxing throughout. A Good, still quite serviceable set of an exceptionally uncommon collection of colonial American sermons published in exile during the Revolutionary War. A member of the colonial Philadelphia ruling class (his father the Colonel Jacob Duché once served as mayor), Jacob Duché (1738-1798) had gained prominence as a religious leader for the beauty and eloquence of his preaching, serving twice as chaplain to the Continental Congress. However, his political views were at odds with the authors of the Declaration of Independence, and in 1777 he foolishly wrote to George Washington insisting that he undo the Declaration, whether peacefully or by force. For this he and his family were obliged to make a speedy retreat, exiling themselves to London where Duché was once again a hit as a religious orator. Perhaps misleadingly in these two volumes he is listed as the "Rector of Christ-Church and St. Peter's, in Philadelphia," a position he had to abandon in his exile. (See the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography for additional information.) Testament to his popularity in London is the extensive list of subscribers bound at the beginning of Vol. I, boasting the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Earl of Macclesfield, Dr. Samuel Johnson, and nearly two hundred women, including the dedicatee Juliana Penn who, together with her husband Thomas Penn, played a substantial role in the administration of the Colony of Pennsylvania. ESTC T 116264; SABIN 21050.

N° de réf. du vendeur 29540

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Discourses on Various Subjects
• Éditeur: J. Phillips / T. Cadell et al., London
• Date de parution: 1779
• Édition: Edition originale
• État de l'article: Good
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Americana
  • Religion / Theology
  • American Revolution
  • Illustrators
  • 18th Century