Horne, Melville. Letters of Missions - Early American Edition with contemporary description of Adoniram Judson's work in Burma

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Horne, Melville. Letters on Missions, Addressed to the Protestant Ministers of the British Churches. Flagg and Gould, Andover [MA], 1815.

Binding: Hardcover (Full Leather). Book Condition: Very Good- Condition. Size: 5"-6" - Vigesimo-quarto (24mo). 216 pages. Text is in multiple languages. Item Type: Book.

 

American printing of the 1792 original, with supplementary appendices. Of special interest is the a contemporary mention of Adoniram Judson's work in "the Birman Empire," the formation in May 1814 of The Baptist Board of Foreign Missions for the United States, fundraising efforts by Luther Rice and the Board's commissioning of Jordan's co-worker, the printer George Hough on May 25, 1815 (p. 212).

The opening Advertisement presents this as "a new edition," including the original preface and nine letters which "have been eminently instrument in exciting that lively interest in the cause of Missions, the effects of which are so visible at the present time" (pp. 3-4).

Supplementary material appended to his letters include the poem "The Missionaries' Farwell" (p. 204), "Brief Sketch of the Formation of Missionary Societies; Notice of Missionary Stations, with names of some of the missionaries" (pp. 205-212) and a statistical survey of "Fields for Missionary Labors" estimating "the number of our fellow men, who are involved in Pagan or Mahometan delusion" (pp. 213-216).

Horne, who briefly served as a chaplain in Sierra Leone, wrote these letters urging British churches to unite in the common cause of missions. In her article on Horne's legacy, Suzanne Schwarz says he "moved debate in a new direction by calling for a pan-evangelical response to missions." He urged the various Protestant groups to set theological differences aside and, as Schwarz puts it, "to concentrate on making Christians rather than converts to particular denominations."

Text block is tight. The paper is toned from age. The pastedowns are dark for about 1/4" where they cover the leather and the staining affects the edges of about five leaves each in the front and back.

Hard cover in polished calf over boards. Black morocco title panel on the spine with "Horne on Missions" stamped in gilt. Black decoration around the edges of the boards. Some loss to the leather with wear at the edges. The endpapers are cracked at the hinges but the cords are holding tight. Scattered foxing, but text mostly clean though the blocks of text tend to be darker. Page edges browned. The top 1/4" of the title page is missing where it appears a previous owner's name has been cut away. Doesn't affect any text, though it does touch to top of "Letters" on the page.

Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: 0 lbs 5 oz. Category: Religion & Theology; Missions; United States; 19th century; ISBN: No ISBN. Inventory No: 1156.
PRICE: $US 25.00