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1778-1784 'Printed by Joseph Crukshank, in Market-Street, between Second and Third-Streets, (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 4 x 6 3/8 inches tall contemporary hardcover boards with what appears to be a much later crude leather spine, five-works-in-one, 84, 36, 8, 4, 12 pp. Mild to moderate soiling, rubbing and edgewear to covers, with an early owner name ('Mary White') in neat, faded script to top of front cover. Lacking blank front and rear endpapers, but an otherwise complete copy. Mild to moderate, mostly marginal staining or foxing to title page and a number of other pages. Light marginal dampstaining to a number of pages in the rear of the volume. Otherwise, very good copy. ~UUU~ [1.0P] A collection of five rare spiritual and abolitionist works printed by renowned early Philadelphia publisher and printer Joseph Cruikshank. The title work from 1780, 84 pp., An extract from a treatise on the spirit of prayer (English Short Title Catalog No. W32233), is attributed to William Law in the Dictionary of National Biography. Most of the rest of the works in this uncommon compilation are by French-American abolitionist and educator Anthony Benezet, who was active in Philadelphia and associated with Quaker publisher Cruikshank: Christian piety, by Philalethes (1780, ESTC W11866, 36 pp.); In the life of the lady Elizabeth Hastings (1784, ESTC W6416, 8 pp.); Serious reflections affectionately recommended (1778, ESTC W7248, 4 pp.); and A Short account of the convincement of Edward Andrews (1782, ESTC W41285 [variant], 12 pp.). Each of the five titles is quite uncommon, but the last of them, about Edward Andrews, is located by the English Short Title Catalog in only six collections worldwide, and five of the six have only the first four pages. Boston Library's special collections reports the same variant found in this volume: "a variant of 12 pages, where p.5-12 contain the poems 'The universal prayer' and 'The hermit.' ESTC gives no authorship attribution, but perhaps these works are also by Benezet, given the content of the rest of this collection. Anthony Benezet (1713-1784) founded one of the world's first anti-slavery societies, the Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage, as well as the first public school for girls in North America and the Negro School at Philadelphia, which operated into the nineteenth century. He was a vegetarian and advocated for the kind treatment of animals, integrating this in his teachings. Joseph Crukshank / Cruikshank (1747-1836) published many books for the Society of Friends (Quakers), printed the pamphlets of Anthony Benezet, the first American edition of The Imitation of Christ, and in 1790, he was appointed to print Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac. William Law (1686-1761), an Anglican priest-turned dissenter, initially published the first work in this compilation in 1729, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, and half a century later the work had an important impact on the nascent American abolition movement through William Wilberforce, Anthony Benezet and others. Seller Inventory # UUU-0512-12078
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