The Four Gospels

Paper covered boards with a leather spine. 130 pp. SIGNED, with a lengthy inscription by Marilla Ricker on the first endpaper. The inscription reads in part, "So far as I've heard no Christian has arisen to state that the morals of the Rev. Clarence Richeson were contaminated by reading the works of Paine or Ingersoll. The Rev. (claims?) to be a product of the Christian bible and he's still talking of his god and his bible." Ricker is referring to Clarence Richeson, an on and off again minister for a variety of congregations who apparently suffered many bouts of insanity, and was hospitalized several times. He also was engaged to many young women, sometimes several at once. In 1911 he poisoned and murdered Avis Linnell and was sentenced to death. He was executed in early 1912. Given that the reverend was alive until early 1912, it is possible this was inscribed sometime in late 1911. A collection of four essays on four figures in history: Robert G. Ingersoll, Thomas Paine, John Calvin and Jonathan Edwards, as well as an essay asking "What is Prayer?" Ricker reflects on Robert G. Ingersoll, his agnosticism and skill as an orator, as well as his advocacy for freethought, and questions Theodore Roosevelt's criticisms of Thomas Paine, among other subjects. Marilla M. Ricker was the first woman admitted to the NH bar as well as being admitted to the bar in Washington DC in 1882. She pushed for prison reform, and worked free of charge for many of her clients. Ricker was also a strong advocate for women's suffrage, being the first woman to attempt to vote in New Hampshire, arguing that she had a right to do so as a property owner in Dover, NH. She also was a key figure in the freethought movement. VERY GOOD condition. Minor soiling and edgewear to the covers. Leather rather scuffed along the hinges. Minor toning in the interior.…