Collection of three printed and three manuscript items by William Smith. The printed works and manuscript sermons by Smith were apparently brought together in this volume by him and presented in April 1757 to Rebecca Moore, whom he married in 1758. The first leaves of the volume, one leaf between the final printed work and Smith's manuscript sermons, and three leaves at the rear of the volume appear to have notes added later, between approximately 1758 and 1776. The three printed items each contain sermons delivered by Smith in Philadelphia, two of which were printed by Franklin and Hall. The manuscript pieces include a copy of Smith's address to Archbishop Secker which he drafted on behalf of the local Episcopal clergy relating to the Reverend William McCelanchan's possible appointment at Christ's Church in Philadelphia; copies of two sermons by Smith on the first and second coming of Christ, delivered in New York in 1755; and an an index to the titles in a set of seven volumes of bound pamphlets containing fifty-nine works in all (the latest dated to 1759), primarily sermons, which were perhaps owned by Smith and his family. A short piece of poetry on David Rittenhouse, with the first two verses struck out in ink and rewritten slightly differently immediately below and a note dating it to 1776, was copied but probably not composed by Smith.; 1. f.1r-5r: Copy of an address to Archbishop Secker -- 2. f.5v: [Presentation inscription from William Smith to Rebecca Moore, April 19, 1757] -- 3. f.6r-26v: Personal affliction and frequent reflection upon human life, of great use to lead man to the remembrance of God : A sermon, preach'd on Sunday Sept. 1, 1754, in Christ-Church, Philadelphia; occasioned by the death of a beloved pupil, who departed this life, August 28, 1754, in the 16th year of his age. (Philadelphia: Printed and sold by B. Franklin, and D. Hall, at the new-printing-office, 1754) -- 4. f.27r-38v: A sermon preached in Christ-Church, Philadelphia : before the provincial grand master, and general communication of Free and Accepted Masons. On Tuesday the 24th of June, 1755, being the grand anniversary of St. John the Baptist. (Philadelphia : Printed and sold by B. Franklin, and D. Hill, [1755]) -- 5. f.39r-59v: The Christian soldier's duty, the lawfulness and dignity of his office, and the importance of the Protestant cause in the British colonies, stated and explained: A sermon, preached April 5, 1757 In Christ-Church, Philadelphia, to the First Battalion of His Majesty's Royal American Regiment; at the request of their colonel and officers (Philadelphia: Printed and sold by James Chattin, 1757) -- 6. f.60r-60v: [Poem] To David Rittenhouse Esq. / [The Prophetic Muse] -- 7. f.61r-84r: Two sermons on the first and second coming of Christ, preached in Trinity-Church in the City of New York on Christmass Day, 1755 / By W. Smith -- 8. f.85r-87v: Index to sundry volumes of pamphlets.
Language:
English
Provenance:
Formerly owned by Rebecca Moore Smith (gift inscription dated 19 April 1757, f. 5v).; Purchased, 1952.
annotations; tables of contents; Sermons; Bibliographies; Hybrid books; Manuscripts, American -- 18th century; Manuscripts, English -- 18th century
Physical Description:
99 + i leaves : paper; 192 x 132 mm bound to 196 x 132 mm
Rights:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
Notes:
Title supplied by cataloger.; Binding: Contemporary (18th-century) leather binding with marbled endleaves; missing front board; hinges broken and sewing exposed across spine.; Origin: Compiled before 19 April 1757 (gift inscription, f. 5v), including printed works dating from 1754 to 1757. The first manuscript work apparently added later, after 28 May 1761 (caption title, f. 1r), and the poem relating to David Rittenhouse added after 1776 (footnote, f. 60r).; The poem addressed to David Rittenhouse (f. 60r) begins "Labour not in state affairs" and claims to have been distributed in May 1776. Nearly identical versions of the same poem can be found in other manuscript compilations of the period including in the Pemberton Papers at the HSP, the St. George Peale papers at the APS, and in Milcah Martha Moore's commonplace book at Haverford College.; This hybrid volume is currently shelved as Curtis Collection 528 copy 1, a designation assigned due to two of the sermons which were printed by Benjamin Franklin and thus considered to intellectually fit with the Curtis Collection of Franklin Imprints. This volume was never owned by the Curtis publishing company in their collection of Franklin imprints.
Physical Location:
Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Curtis Collection, 528 copy 1
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