VINTAGE RARE RELIGION ADAMS ALPHABETICAL COMPENDIUM

Hannah Adams (1755-1831), an early American historian and pioneer in the field of comparative religion, was also the first American author to make a living solely from writing. The second of five children, she was born in Medfield, Massachusetts to Thomas and Elizabeth Clark Adams. Her mother died when she was 12, leaving Hannah and several sisters. In 1784, hoping to provide some income for the family, Adams published the volume herein offered, “An Alphabetical Compendium of the Various Sects Which Have Appeared from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Present Day.” The first edition sold out, but her agent got the proceeds. The disappointment awakened Adams to the potential profits and the pitfalls of publishing. She wrote a second, more remunerative edition titled A View of Religions, published in 1791, followed in 1799 by A Summary History of New England and, in 1801, published her edited version of the volume as a schoolbook, An Abridgment of the History of New England.

The copy of Adam’s first work herein offered is a 1784 first edition in original or contemporary leather (sheep?) binding. The hinges are slightly cracked, one professional repair to the rear cover, and there is a slight loss to the head of the spine, else the binding is in good condition. Spine is imprinted with gold gilt on red “View of Religions” (this is puzzling, and makes one suspect it was misbound in the later "View of Religions" covers?). There is light foxing of the text, but this is typical of books printed in the United States at this time owing to the lack of anything other than poor paper. Some of the index pages are lightly water-stained, and some are a bit “wrinkled.” Top of the spine and edges of covers have a small amount of chipping.

Title page reads “An Alphabetical Compendium of the Various Sects which have appeared in the world from the beginning of the Christian era to the present day, with an Appendix containing a brief account of the different schemes of Religion now embraced among mankind. The whole collected from the best authors, ancient and modern, by Hannah Adams. ‘Prove all things, HOLD fast that which is good’ Apostle Paul. Boston: Printed by Bedes & Sons, No. 42, Cornhill, M,DCC,LXXXIV (1784).”

Text is 204 pages followed by a very lengthy appendix, errata, an index, and finally a 12-page list of subscribers.

Hannah Adams was the first historian of religions ever to try to represent sects and denominations in terms which adherents themselves used and from their perspective; this edition contains one of the earliest known descriptions of the Shakers. It was reprinted several times, but is very scarce in the first edition, and more so in an original or contemporary binding.