Experiments of Spiritual Life and Health and Their Preservatives

Providence: Sidney S. Rider, 1863. In fragile condition. An 1863 reprint of the 1652 book. Originally printed in London, February 1652. Complete Title is: "Experiments of Spiritual Life & Health and their Preservatives in which the weakest child of God may get assurance of his spiritual life and blessednesse and the strongest may find proportionable discoveries of his Christian growth and the means of it. By Roger Williams of Providence in New England." The title page is a reproduction from 1652. This 1863 reproduction is faithful to the original with the typeface of the period substituting the letter "F" for "S" and using what is now less conventional spelling. This was a limited edition reprinting of 500 copies. Roger Williams (1603-1683) was a religious reformer, maverick, and perhaps the first supporter of Native American rights. He is also credited as being the first in the American colonies to attempt to prohibit slavery. Williams was one of the founders of Providence Plantations in 1636, now known as the state of Rhode Island. Williams emigrated from England to Boston, Massachusetts in 1631. After fleeing the Puritan Colony (among many religious issues, he also disapproved of the Puritans not buying the land in Plymouth from the Native Americans), Williams purchased land from the Native American tribes to found the colony of Providence Plantations. Williams, is of course, well known for promulgating the concept of separation of church and state. He was also the founder of the American Baptist Church. The introduction in this volume is attributed to F.W., believed to be Francis Wayland, and dated Providence (Rhode Island) December 1st 1832. Francis Wayland (1796 - 1865) was president of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island when he wrote this introduction. He served as president of Brown for almost 30 years. He was a Baptist minister and after he resigned the presidency of Brown, he was pastor of the First Baptist Church in America, also located in Providence. In 1835, town meeting members voted to rename East Sudbury, Massachusetts, "Wayland" in honor of Francis Wayland. In 1851, Francis Wayland donated money to the town to establish a public library, one of the first free public libraries in the United States. Wide 8vo size volume is 59 pages with tanning to pages and foxing on some pages. Disbound covers with some detached pages in the front of the book including the title page and the first page of the introduction; pages i and ii are disbound, but joined together, page iii is disbound. The binding is fragile. Very thin boards. Penciled prince on cover. Inscription, penciled prices or numbers on fep, and penciled number and (probably original) bookseller's sticker on title page. Some minor chipping to page corners and margins. Most lower corners are chipped. Tanned inside covers. Family historians: the name in the book is Henry T. Drowne, a gift from H Brown. Thanks for shopping with us! 100% of your purchase benefits charity and supports literacy and lifelong learning.. Unknown. Poor/No Jacket. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.