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The History of Two Shoemakers
Philadelphia: Sold by Johnson & Warner...Jacob Meyer, Printer, 1811. 12mo, contemporary plain blue paper boards. 107pp., printed on blue-grey paper. Four parts, continuously paginated. Each part with its own sectional title and woodcut vignette. Third American edition of Hannah More's classic moral saga contrasting the lives of two apprentice shoemakers. Each numbered part begins with a caption title and a woodcut. Jack Brown comes from a non-religious family and (as a result) is dishonest. James Stock is a religious, honest, and hardworking man. As they work together in the same shop, the two men face many dilemmas; More's story illuminates the consequences of each men's actions, highlighting the Christian virtues that lead to happiness and success. These stories originally appeared in More's Cheap Repository Tracts series for young (and less capable) readers, three of which appeared every month from 1795 to 1798. The tracts adapted the ponderous moralizing pamphlets published by the Association for the Discountenancing of Vice into relatable stories, and were a huge hit, selling some 300,000 copies in March and April 1795, and over two million by March 1796. They were regularly republished in England, Ireland, and America. The first American edition appeared in 1800, with subsequent editions appearing in 1807 and 1811, all from Johnson's Philadelphia shop. Although easily accessible via microfilm and online versions, actual physical copies of this edition are rare. OCLC locates just nine copies: American Antiquarian Society, Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, UCLA, Library of Congress, State Library of Pennsylvania, and the Free Library of Philadelphia. REFERENCES: Welch 886; Shaw & Shoemaker 23422; OCLC 2775211, 54188013, 589574418. CONDITION: Boards worn and soiled, joints starting to crack (but still strong). Light tidelines to upper part of last few leaves and rear endpapers, tanning and light foxing throughout. About very good.
Item #6969
Price: $1,250.00