Sign up to receive email notices of recent acquisitions.

A Plea for the Homeless Men and Boys of Bowery.

[New York, ca. 1905.]. 16mo (6.5” x 3”), pictorial wrappers in color. 20 pp., incl. wrappers. CONDITION: Very good.

A scarce booklet describing the practical work and “wonderful” conversions of the “most famous gospel rescue mission in the country.”

This booklet provides information about the Bowery Mission’s history, major figures, success stories, and of course functions—feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, and providing community, religious education, entertainment, and employment help for homeless men and boys in New York. It closes with “An Appeal to You,” the reader, for contributions to “this grand philanthropic and soul-saving work.” The booklet describes the recently-instituted “Bread-line,” which provides midnight coffee and rolls to those spending the night on the streets; the Memorial House, the Mission’s affiliate boarding house; The Mission Free Labor Bureau, which “During the first three months of 1905” placed “Upwards of 609 men…in good positions” in the country; and the various events organized by the Mission, from “Every-Night Meetings” to Christmas and Thanksgiving open-houses. A recurring theme is the Mission’s wide-spread Christian influence, since “It will be readily understood that in such a fertile field the harvest that is garnered is an enormous one. It is impossible to compute the number of men who are impressed by the Gospel truth in the Mission,” and every opportunity is taken to express the contrast between the “most consistent” lives of Mission converts and their humble beginnings as “Ignorant…depraved, drunken, profane, without a home, with no friends except those of the most dissolute kind.” Illustrations Depict the notable Mission figures, including Mrs. Sarah J. Bird, the “Mother of the Bowery,” as well as scenes from the Bread-line, the Mission interior, the Bowery Mission Free Labor Bureau,” sleeping quarters at a local lodging house, and more.

Founded in 1879 by Reverend Albert Gleeson Ruliffson as a one-room operation, the Bowery Mission was the third rescue mission established in the United States. The Bowery was one of New York’s most diverse districts, and as it “rose to international notoriety as a home for the city’s most destitute residents, the Bowery Mission became similarly emblematic of Christian charity and evangelism” (Bowery Mission). It was bought by the Christian Herald in a period of financial hardship in 1895. This booklet was published near the end of the organization’s term at 55 Bowery Street, where it had been based since 1897. (It moved in order to make way for the Manhattan Bridge, and settled in its permanent location at 227 Bowery Street in 1909). The Mission now operates across several locations in New York City, and no longer requires attendance at religious functions to receive a meal.

OCLC lists just one copy at the University of Virginia; another is held at NYPL.

REFERENCES: “Bowery Mission,” at Place Matters online.

Item #7199

Price: $275.00