pp. [1], 167, [1] (Errata). 12mo. 170mm. Text somewhat browned, and the title page is brittle, and has some chipping. Disbound. XLib. (Case Library). Still, a good copy of a scarce and significant book. New Jersey born John Cosens Ogden (1751-1800) obtained orders in the Church of England, and his chief work was as a missionary He was rector of the Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (1786-1793); and later he was a presbyter in the Episcopal Church in New York City. Among his earlier writings he published 'A Tour Through Upper and Lower Canada.' The Christian Society called the United Brethren or Moravians in Pennsylvania had obtained great celebrity and generated much curiosity - not only as a religious sect, but also as a socially, economically, and commercially successful people. To observe them for himself, Ogden made a pilgrimage to Bethlehem in September of 1799. In this important work, he describes; their customs; doctrines; education; social structure; architecture; etc. He also discusses for the topography, resources, agriculture, and commercial life of the Bethlehem region. Included too is a history of the Moravians, and he gives a fairly detailed account of their missionary work, especially with the Native American Indians (including an account of the massacre of the Christian Indians at Salem and Gnadenahutten). This is one of the earliest English language accounts of the Moravian Church in colonial America. The printer Charles Cist (1738-1805) was an entrepreneur of the first order. With Melchior Steiner, he established a printing and publishing business. During the American Revolution, he published many documents relating to current events, including Paine's The American Crisis. In 1781 the firm was dissolved, and Cist continued in business alone. He began the publication of The American Herald in 1784, and of the Columbian Magazine in 1786. Cist aided the colonial government during the revolution by endorsing large amounts of continental currency, which he was later compelled to redeem. He was the first person to introduce anthracite coal into general use in the United States. In 1792 he was a member of the Lehigh Coal Company, and brought several wagons full of this coal to Philadelphia, where he offered to give it away. But he could not dispose of it, and was threatened with mob violence for trying to impose on the people with a lot of black stones (coal). In 1793 he was secretary of the Fame Fire Association, and announced that the society had procured a fire-escape apparatus to save persons from burning houses by means of a bucket drawn up to the top of the building. During the administration of John Adams, he became public printer, and established an extensive printing office and book bindery in Washington, D.C., at great expense, for the purpose of publishing public documents. Evans 38149; Howes 037; Sabin 56815. First Edition. Scarce. **PRICE JUST REDUCED! JUN5 BOX 2.
