Henchman’s Proposals for printing by subscription, an account of the life of that extraordinary person, the late Reverend Mr. Brainard survives in two copies at the American Antiquarian Society.
The first edition of the life of an important and tragic missionary who preached to many of the Native American communities and continued - largely through this book - to have a great influence on future generations of preachers including John Wesley. Brainerd died aged twenty-nine in the home of Jonathan Edwards. This copy was owned and annotated by a fastidious early American bibliophile, Edmund Williams (1710-1796) of Massachusetts Bay.
This copy, according to a note on the title-page and the front pastedown, appears to have been received by Edmund Williams of Taunton Bristol Mass on the 11th September 1749 (with a price “4/3 Loyal money”). Williams as also added his name in the correct position to the lengthy printed subscribers list, remarking in a footnote: “N.B. I was one of said Subscribers, but my name was not Entered in this list by the mistake of the Printer, which said Printer, acknowledged to Mr John Wales” (1699-1765). Williams notes on the title-page: “I was 85 years old Dec 15. 1795” meaning that he was in possession of the book for over forty-five years (Williams died almost exactly a year later on 3rd December 1796). The book remained in the family as there is a long inscription dated 1804 on the blank verso of the title-page noting that the book was presented to Elizabeth Thornton by her Father Nathan Williams (Nathan was the sixth child, of twelve, born 2nd January 1748).
Edmund Williams was clearly very protective of his books, he writes on the endpapers of seeing a “choice” copy of Thomas Grantham’s Christianismus Primitivus (London, 1678) in the possession of Richard Rounds, “Father of Elder Richard Rounds above 40 years ago…it was written this book had been lent and hurt: so the order was not to lend it anymore, but should a be for the Family to read…” This seems to have empowered Williams to adopt the same rule: “NB: Part of my writing in the 322 pages is defaced it was lent to Abigail Leonard, the outsides defaced by rubbing the covering. And it was lent to Bath[sheba] King: it has been lent twice to said woman. My order is not to lend this book. It is not proper to lend books to those who are careles of them.” The bibliographic crimes of Bathsheba King and Abigial Leonard are repeated a number of times on the endleaves, continuing on the recto of the same leaf: “The outside was defaced by rubbing of the colouring, so was my Psalm book was hurt by drawing out one of the leather stitches.”
