Author: Wayland, Francis
Title: Notes on the Principles and Practices of Baptist Churches [William Wirt Winchester's Copy]
Description: New York / Boston /Chicago, Sheldon, Blakeman & Co.; Gould & Lincoln; S. C. Griggs & Co. 1857. First Edition. First edition; 7 3/4 x 5 1/2; pp. [7], vi-xii, [1], 14-336, [2]; brown, embossed cloth over boards; gilt title to spine; small rubbed spots to tips of spine and corners; foxing mostly to first and last few leaves, with occasional spotting to margins; period bookshop label to back board verso (Weishampel's Bookstore and Circulating Library, which operated in Baltimore in the mid-19th century and also published popular music); very good condition. With William Wirt Winchester's bookplate to front board verso, his signature in brown ink across the title page, and a penciled-in, gift inscription to him from his aunt, on the second free leaf. Francis Wayland (1796 - 1865) was an economist, President of Brown University, a prison reform activist, a noted member of the American Antiquarian Society, a vocal proponent for the establishment of libraries, and a Baptist minister. His current work expanded on a series of articles, which had appeared in "The Examiner," with the intention of presenting a popular view of the distinctive belief of the Baptist Church. William Wirt Winchester (1837 - 1881) was the Tresurer of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and the son of its founder, Oliver Fisher Winchester. Ownership of the business was passed to William at his father's death in 1880, but the former passed away himself, from tuberculosis, only a year later, at the age of 43. William's widow, Sarah Winchester (1839 - 1922) inherited her husband's fortune and 50% holding in the company, making her one of the richest women in the world at that time. Devastated by the passing of her husband and the death of her infant daughter, Sarah moved to San Jose, California and in 1884 commissioned the erection of the Winchester Mystery House (now a historical landmark and museum), the construction of which continued - chaotically, continuously, and without official architectural plans - for 38 years, until Sarah's death. She believed she was cursed and haunted by the spirits of people, who had been shot by the Winchester rifles, and by adding to her house doors that opened into unexisting rooms, stairs that led nowhere, and windows that looked into interior spaces, she tried to appease, on the one hand, and to confuse and trick, on the other hand, the ghosts. Very good .

Keywords: Boston-Vbf, Baptism, Winchester Company


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