1792 1st Ed., Vol. 1 of "An Extract from the Journal of Francis Asbury, Bishop"- A Founder of the Methodist Church

A first edition copy of Francis Asbury's "An Extract from the Journal of Francis Asbury, Bishop of the Methodist-Episcopal Church in America, from August 7, 1771 to December 29, 1778". Volume one. Philadelphia: Printed by Joseph Crukshank and sold by John Dickins, 1792. 356pp, plus an advertisement and "To the Reader" page, which features a disclaimer on the matter of "sameness" in the journal's contents. The volume is bound in brown leather, with red morocco label and gilt lettering on spine. Cover shows expected wear, including bumped corners, minor surface indentations, and rubbing to spine. Pages exhibit aged-toning throughout, with areas of darkened staining and soiling present within and at edges; isolated worm hole at top left corner of end flyleaf. Very good overall with sound binding- a pivotal work of early Methodist writing.

Francis Asbury (1745-1816) was a British-born Methodist minister who became one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. In 1771, Asbury volunteered to travel to British North America as the assistant of Reverend John Wesley, where he openly preached until the start of the Revolutionary War four years later. As one of the only British Methodist ministers left in the colonies, Asbury remained largely hidden during the conflict. This is reflected in the journal's first volume, which begins during his voyage to North American and ends three years into the Revolutionary War. Asbury was officially ordained as a Bishop in 1784, effectively becoming the leader of all Methodists in the new United States. For the next 32 years, he would travel an average of 6,000 miles each year, preaching in various locations. As a result, the church grew from 1,200 to 214,000 members and had 700 ordained preachers under his leadership. Today, Asbury's journal is valuable to scholars both for its account of frontier society, with references to many towns and villages in Colonial America, and as a contemporary work from a major figure of the Second Great Awakening.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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