Porteus, Sermons on several subjects, 1783.

“The civilization, improvement, and conversion of the Negroe-slaves in the British island recommended”

Beilby Porteus (1731-1809).

Sermons on several subjects.

London, printed for T. Payne and Son and T Cadell, 1783.

8°. XI, [I], 429, [1] pp.

Contemporary calf with raised bands and red title label on spine.

Second edition of a collection of sermons, containing the anti-slavery treatise “The Civilization, Improvement, and Conversion of the Negro-slaves in the British Island, recommended” (pp. 381-409). In this lengthy passage, the author argues that slavery is unchristian, supported by numerous facts and figures. The first edition of Porteus’ Sermons was also published in 1783, under the same title. The present second edition retains the exact same text. Beilby Porteus (1731-1809) was born in London to American parents and successively became the Bishop of Chester and of London. He was a Church of England reformer and a leading abolitionist, being the first Anglican in a position of authority to seriously challenge the Church’s stance on slavery.

Condition: binding a little rubbed. Contemporary name in ink on first free endpaper: “Henr. Whitmore”. Mild spotting on the first and last few pages. Otherwise in very good condition.

Reference: The African Slave Trade and Its Suppression, 2014, no. 2292.