Letters and Conversational Remarks...during the last eighteen years of his life
New York: S. Whiting, 1811. First Printing. Hardcover. First published in London by the Religious Tract Society. Small 8vo, old calf, good with some rubbing, wear and dryness to binding but still solidly bound, text very good with some foxing. 187 pp. By the author of the hymn, "Amazing Grace." From a Lombard Street Churches website comes the following information about Newton: "Born in Wapping in 1725 the son of a master mariner, John Newton spent the first part of his career as a slave trader. From 1745 -1754 he worked on slave ships, serving as Captain on three voyages. In 1748 Newton was dramatically converted on one of these voyages during a violent storm when he called on God for mercy. Following his conversion, he became “surveyor of tides” in Liverpool and began theological study but it wasn’t until later in life, however, that he came to see clearly how wrong the slave trade was. Newton wrote: "I hope it will always be a subject of humiliating reflection to me . . . that I was once an active instrument in a business at which my heart now shudders." In 1780 Newton became Rector of St Mary Woolnoth a position he would hold for 27 years until 1807. It was during this period that his own story of personal redemption, God’s grace and the beginnings of the abolitionist movement were drawn together. The hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ was written during his time as curate at Olney Church in Buckinghamshire and was first introduced by Newton in his New Year’s Day Sermon on 1 January 1773." The book is rare in the trade. Good. Item #H33353
Price: $125.00