Maryland Imprints of the Colonial Period, 1689-1776

Sermon,! Preached before the j Honourable | Assembly,| of I Maryland.) May the 5th. 1700.] Ecclesiiastes [sic]
the XII. Verse the I.| [Verse quoted in three lines].

Leaf measures: 7! x 5 H inches. Type page, p. 2: 156 x 130 mm.

See Archives of Maryland, 24: 82. The edition here described is not to be confused with that which was en-
tered by Watt in his Bibliotheca Britannica under the tide: "Early Religion; a Sermon on Eccles. XII. I. 1704.
8vo.", for it must have been that in making this entry the indefatigable, but not always exact, Dr. Watt had in
mind the following work: A Pastoral Discourse to Young Persons, Reminding them of the Necessity and Advantage
of an Early Religion ... By Thomas Bray, D. D. London. MDCCIV. This publication in octavo, a copy of which is
in the Maryland Historical Society, comprises a long preface and the same sermon which Dr. Bray had preached
before the Assembly of Maryland and published in Annapolis in 1700, very much altered in parts for its more
particular application to the needs of his younger auditors. It is likely that Watt had never heard of the Mary-
land edition.

The copy of The Necessity of an Early Religion in the Maryland Historical Society, Evans, No. 904, seems
to be unique. It was bought at the Brinley Sale, 2: 3667, for $72, and it is in fair condition, although it has been
cropped and the inner top margins of pages 1-4 have been crudely repaired. It is the earliest example of Maryland
printing extant in this country, as far as is known, and it is believed that this is the copy which was referred to
in Stevens, Historical Nuggets, 1: 339; Stevens, Auction Catalogue, '61, 381; Sabin, No. 7480. It was reprinted in
Rev. Thomas Bray. His Life and S elected Works Relating to Maryland, edited by Bernard C. Steiner as Maryland
Historical Society Fund Publication No. 37. Balto. 1901, where it occupies pp. 99-122. In this publication also
was printed A Short Historical Account of the Life and Designs of Thomas Bray, D. D. late Vicar of St. Botolph's
Without Aldgate, [by the Rev. Richard Rawlinson], the first publication in its entirety of the Rawlinson Ms.
from which was chiefly taken the well known Public Spirit Illustrated in the Life and Designs of the Reverend
Thomas Bray, D. D. London. 1746. Second ed. 1808. There should be consulted also as to Dr. Bray's American
activities the following: "Rev. Thomas Bray and his American Libraries", by Bernard C. Steiner in the Amer-
ican Historical Review, 2: 59 et seq., and the History of the New York Society Library, by Austin Baxter Keep.
N. Y. 1908. Other printed sources are available, notably Perry, William Stevens. History of the American Epis-
copal Church. 2v. Bost. 1885, and the same author's Historical Collections Relating to the American Colonial
Church, v. 4 (Maryland).

See Plate II for a photographic reproduction of the title-page.

MdHS. NYPL. (Photostat copy).

6. [MARYLAND, PROVINCE OF. An Act for the Service of Almighty God and Establishment
of Religion in this Province According to the Church of England. Annapolis: Printed by
Thomas Reading. 1700.]

No copy recorded. Ordered printed and distributed, one to each parish, by resolution of Lower House. See
L. H. J. May 7, 1700, Archives of Maryland, 24: 67.

7. —[A Complete Body of the Laws of Maryland. Annapolis: Printed by Thomas Reading.

1700.]

Collation of unique and imperfect copy in Library of Congress is as follows:

Fol. 2 preliminary leaves, A-Z², Aa-Bb² and fragments of Cc-Ff², Gg¹, making a total of 61 leaves and parts of
leaves; pages [iii-vi], 1-118+; title-page lacking; p. [iii]: "To my Honoured and Ingenious Friend Mr. William
Bladen at the [Port] of Annapolis"; pp. [v-vi]: "The Index"; pp. 1-118: text of laws contained in "confirming"
act of 1700, together with laws passed at session of Apr. 26-May 9, 1700 (Archives of Maryland, v. 24); p. 119
when present, as Index shows, contained text also; p. 120: contents unknown.

Leaf measures: 13! x yf inches. Type page, p. 5: 278 x 145 mm.

In the foregoing narrative (Chapter Two) there is an extended discussion of this book. The supposedly unique
copy In the Library of Congress lacks its title-page, pages 49-62 are damaged and pages 101-120 exist only in
small fragments. This copy belonged at one time to John Bozman Kerr and has his notes.

1702

8. GREAT BRITAIN. Anne by the Grace of God of Great Brittain [sic] France & Ireland
Queen Defender of the Faith &c. To the Sheriff of County greeting. We com-| maud
[sic] you that you Summon that all Excuses set aside be and appear before the
I Justices of our Court to be held at the day of next to testify the
truth of knowledge in a certain \ matter of Controversy in our said Court depending

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