Bishop White's Own Copy
The Case of the Episcopal Churches in the United States Considered.
[White, William].
Philadelphia: David C. Claypoole, 1782.
Price:
$3,500.00
About the item
First edition. iv, [1], 6-35, [1] pp. Manuscript annotations attributed to the author. 8vo. Early 20th century half red morocco and marbled paper covered boards, minor wear, original blue wrappers bound in. Foxing to the upper wrapper and title. Provenance: Bishop William White (inscription); General Theological Seminary (perforated stamps, other markings). Evans 17802; ESTC W30224; Sabin 103461.
Item #378671
An important and rare work by Bishop William White, his first published work, in which he addresses the future of the church in the United States following the Revolution, i.e. a "church government that would contain the constituent princples of the church of England, and yet be independent of foreign jurisdiction or influence."
Richard G. Salomon refers to the work as "one of the basic documents for the history of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and significant also as a source for the
history of the relation of Church and State in this country. Conceived under the influence of Locke's political theories, it contains the first draft of the organization of the Church as it is today" (Salomon, Richard G., "William White's 'The Case of the Episcopal Churches in the United States' Considered” Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church 22, no. 4 (1953): 433–506)
An ink inscription on the front endpaper by General Theological Seminary librarian Edward H. Virgin (1876-1920) explains the attribution to the author: "This copy of Bp. White's Case of the Episcopal Churches I found in the stack of the Seminary Library in 1912, lying ununited with pamphlets previously inserted. It seemed to me that the title written on the cover [i.e. wrapper] was very like Bp. White's own hand ... & given the opportunity to compare exactly the hand I am convinced from the comparison that the inscription on the cover here is his and as well the ms. notes on pages 21 & 23..." Salomon in the above article reprints the work and includes the manuscript notes from this example.
Scarce, with no example in the auction records in the last quarter century.
