“Among Quaker Women Of Her Day, Hume Had An Extraordinary Knowledge Of The Arts, Literature And Theology”: Rare First Edition Of Hume’s Exhortation, Philadelphia, 1747, In Contemporary Calf 31. HUME, Sophia. An Exhortation to the Inhabitants Of the Province of South-Carolina. Philadelphia, 1747. Octavo, contemporary brown calf rebacked with original spine laid down, custom clamshell box. $12,500. Click for more info Very rare first edition of this pioneering and electrifying work by Quaker minister Sophia Hume, famed across England and America for her eloquence, printed with the aid of Philadelphia Quakers and issued by the publishing house of William Bradford, scarce in contemporary calf. Sophia Hume, born in South Carolina, was a descendant of Mary Fisher, one of the first Quakers to preach in New England. Raised Anglican, Hume moved to England where she joined the Society of Friends. “Like many other women converted during the Great Awakening around 1740, she was accused of ‘Delusion’ and ‘religious Madness.’ But despite the disapproval of her children and former friends, she traveled extensively for more than 30 years, writing and preaching both in England and the colonies” (Moynihan et al., Second to None). “Women’s participation in the ministry, traditionally a masculine prerogative, sprang from Quaker belief in both genders’ capacity to be guided by the Holy Spirit in inspired preaching” (Larson, 4). Hume returned home to Charleston where, “to spread her message further, she wrote The Exhortation… and, to get it printed quickly, took the manuscript to Philadelphia” (Boyer, 234). In 1747, “the Meeting of the Society of Friends in Philadelphia promoted a subscription ‘for defraying the charges of printing our frd Sophia Hume’s book’” (Miller 445). With 14-stanza “Divine Love Commemorated” at rear. Sabin 33780. Early owner ink signatures. Some foxing and minor embrowning to text, contemporary calf covers nicely restored. An extremely good copy. February 2022 – 33 – Bauman Rare Books
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