View of the Hebrews ; exhibiting The Destruction of Jerusalem ; The Certain Restoration of Judah and Israel ; The Present State of Judah and Israel ; and An Address of the Prophet Isaiah Relative to their Restoration
Poultney, (Vt.): Smith & Shute 1823. First Edition. [iii]-vi, [5]-187 pages. 12mo (4 x 6 3/4 inches). Full leather binding with red spine label and simple gilt spine rules. Previous owner's name inked on front flyleaf. First two initials on second blank flyleaf, and all three initials inked at top of title page. Rear blank endpaper torn. First few pages loose. Light foxing and toning throughout. A nice copy. Very Good. Full leather. [24373]
"'View of the Hebrews' is an 1823 book written by Ethan Smith, a United States Congregationalist minister, who argued that Native Americans were descended from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. This was a relatively common view during the early nineteenth century, as most Europeans and Americans had a view of history as biblical. Numerous commentators on Mormon history, from LDS Church general authority B. H. Roberts to Fawn M. Brodie, biographer of Joseph Smith, have noted similarities in the content of 'View of the Hebrews' and the 'Book of Mormon', which was first published in 1830, seven years after Ethan Smith's book." (wikipedia)
First published in 1823, there is also a substantially enlarged 1825 edition. The 2011 Swann Galleries auction listing noted "No other copies of the first edition found at auction since 1918; [and] none of any edition known since 1983." While we're aware of at least one other auction, it is nonetheless scarce even though a few of each edition have appeared in recent years in the trade as the search for rarities intensifies.
A nice addition to any collection related to American Indian or Mormon history.
Pilling 3655, Sabin 82538.
ITEM SOLD