A Discourse Delivered Sabbath Morning, September 3, 1865, on Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Dedication of the Second Presbyterian Church, Albany

By
William B. Sprague, D.D.

Van BenThuysen's Steam Printing House
Albany, N.Y.
1865

Inscribed by William B. Sprague on the verso of the front wrapper: "Hon.: Asahel Huntington with the writer's kind regards"
41, [1] p.; 23.5 cm. (9.25 inches). Grey, stiffened paper wrappers with sewn text block. Inscribed by the author on the verso of the front wrapper as noted. Essex Institute embossed seal on titlepage and "card catalogue" stamped at bottom of the title page but crossed through. No other markings.
First Edition

"It is a law of the Divine administration that whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap; that is, that the consequences of every one's conduct shall, sooner or later, for good or evil, be visited upon himself. But this is quite consistent with another feature of the Divine economy, - namely, that each individual exerts an influence that reaches much beyond himself; - an influence that sometimes comprehends a wide range, and always survives the mortal life from which it proceeds" [opening lines of the discourse]
William Buell Sprague (1795-1876), born at Andover, Tolland County, Connecticut, was educated at Yale and Princeton Theological Seminary, and initially served as pastor at the West Springfield, Massachusetts, Congregational Church until 1829 when he received a call to become pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church of Albany, New York, where he remained for 40 years. He was a prolific author but is best known for his nine-volume Annals of the American Pulpit and his collection of more than 100,000 autographs. Presumably, he knew Huntington as a fellow alumnus from Yale and possibly from his years as a pastor in West Springfield.
Asahel Huntington (1798-1870) born in Massachusetts in 1798, was educated at Phillips Academy and, like Sprague, at Yale. He became a prominent Massachusetts officeholder, clerk of courts for Essex County from 1851 to 1870, 8th mayor of Salem from 1853 to 1854, member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1853, District Attorney for the District of Essex and Middlesex counties from 1830 to 1845, and a member of the Salem school board for about 9 years between 1827 and 1858.

As noted, embossed seal and handstamped "card catalogue" crossed out on the titlepage. Inscription by the author on the verso of the front wrapper; otherwise, pamphlet is in good plus Condition: pages are clean, tight, and unmarked; some scattered corner creasing; light vertical reading crease; spine worn at both ends; both wrappers chipped and soiled; front wrapper almost detached from the spine, but still holding.

Rare copy featuring inscription by the author to a notable political and legal figure.

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