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Financing the Publication of Early New England Sermons
by
Rollo G. Silver
ESPECIALLY IN NEW ENGLAND, THE PRINTED SERMON of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries served other purposes aside from the theological. While it was primarily a lecture on moral conduct, it also marked important political occasions, memorialized the dead, and sometimes functioned as a newspaper in reporting and editorializing on current events. As Holmes points out, the first generation of Massachusetts preachers sermonized on church doctrine, polity, and homiletics, but in the second generation the preachers "began to point their morals and to illustrate their sermons with the news of temporal occurrences and events; and even to adopt the more impressive of occasional events as topics for their sermons."[1] Thus our early sermons added the spice of immediate excitement such as hangings, earthquakes, ship explosions, and elections to their routine theological subject matter—what is Right or Wrong, Good or Bad, and the Ways of God to Man.
Sales varied according to the interest a sermon aroused: Cotton Mather's sermon on the earthquake of 1727 achieved three editions and Thomas Prince's sermon on the same catastrophe had two editions; but a sermon on the death of a parishioner, or a homily on the public spirit that should be evoked on Election Day attracted few readers, too few, in fact, for publishing at a profit. When such sermons appeared—and they were numerous—their expenses were underwritten by a relative, friends, or a corporate body. Between the best sellers and the worst, there was yet another type that could be marketed with fair prospect of small gain to the publisher who, at times, was the author himself.
Here in our early history is a microcosm of present-day publishing—
Unfortunately, it is not always possible to determine the financial sponsor by looking at the imprint. Books printed "for John Usher" were not always sponsored by him.[2] Nor were all books printed "upon Assignment of Samuel Sewall" printed at Sewall's expense.[3] Additional information lies in the diaries, memoirs, public documents, archives, and occasionally on the title-page of the publication itself.
When Lindsay Swift prepared his comprehensive survey of Massachusetts Election Sermons, he turned to public documents and found, for example, that when Richard Mather delivered his Election Sermon in 1644, the General Court voted that "the printer shall have leave to print the election sermon, wth Mr Mathers consent, & the artillery sermon, wth Mr Nortons consent."[4] Whether or not this permission implies a censorship is not germane; it is clear that the General Court did not plan to pay for printing the Election Sermon and, as a matter of fact, it probably never reached print. Five years later, Thomas Cobbett, who delivered the Election Sermon, was told by the Court that "it is their desire he would print it heere or elsuhere" (Swift, p. 395). As no copy has survived, it is presumed that this, too, did not find a printer. Not until the 1660's were Massachusetts Election Sermons printed, and then at private expense even though the preacher was requested to prepare a copy for the press. In 1668, this request was made of William Stoughton, but when the sermon was printed two years later, the Advertisement mentioned a "Person of Worth" who adventured the publishing (Swift, p. 399). The New Plymouth Colony, on the other hand, voted to print Thomas Walley's Election Sermon of 1669.[5] Still Massachusetts continued its policy of making no provision for printing or honorarium and it was not until the middle of the next decade that the policy of the General Court began to change. On May 27, 1674, it ordered "that the Reuerend Mr. Samuel Torrey & Mr. Joshua Moody be thanked from this Court for the great & very acceptable pajnes which they tooke in their late election sermons, and that they be desired to print their sajd sermons wth as much
Perhaps the best-known private organization which maintained the custom of Election Sermons is the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. Although most of its early records were lost in the fire of 1761, two volumes still exist in Faneuil Hall.[8] Examinations of these records reveals that in 1737, if not before, the Company paid for the printing of its Election Sermon. Two years later, the Company not only voted to print the sermon of 1739, but also to present the Governor and every member of the General Assembly with a copy and to present every member of the Company with two copies. A similar measure was passed the following year. According to the records, many of the Election Sermons after 1741 were printed by subscription, but even in such instances the Company seems to have been financially responsible. On September 5, 1763, it voted that "the Clerk settle with Messr. Edes & Gill for the last Artillery Election Sermon which was preach'd by the Revd. Mr. Thos. Balch & pay them for the Remainder of the 300 sermons that were not subscribed for & also that the Clerk sell them to any of the Company at eight pence each." While maintaining
If any generalization may be derived from these scattered data, it is that printing of Election Sermons with public or organizational funds was not a purely automatic process. It developed over a period of forty years and even when established depended upon approval of text, preparation of the manuscript, and financial resources. Since copies of the sermons were allotted rather than sold, circulation, if not reading, was assured.
Another class of sermons, those discussing contemporary events or those on non-resistance to sin and the damnation that was inexorable could be profitably marketed by bookseller-publishers astute enough to assume the financing. When James Morgan was executed for murder in 1686, John Dunton, who had just arrived in Boston, was quick to seize the opportunity of publishing Increase Mather's sermon on the occasion. Issued in partnership with Joseph Brunning, the pamphlet went into a second edition the following year. The success of such ventures encouraged printers and publishers to engage in enterprises which were based upon enthusiasm rather than editorial skill—an occupational hazard of the publishing industry. Isaiah Thomas, writing about Timothy Green, said, "It has been said of him, that whenever he heard a sermon which he highly approved, he would solicit a copy from the author, and print it for his own sales. This honest zeal in the cause of religion often proved injurious to his interest. Large quantities of these sermons lay on hand as dead stock; and, after his decease, they were put into baskets, appraised by the bushel, and sold under the value of common waste paper."[9] It is probable that some members of the book trade placed shorthand writers in the audience when an unusually promising sermon was about to be delivered. Increase Mather, in The Righteous Man a Blessing (1702), wrote: "These Sermons were Preached at the Lecture in Boston. Having been informed that many who live in the Country, as well as in this Town, have
But for memorial sermons honoring the lesser-known dead subsidizing was usually necessary. As early as 1660, according to Winship, the memory of a deceased pastor was honored by printing his last sermon or two. Winship also points out that "It was customary long afterward for such a publication to be seen to the press by a committee representing the parish, and for one member to dominate its action and often to pay the bill" (Winship, p. 261). The pastor's final sermon was not the only way of honoring his memory; instead, his funeral sermon at times served the purpose. In 1717, for instance, the people of Salem Village published Joseph Capen's funeral sermon on their deceased pastor, Joseph Green (Holmes IM, II, 583). This custom of paying for the printing of a funeral sermon prevailed as well in the more prosperous families. A typical bill, written in 1748, still exists:
per Saml. Kneeland[10]
The works of Cotton Mather, that passionate pamphleteer, afford the best conspectus of the many methods of financing sermon publication. Mather, of course, considered the printed sermon a most important part of his evangelical work. Mere publication did not satisfy him; he worked ardently to circulate his theories of the struggle between temptation and conscience. Referring to one of his sermons, he declared in his diary that "the Sermon will be an agreeable Engine for me to employ on many Occasions, when Books of Piety are to be dispensed."[13] On days of his pastoral visits, he usually gave away a half a dozen books (CM Diary, I, 518); he also placed them on outgoing vessels (CM Diary, II, 14). In 1705/6, he stated that he gave away at least six hundred books a year (CM Diary, I, 548). For one book, Family Religion, Mather ordered a thousand copies. He tied them into bundles and "concerted with some of my Friends a way to convey a Bundle to every Town in all these Colonies, and unto some other Places."[14] To make certain of sufficient material always at hand, he employed a variety of devices to secure publication.
References in Mather's diary imply that some of the more popular sermons were issued at the financial risk of the bookseller-publishers. When John Baily died in 1697, Mather preached on the day of the funeral: A Good Man Making A Good End. In his diary, Mather
Occasionally Mather would even publish a volume at his own expense. After his son Increase was lost at sea, Mather wrote: "I took the Sermon I preached on that Occasion, adding to it another that is agreeable; and with a considerable Expence enabled the Bookseller to publish them" (CM Diary, II, 776). But it must be noted that the book finally appeared in an expanded form: "While it was, in the Press (which also was in this Month) a strange Hand of Providence made such an Accession from others, to my own Disbursements, that I could add a third Sermon, to the Book, wherein I may yett more notably serve the Designs of Piety" (CM Diary, II, 776-777).
The resources used by Mather to publish his sermons extended far beyond his own limits; an impressive number were underwritten by individuals and groups. Since the list of these is greater than realized, examples are presented in Table I. Examining it, one can see the extreme diversity of sponsors as well as the varieties of sponsorship which range from contribution of paper to payment for the entire edition. Such aid did not always come unsolicited; extant documents prove that Mather at times aggressively promoted publication. Writing to John Winthrop after he spoke at the funeral of Winthrop's uncle, he asked for publication of the sermon: "I confess freely to you, That, contrary to my usual conduct on such Occasions, (which is, To stay till such a thing be Desired by others,) I have myself Desired, and I do again Request, the publication of it."[15] In 1712, he even prepared the draft of a letter which he asked Samuel Penhallow to write to Thomas Archer seeking "a generous Tender of three or four pounds" towards the printing of Pastoral Desires (CM Diary, II, 170). After two friends had offered to pay part of the cost of The Minister, Mather wrote to Thomas Prince: "If now I can gett the Assistence of but 50s or 3d subscribed, I can, I suppose gett thro' the rest of the Expence which the Desired Publication may call for. Wherefore, I will be so rude, as to leave it with you, to Consult with our dear Cooper and Foxcroft" (CM Diary, II, 684).
This rather particular investigation of one man's extraordinary efforts to publish his sermons may be atypical but it does confirm the
Many sermons of this period carry phrases like "Published by request" on the title-pages. These words are no more meaningful than "by popular demand" today. Nevertheless, in many cases it is possible to ascertain that the audience actually did, for one reason or another, subsidize publication. As early as 1682, some members of the Second Church paid for Increase Mather's Practical Truths; [16] twenty-five years later, some hearers contributed towards the printing of his Meditations on Death (Holmes IM, I, 329). As shown in Table I, Cotton Mather's parishioners were sometimes equally generous, but their generosity was not limited to their own preacher. When James Pierpont of New Haven occupied Cotton Mather's pulpit in 1711, some of the listeners published Pierpont's sermon (Holmes CM, II, 835). To cite one more example, Increase Mather's preface to A Monitor for Delaying Sinners (1719) by Thomas Symmes states that "His Auditors were so affected with it, as to importune him to grant them a Copy of his Discourse in order to its [sic] Publication by the Press" (Holmes IM, II, 443). During the eighteenth century, evidence of this kind occasionally appears on the title-page in phrases like "Published at the desire and expence of some of the hearers" or "Published at the desire and expence of said society." Churches, conventions, and societies often paid for the publication of sermons, particularly those for ordinations, anniversaries, and other commemorative events. Writing to Ezra Stiles about the sermon at a convention in 1767, John Devotion succintly described the procedure: "Our first Business was to thank him in Convention & ask a Copy, and Money was subscribed and paid in Hand."[17] But, in addition to these official publications, the members of a church or society were willing to subscribe for particularly soul-stirring ones. Now and then, an individual paid the entire cost: Increase Mather's A Call to the Tempted was printed posthumously in 1723/4 at the expense of Samuel Sewall (Holmes IM, I, 98); Nathaniel Appleton's Thanksgiving sermon on the repeal of the Stamp Act was published in 1766 "by the desire of the audience, and at the expence of the honorable Brigadier General Brattle;"[18] Cotton Mather's The Everlasting Gospel was
While discussing sermons as staple issues of the colonial press, Wroth mentions that "the printing of sermons as a private enterprise by the preachers themselves assumed in New England the proportions of a trade."[19] The minister, establishing the probable sale by circulation of subscription papers, negotiated with the printers for terms of mutual benefit. If the minister happened to reside at a distance from the printer, a colleague might negotiate for him. Charles Chauncy did this for Ezra Stiles in 1761. Writing to Stiles from Boston, Chauncy reported: "I have put your Sermon [A Discourse on the Christian Union] into the hands of Edes and Gill. They have engaged to deliver to you 300 copies well printed upon good paper for 75 Dollars. Draper would not do it under 80."[20] Chauncy, by the way, ordered an extra two hundred copies for distribution in Connecticut. When Stiles visited Boston five years later, Edes & Gill told him that "they printed between Seven & Eight Hundred Copies of my Sermon, sold them & had none left—& said they made more by it than was ever made in Boston by one Sermon, and would readily now print a new Edition if any body would engage 200 Copies."[21] David McClure, in 1779, performed a similar service for Jeremy Belknap:
When the Society for Propagating the Gospel Among the Indians reprinted sermons by Belknap and Thomas Tayler, it was Belknap who arranged matters with the printer. Fortunately, the manuscript of the contract has been preserved:
If more contracts had survived, it might have been possible to determine the material rewards which accrued to the authors of these pamphlets. Though the publication of sermons was, at times, a trade, the process was probably not very lucrative for the American preacher of the eighteenth century. As late as 1791, William Bentley was surprised to learn that fifteen hundred copies of John Murray's sermon on Blind Prince were engaged—"our best sermons commonly rise no higher than 400 at an impression" (Bentley, I, 251). This, of course, is a number much too small to yield much money. As for official or organizational sermons, author's copies might or might not be provided.
By these economics, the New England colonist was supplied with much of his reading matter. Perhaps the most striking conclusion to be drawn from an investigation such as this is that, with one qualification, the procedures for financing the publication of sermons in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries survive in America today. In the last century, Edward Everett Hale conducted his own publishing firm for the sale of his sermons,[28] but, of course, few ministers publish their own sermons today. However, the parallel still holds, for memorial volumes are still issued by the family of the departed, churches still
| Holmes | Title | Year | Sponsor |
| Number | |||
| 359 | Small Offers | 1689 | John Philips (Holmes CM, III, 988) |
| 456 | Work Upon the Ark | 1689 | Mr. Gill and others (Holmes CM, III, 1274) |
| 80 | The Day | 1693 | "God inclined some of His People, to print the Sermons" (CM Diary, I, 166) |
| 159 | Grace Triumphant | 1700 | Some of the hearers (CM Diary, I, 363) |
| 462 | The Young Mans Monitor | 1700 | "the young Men, were so moved with what they heard, that they ask'd me for a Copy of my Sermon, resolving to publish it" (CM Diary, I, 370) |
| 68 | A Companion for the Afflicted | 1701 | "Having entertained a Company of Christians, at a private Meeting, with a Discourse, which the Master of the Family thought agreeable; he desired a Copy of it" (CM Diary, I, 395) |
| 152 | The Good Linguist | 1701 | "one in Barmudaz . . . had sent Money to pay for the Impression" (CM Diary, I, 348) |
| 410 | Triumphs over Troubles | 1701 | "by some good People carried unto the Press" (CM Diary, I, 379) |
| 9 | Agreeable Admonitions | 1703 | The young men of a private meeting before whom the sermon was preached (Holmes CM, I, 29) |
| 187 | Jedidiah | 1703 | "The young Men desired a Copy of the Sermon, that it might be published" (CM Diary, I, 500) |
| 330 | The Retired Christian | 1703 | "after the Lecture, being with a Society of Christians, they unanimously asked me for the Notes of my Sermon, and agreed that they would be at the Charge of publishing and dispersing of it thro' the Countrey" (CM Diary, I, 475-476) |
| 18 | The Armour of Christianity | 1704 | Paper supplied by Eliakim Hutchinson (CM Diary, I, 499) |
| 406 | A Tree Planted by the Rivers of Water | 1704 | "ten peeces of Eight, from a worthy man, as far off as Rhode Island . . . to forward the Impression of it" (CM Diary, I, 503) |
| 222 | Mare Pacificum | 1705 | "my Notes were immediately desired of me, by those, who carried them unto the Bookseller" (CM Diary, I, 524) |
| 337 | The Rules of a Visit | 1705 | "the Publication of it, was, by a considerable Number of good Men proposed" (CM Diary, I, 522) |
| 53 | The Christian Temple | 1706 | John Winthrop may have been the "worthy Person more than fifty miles to the South-ward" who contributed a good part of the charge (Holmes CM, I, 140) |
| 136 | Free-Grace, Maintained | 1706 | Edward Bromfield (CM Diary, I, 558) |
| 169 | Heavenly Considerations | 1706 | "The Discourse was desired by the young People, who published it" (CM Diary, I, 567) |
| 28 | The Best Ornaments of Youth | 1707 | "A SERMON Published by a Religious SOCIETY of Young People, that were the Hearers of it" (Title-page) |
| 452 | Winthropi Justa | 1708 | John Winthrop (Holmes CM, III, 1229) |
| 382 | The Temple Opening | 1709 | "Now Published by that Church" (Title-page) |
| 457 | Work Within-Doors | 1709 | "devout Hearers . . . offered the Expence of the Impression" (CM Diary, II, 13) |
| 55 | Christianity Demonstrated | 1710 | "Published by and for a Religious Society of YOUNG MEN" (Preface) |
| 250 | Nehemiah | 1710 | Samuel Sewall (Holmes CM, II, 724) |
| 389 | Theopolis Americana | 1710 | Samuel Sewall (Holmes CM, III, 1066) |
| 21 | Awakening Thoughts | 1712 | Husband and friends of the deceased (Holmes CM, I, 63) |
| 29 | The Best Way of Living | 1713 | "the PUBLISHER had his Family also Struck with a SUDDEN DEATH" (Titlepage) |
| 446 | What Should be . . . Tho't Upon | 1713 | "Some of my Neighbours" (CM Diary, II, 241) |
| 160 | The Grand Point of Solicitude | 1715 | "One of the Hearers" (Title-page) |
| 282 | Piety Demanded | 1716 | "some young Men associated for the Purposes of Religion" (CM Diary, II, 361) |
| 328 | The Resort of Piety | 1716 | "A Society of young Men" (CM Diary, II, 341-342) |
| 13 | Anastasius | 1717 | "The Husband of the Deceased" (CM Diary, II, 471) |
| 45 | The Case of a Troubled Mind | 1717 | "the Publication of it was by some desired: but very particularly by one who was willing to make a little Reparation for some Drowsiness which overtook him in the Hearing" (CM Diary, II, 439) |
| 166 | Hades Look'd Into | 1717 | "the only Son of the Deceased" (CM Diary, II, 488) |
| 281 | Piety and Equity, United | 1717 | "A Society of young Men" (CM Diary, II, 479) |
| 317 | Raphael | 1717 | "some young Gentlemen" (CM Diary, II, 504) |
| 420 | The Valley of Baca | 1717 | Samuel Sewall, husband of the deceased (Holmes CM, III, 1156) |
| 408 | The Tribe of Asher | 1717 | "The Father of that Child" who was baptized (CM Diary, II, 472) |
| 468 | Zelotes | 1717 | "a Number . . . of the new Meeting-house . . . in the Name of the rest" (CM Diary, II, 394) |
| 218 | A Man of Reason | 1718 | "a religious Society of young men" (CM Diary, II, 541) |
| 221 | Marah Spoken to | 1718 | A number of "WIDOWS of the Flock" (CM Diary, II, 516) |
| 422 | Vanishing Things | 1718 | The son of the deceased (CM Diary, II, 561) |
| 254 | A New Year Well-begun | 1719 | John Winthrop (Holmes CM, II, 737) |
| 182 | India Christiana | 1721 | The Commissioners for Propagating the Gospel Among the Indians (CM Diary, II, 604) |
| 432 | A Vision in the Temple | 1721 | "The People publish the Sermon" (CM Diary, II, 622) |
| 86 | Decus ac Tutamen | 1724 | "his Widow at New-London, who immediately published it" (CM Diary, II, 771) |
| 381 | Tela Prœvisa | 1724 | "one of the Hearers" (CM Diary, II, 771) |
| 448 | The Widow of Naim | 1728 | Mrs. Dorothy Frizzel (Holmes CM, III, 1219) |
Notes
Thomas J. Holmes, Increase Mather. A Bibliography of his Works (1931), hereinafter cited as Holmes IM, II, 580.
Increase Mather, Practical Truths Tending to Promote the Power of Godliness (Boston, 1682), p. [vii].
Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England (1854), V, 7.
Grateful acknowledgement is made to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company and to Brigadier General Fred E. Pereira for permission to search the records.
The writer wishes to thank the Massachusetts Historical Society for permission to print this document. The aid of Dr. Stephen T. Riley, the Librarian, is also gratefully acknowledged.
Diary of Cotton Mather, Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., 7th Ser., Vols. VII and VIII (1911-12), hereinafter cited as CM Diary, II, 241.
Thomas J. Holmes, Cotton Mather. A Bibliography of his Works (1940), hereinafter cited as Holmes CM, I, 375.
Extracts from the Itineraries and other Miscellanies of Ezra Stiles, D.D., LL.D. (New Haven, 1916), p. 466.
Nathaniel Appleton, A Thanksgiving Sermon on the Total Repeal of the Stamp-Act (Boston, 1766), title-page.
The writer wishes to thank the Massachusetts Historical Society for permission to print this document.
Rollo G. Silver, "Publishing in Boston, 1726-1757: The Accounts of Daniel Henchman," Proc. Am. Ant. Soc., LXVI (1956), 19.
Belknap Papers, 5th Ser., II (1877), 434. See a letter from John Eliot to Jeremy Belknap, Sept. 30, 1782: "You asked me for one of my sermons. I have not one, even for myself. My brother must go home without them. I had only six, wch I gave away under the promise of more, but few were printed." (Ibid., 6th Ser., IV (1891), 237).
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