Spotlight Item: Sixty Sermons on Various Subjects

Sixty Sermons on Various Subjects was written by Jonathan Parsons. It was published in 1779 and printed by John McCall. The full title notes than Parsons was the minister of the Presbyterian congregation in the town of Newbury-Port, Massachusetts.

The sermons found in this volume are “Evidences of Regeneration,” “Application,” “Of the Unchangeableness of God,” and “The Beatific Vision.” This is a second volume of a two volume set. Unfortunately, we do not have the first volume. Rather unusually, what makes this book of particular interest to patrons is not its content. Instead, the defining feature of this particular copy held by Special Collections and Archives is that it is still in its original paper wrappers.

Today when people walk into a bookstore, they see shelves of brightly colored spine labels with the title and author’s name prominently displayed. However, this was not always the case. Before the early 19th century, the text block of a book and its cover were produced and purchased separately. Stepping into a bookshop, a customer would see shelves of text blocks stacked on top of one another, and wrapped in blue paper. After purchasing a book, the text block would be taken to a binder where a cover would be created depending on a variety of specifications usually involving expense desired, including cover material and decoration.

Most books were given a cover, not only to protect the text block, but because a beautifully crafted cover was a symbol of wealth and status. The fact that a cover was never created for this particular copy of Sixty Sermons on Various Subjects allows patrons to see first-hand a part of the history of book printing and binding.

We encourage anyone with an interest in book history and printing to drop by Special Collections and look at our holdings. Special Collections and Archives is open to the public 1:30-5:00pm Monday through Friday and mornings by appointment.