$2,400
Hale, John (1636-1700) A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft . Boston: Printed and sold by Kneeland and Adams, 1771. Octavo in fours, second edition, 158 pages, lacking the final blank, U4; bottom portion of title, with imprint, trimmed away and replaced with a photostatic facsimile, untrimmed throughout, title page faded, toning and spotting to contents, rebound in half red morocco and buckram boards, rubbed. The "Epistle to the Reader" is rather chilling, as it was written in March of 1697/8 by John Higginson, pastor of the church in Salem. This critique of the Salem trials, first published posthumously in 1702, is a detailed and thoughtful refutation of the modes and methods of that disastrous escapade.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2012-11-18
