Discipline of the Yearly Meeting of Friends, Held in Baltimore. Printed by Direction of the Meeting Held in the Year 1806.
Baltimore: Printed by John Hewes, [1807]. First edtion. 12mo, original dark calf with discreet blind-rolled edges and boards, blind-ruled spine, 125 pages. Somewhat bumped and a little rubbed; some light staining and foxing throughout; a good, sound copy. Item #16284
The Baltimore Yearly Meeting had formed in 1790 out of the Yearly Meeting for Maryland, with Friends in northern Virginia, western Maryland, and parts of western Pennsylvania (and eventually monthly meetings in Ohio, before the Ohio Yearly Meeting was formed in 1812) falling under the care of the Baltimore Yearly Meeting. The testimony of Friends against slavery that grew out of the labors of John Woolman are formally represented in the Discipline here under the heading "Negroes and Slaves," which makes clear the Quaker stance on the questions of emancipation and slave labor: "If any in membership with us, should hire slaves to assist them in their business, it is the judgment of the Yearly Meeting, that in so doing, such promote the unrighteous traffic, and oppose our testimony against slavery. And where the cannot be prevailed upon to desist therefrom, Monthly Meetings are at liberty to declare their disunity with them." (Friends are also cautioned against acting as executors or administering estates that include slaves.) With most southern meetings driven out by their anti-slavery testimony, the Baltimore Yearly Meeting was one of the more vital Quaker presences in a slaveholding states. With much expected additional information on the practice of the peace testimony, oaths, gaming, trade, etc. Early pencil ownership signature in the rear, "Joseph N. Kirk His Book," and an early ink inscription to the front blank, "Belonging to York [Penna.] Monthly Meeting."
Price: $125.00