Item #19428 Antiquities of America Explained. Judaica, Ira Hill, Mormon.

Antiquities of America Explained.

Hagers-Town [Hagerstown]: Printed by William D. Bell, 1831. First edition. 12mo, original tree roan professionally rebacked with brown Fabrikoid cloth, new endpapers, and the hinges reinforced with library cloth tape, 131, [1] pages. Fragile roan somewhat rubbed; some scattered foxing; a good, sound copy. Item #19428

Hill relies on petroglyphs and other evidence to argue that the Native Americans are descended from the Jews. Hill here joins the queue of those who had made similar arguments; Rafinesque makes an explicit connection in the columns of his Atlantic Journal (Autumn, 1832) between Hill and his Antiquities Explained, and the recently published Book of Mormon: "This opinion based upon some religious prejudices and slight acquaintance with philology and antiquities, has been entertained by Penn, Adair, Boudinot, and several other superficial writers, among which Ira Hill, author of a late work, Antiquities of America, Explained. Hagerstown, Maryland, 1831. It is to me astonishing how in this enlightened age, any such unfounded belief can be sustained; if greater absurdities still did not prevail as yet among a few. Two recent instances of egregious folly based upon this singular tenet, have induced me to republish my letter of 1829, which if read by those laboring under this delusion cannot fail to shake their belief. A new Religion or sect has been founded upon this belief! the Mormonites, thus called after a new Alcoran, or Book of Mormon, (which is not a Jewish name.) Supposed to be written in gold letters more than 2000 years ago by Mormon leader of the American Jews. This Book which no one has seen nor read but the founder of the sect, the probable writer thereof, has been made the Bible of a new sect. I have tried in vain to procure a copy of the translation, wherein I could certainly detect a crowd of absurdities and incongruities. Meantime a Sect of Fanatics has arisen therefrom, and wandered from New York to Ohio and Missouri." Howes H-482; Sabin 31828. Somewhat clumsy later repair with a strip of paper to the blank verso across the tenth leaf of a five-inch tear, with a little darkening to the text from the glue.

Price: $400.00

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