1747 Boston History of the Martyrs Epitomised Thomas Mall Rare Puritan Colonial For Sale

1747 Boston Printing: The History of the Martyrs Epitomised (Volume 1) by Thomas Mall.
CATALOGING & IDENTIFICATION TRANSPARENCYThe title page and first leaf of this volume are missing. In an effort at accuracy for antiquarian book collectors, advanced AI visual analysis and historical text-matching were used to identify the work\'s title, author, and print year.
Forensic Identification Process:- **Preliminary Leaf Check:** The volume retains its rare, distinct sequence of introductory prefaces. It includes \"Mr. Flavel\'s Preface\" (John Flavel) and \"A Brief Account...\" by Samuel Lee.- **The New-England Clue:** The text explicitly notes on the second preface page: *“The Writer of this Preface is supposed to be the late Rev. and Learned Mr. Samuel Lee, once Minister of Bristol in New-England.”* This regional note is unique to the colonial printing history of this specific text.- **Text & Pagination Matching:** The main text opens on page 1 with the entry for \"Adrian\" and concludes cleanly on page 267 with \"Lucius\" and the printed terminal line: *\"The END of the First VOLUME.\"*
Through this combination of front-matter text markers, typography, and page counts, this book is presumed to be Volume 1 of Thomas Mall\'s \"The History of the Martyrs Epitomised: A Cloud of Witnesses,\" printed in Boston, New England, by Rogers and Fowle in 1747.**
ITEM SPECIFICS & COLLATION REPORT- **Author:** Thomas Mall (with prefaces by John Flavel and Samuel Lee)- **Title:** The History of the Martyrs Epitomised: A Cloud of Witnesses (Volume 1)- **Imprint:** Boston, New England: Printed and Sold by Rogers and Fowle, 1747.- **Format:** Octavo (8vo), approximately 8.25\" x 5.5\".- **Title Page:** Missing.- **Front Matter:** Complete prefatory sequence is intact. Includes Mr. Flavel\'s Preface (starts at Sig. A2), Samuel Lee\'s \"Brief Account\", the Frith testimonial, the Author\'s Preface, and \"The Book\'s Poetical Prologue.\"- **Main Text:** 100% COMPLETE. Runs continuously from Page 1 through Page 267 (\"The END of the First VOLUME\").- **Back Matter:** Includes the original printed index (\"Names of the Martyrs and Sufferers\"), which is heavily chipped/worn at the margins but remains physically attached to the binding.- **Provenance / Markings:** Early hand-written ownership inscription \"Henrietta E. [?}\" is visible on the first preface page.
CONDITION REPORT:Bound in its original or contemporary mid-18th-century full brown leather (calf). As a heavily handled colonial text, it shows significant age-related wear. The leather binding displays heavy rubbing, scuffing, rounded corners, and splitting/chipping/loss along the spine. Internal pages display typical colonial rag paper toning, scattered foxing, light damp staining, and chipping to the outer margins of the index. The text block remains stable, and all pages from the Flavel preface through the final index sheet remain physically attached to the binding. Please review all photos carefully to assess overall condition.
Overview of Author and Contributors:This 1747 edition brings together three of the most influential and fiercely dedicated Puritan and Nonconformist figures of the 17th century:
* **Thomas Mall, M.A. (The Author):** Mall was an English Congregationalist minister and graduate of Pembroke College, Cambridge. Following the restoration of King Charles II, he was famously stripped of his pulpit at Exeter Cathedral under the **Act of Uniformity in 1662** for refusing to conform to the Church of England. He spent his later years writing to preserve the histories of Christian martyrs.* **John Flavel (Preface Writer):** One of the most widely read and beloved Puritan devotional writers in history. Like Mall, Flavel was an ejected minister in 1662 who preached illegally in secret conventicles, occasionally escaping authorities by fleeing on horseback or hiding in disguise. His prefaces were highly sought after to validate important religious works.* **Samuel Lee (New England Preface Writer):** Regarded by his contemporaries as one of the most learned men of his generation, Lee was an Oxford-educated minister. He migrated to America in 1686 and became the minister of **Bristol, New England** (now Rhode Island). His inclusion in this front matter is what anchors this specific 1747 volume deeply into the fabric of early American colonial history.