Description

Tall 8°. [1] title page, 16 pp. letterpress, originally bound with a white string, dedication from the author in black ink on the top of the title page (Very Good, soft horizontal folds, very light foxing on the title page, contemporary tiny staple holes in white margins).

A rare pamphlet with a sermon preached at the Nestorian Mission in Urumia, Iran, on January 21, 1838, on the children of the missionaries, was written by Rev. Justin Perkins (1805-1869) in Persia and printed in Boston in the same year. This example had a manuscript dedication of Perkins on the title page.

Justin Perkins, called “an apostle to Persia” was an American missionary and the first American citizen to reside in Iran. In 1835, he founded a mission in Urumia, a city in the north part of Iran, where the Christian minority lived under a strong influence of the Muslims with poor contact with other Christians. In Urumia Perkins learned the modern Syriac language, which he eventually applied to his works, and founded a press.

This is an early printed sermon from the American Christian mission, made only three years after its foundation. The subject of children of missionaries was very close to Perkins, as six of his young children died in Iran and he dedicated some of his works to them. This example was dedicated to Rev Thomas E. Vermilye by Perkins.

The pamphlet is very rare. We could only find two institutional copies on Worldcat (Amherst College Library and Wheaton College).

References: OCLC 78056384.