Page 14 - Swann Galleries - Printed & Manuscript African Americana- Sale 2308 - March 21, 2013

4 ● (SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.) [BACON, REVEREND THOMAS.] Two
Sermons Preached to a Congregation of Black Slaves at the Parish Church of
S.P in the Province of Maryland. By an American Pastor. 71, [i] pages. 12mo, later
marbled wrappers with printed label on the upper cover; paper toned; a couple of leaves
closely cropped but with no loss of text. London: Rivington, 1782 [2,500/3,500]
SECOND EDITION. AN ITEM OF THE UTMOST RARITY, OF WHICH ONLY FOUR COPIES
ARE KNOWN IN ADDITION TO THE PRESENT ONE. Only one has been at auction of this or
the 1749 edition in the last 30 years of recorded sales.
The Reverend Thomas Bacon (1711-1768), one of colonial Maryland’s most prolific authors, is
remembered today primarily for his sermons on charity schools and the education of slaves, and
for his compilation Laws of Maryland At Large ... (1765). In his own day he was also known
as a poet of modest abilities and an outstanding musician. Other than the fact that he was raised
in Ireland (perhaps Dublin, where his brother, Anthony Bacon, M.P., attended Trinity College),
little is known about Bacon’s early life. Following in his brother’s footsteps, the Reverend
Thomas Bacon sailed to America in June 1745 and shortly thereafter was appointed rector of
St. Peter’s, Talbot County, by the governor of Maryland. Here he was struck by the wretched
condition of the slaves and wrote two important works directly dealing with them. The first is the
present work which Bacon wrote soon after his arrival in Maryland, and sent to London for pub-
lication in 1749. The second work was directed at the slave owners themselves and is titled Four
Sermons, Upon the Great and Indispensible Duty of All Christian Masters and Mistresses to
Bring Up Their Negro Slaves in the Knowledge and Fear of God (1750). This too was sent to
London for publication.. There are no American printings of either of these works. Clearly Bacon
knew his that while his sermons might be tolerated, published versions would not be welcome
among his congregation that included the slaveholders of Talbot County.
4 6