270

John Cotton (1584-1652)

A Practicall Commentary or an Exposition with Observations, Reasons, and Uses upon the First Epistle Generall of John.

London: Printed by M[ary] S[immons] for Thomas Parkhurst, 1658.
Folio, second edition (first published in 1656), bound in full contemporary English sheep, rebacked with new label (loss to corners, boards peeling); endleaves of printer's waste (see note below); some browning to contents due to chemical makeup of paper; uncommon at auction; 10 3/4 x 7 in.

Wing C-6452; ESTC R5113.

Interesting contemporary printer's waste is used as pastedowns and flyleaves in this volume. In the back, a bifolium from William Pynchon's quarto-format The Meritorious Price of Mans Redemption, London: R.I. for Thom. Newberry, 1655, consisting of pages 169/170 and 175/176 is used as the pastedown [Wing P-4310; ESTC R6346]. In the front, printed birth records for the Baber family of Somerset England are used as pastedown and flyleaf, beginning with the birth of John Baber in 1649 and continuing through the births of his siblings Jane, James, Joane and Joshua. The latest entry records Joshua's death in 1658.

Cotton immigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1633. A charismatic preacher, he operated from Boston and was involved in the religious persecution of Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson neither of whom were big fans of his Puritanical views. As a church leader, he was one of the original founders (perhaps the most important) of Congregationalism, as he gave the church its very name.

  • Condition: A5 (A1: Roger Drake's To the Reader "Place this before the title"; A2: title; A3: Books lately printed for Thomas Parkhurst; A4 Charles Scott's To the Reader leaf one [signed A2]; A5: End of Scott's intro), B-Z4, Aa-Zz4, Aaa-Iii4, Kkk3 [perhaps Drake's preface was Kkk4?]

    Please contact us to request a condition report:
    Devon Eastland, Senior Specialist: [email protected]
    Grace Meschery-McCormack, Cataloguer: [email protected]


    Please contact the Specialist for the auction to request a condition report.

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October 23, 2025 10:30 AM EDT
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