Gurley, Phineas D.; Pears, Thos. C., Jr. Faith in God : Dr. Gurley's Sermon at the Funeral of Abraham Lincoln, From the Original Manuscript. Philadelphia: Department of History of the Office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1940. Advance Reading Copy. [11421]
This is an advance copy with an order form laid in and a printed note saying that orders will be taken and the edition limited. This note was once pasted to the ffep, but is now loose with paste stain where it once was, and has an old paper clip holding it in place. The regular print run was 300 copies.
Quarter linen cloth with cream boards, applied paper title label to front, small nick to the bottom corners, 9 1/4 x 6 1/4 inches. 21 clean pp. with center double black & white plate of "Death-Bed of Lincoln," painted by John H. Littlefield. Good. Hardcover.
"In all probability one of the least known but none the less interesting collections of Lincolniana is that of the sermons and orations delivered on the occasion of the assassination of the President...It is the good fortune of the Presbyterian Historical Society to possess one of the largest of these collections, consisting on some hundred and twenty volumes containing over two hundred such sermons and addresses; but the document which they prize most highly is the manuscript of the sermon delivered by the Rev. Phineas D. Gurley at the funeral of the President..." - Preface.
Phineas Densmore Gurley (1816-1868), chaplain of the United States Senate and pastor of New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, friend of Lincoln who ministered to the family when son Willie died in 1862. The Lincolns were regular attenders at his church, and the Gurleys were frequent guests at the White House.
"Dr. Gurley played an important role at President Lincoln's deathbed and funeral services. He comforted Mrs. Lincoln during the death watch at the Peterson Home and delivered a brief prayer after Mr. Lincoln died on April 15." - MrLincolnsWhiteHouse dot org.
