1856 antique SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE Methodist Episcopal CHURCH REFORM essays
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Offered here is an original 1856 Methodist Episcopal Church prize essay volume, Systematic Beneficence: Three Prize Essays, published in New York by Carlton & Phillips for the Tract Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The book measures approximately 4.5 x 6.5 inches, a compact octavo typical of mid-19th-century American religious tracts, and is bound in original brown cloth boards with blind-stamped borders.

This important reform-era volume contains three prize essays addressing church finance, Christian duty, and organized charitable giving:

• The Great Reform by Abel Stevens

• The Great Question by Lorenzo White

• Property Consecrated by Benjamin St. James Fry

Issued following a formal adjudicated essay competition, the work reflects growing 19th-century Protestant concern with systematic giving, institutional reform, and church sustainability, themes central to Methodist expansion before the Civil War. The book includes the Adjudicators’ Award, editor’s preface, and a detailed contents section outlining multi-part theological and practical arguments.

Condition:
Solidly intact and complete. Cloth binding shows expected age wear, rubbing, and toning; spine cloth is present though softened with age. Interior pages are clean overall with scattered foxing and age toning. Notably, there is a period pencil ownership inscription reading “Wm. W. Demarest, Book” on the front endpaper, along with a small penciled notation (“Page 54”), adding authentic 19th-century provenance interest. No loose pages observed.

A scarce and historically meaningful Methodist reform tract, appealing to collectors of American religious history, church reform movements, antebellum theology, and Methodist Episcopal publishing.

Authentic period piece related to family, history or local heritage - well-suited for historical collections, genealogical /genealogy research, or museum acquisition.  Vintage or Antique.

   
CONDITION:  See listing description and photos.




















































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