Early American Catholic Bibliography 2-Vol Set: Finotti (1784-1820) & Parsons (1729-1830)

by Rev. Joseph M. Finotti; Wilfrid Parsons, S.J.

Finotti, Rev. Joseph M. & Wilfrid Parsons, S.J. [EARLY AMERICAN CATHOLIC BIBLIOGRAPHY SET] Bibliographia Catholica Americana: A List of Works Written by Catholic Authors, and Published in the United States (Part I: 1784–1820), Burt Franklin (Boston), 1971 [WITH] Early Catholic Americana: A List of Books and Other Works by Catholic Authors in the United States, 1729–1830, Longwood Press, Inc. (New York), 1977. Facsimile reprints, two volumes. Finotti (1971): 5 1/4 x 7 1/8 inches tall green buckram cloth hardcover, no dust jacket (as issued), gilt lettering to spine, index, 318, 5 pp. Only the slightest hint of edgewear to the cover corners; otherwise a very good to near fine copy. Parsons (1977): 5 5/8 x 8 3/8 inches tall brown buckram cloth hardcover, no dust jacket (as issued) silver lettering  to spine, index, xxv, [4], 282 pp. Bound in full. Covers show the slightest bit of faint surface staining. Internally secure with a couple of neat ink marginal checkmarks confined to the introduction section, and one page text block showing slight soiling. A solid, overall very good copy. 

An indispensable, highly specialized two-volume reference set charting the foundational history of Catholic printing and literature in early America. Joseph Finotti's pioneering Bibliographia Catholica Americana represents the first serious attempt at an exhaustive chronological registry of early American Catholic imprints, carefully detailing works published from the close of the Revolutionary War through 1820. Each entry features valuable historical, biographical, and descriptive notes regarding the authors and printers of the era. 

Wilfrid Parsons' monumental follow-up, Early Catholic Americana, acts as the definitive expansion and continuation of Finotti's groundwork. Extending the scope from 1729 down to 1830, Parsons corrects early omissions, uncovers previously unrecorded colonial imprints, and adds over a thousand new entries. Together, these two classic library-grade facsimile editions serve as an essential, interconnected toolset for ecclesiastical historians, academic researchers, and antiquarian book collectors tracing the evolution of Catholic theology, culture, and publishing in the early United States.