Die Herrliche Erscheinung des Herrn Jesu zum allgemeinen Weltgericht : samt desselben Folgen fuer die Gerechten und Ungerechten, auf die endlose Ewigkeit : In achtzehn Predigten, nach Anleitung der eigenen Worte des zukuenstigen Richters Jesu, bey Matth. XXV. 31, u. s. s. vorgestellet, und wie zur Aufmunterung der Frommrn, also zum Schrecken und Erweckung der Gottlosen, angepriesen von Johann Conrad Steiner ; nebst der dem sel. Verfasser am 7ten Julii des verflossenen Jahrs gehaltenen Leichen-Rede ; und kurzen Nachricht von dessen Lebens-Umstaenden. Philadelphia, Henrich Miller, 1763. First Edition. Original binding, 478 p., 7.25 x 5", 12mo.
In fair condition. Front board detached from binding, rear board split at hinges & intact via cording only. Leather boards scuffed at edges and worn/bumped at corners. Tail of spine lacking; head of spine chipped at rear hinge - binding exposed. Front end-page and title page exhibit chips close to fore-edge, no loss of text. Toning throughout text-block; mostly at edges of leaves. Some leaves' corners are dog-eared or creased. Water dampness staining to edges of leaves (mostly fore-edges) from approximately pages 55 to 15o and pages 400 to end of text. Some instances of sparse age-staining or finger-soiling. Text-block's binding remains intact; front board detached (but included). Please see photos and ask questions, if any, before purchasing.
Henrich Miller (1702-1782), born in Rhoden, Principality of Waldeck, was a printer, journalist, bookseller, and translator. After arriving in Philadelphia on November 29, 1741, Miller lost no time and began working as a journeyman for Benjamin Franklin on December 1. The fact that Franklin hired Miller so quickly after his arrival in Philadelphia was no accident. After having failed with his first attempt to publish a newspaper for the fast-growing German population of Pennsylvania, Franklin strove continually to gain a foothold in this market and, following the establishment of Christoph Sauer’s influential German-language printing press in 1738, to cut into the business of his most tenacious German rival.
On July 5, 1776, Henrich Miller’s newspaper, Der Wöchentliche Pennsylvanischer Staatsbote, was the first paper — in any language — to announce the signing of the Declaration of Independence:
“Philadelphia, den 5 July. Gestern hat der Achtbare Congre dieses Vesten Landes die Vereinigten Colonien Freye und Unabhängige Staaten erkläret. Die Declaration in Englisch ist jetzt in der Presse; sie ist datiert, den 4ten July, 1776, und wird heut oder morgen im druck erscheinen.”
From his ardent rejection of the Stamp Act to his enthusiastic support of American Independence, Henrich Miller, as he called himself on the cover of his newspaper, did not merely witness and report the momentous political, civic, and cultural changes occurring in North America, but he actively shaped and participated in these events. Miller counteracted ethnic isolationism among German immigrants and ensured their investment and enfranchisement in the emerging public sphere of early national America. While primarily secular in his political outlook and print publications, Miller was nevertheless a devoutly religious man with close ties to the Moravian Church. Though called “eccentric” by later historians, Miller was staunchly independent in his personal, religious, and entrepreneurial decisions. His business helped develop the notion of a free press as the foundation of modern democracy and citizenship.
RARE Colonial Philadelphia imprint by Henrich Miller.
RAREA1763DRSB - 09/24 - HK2088
FORN-TUB-0073-BB-2503-HKREV715