A Monthly Journal of Missionary Information
Volume X — 1859
London: Seeley, Jackson, and Halliday, 1859.
An attractive original Victorian volume of The Church Missionary Intelligencer, published in 1859 in connection with the Church Missionary Society.
This substantial illustrated volume contains contemporary accounts of Christian missionary activity across the world, including India, China, Japan, Africa and North America.
The contents provide a fascinating record of nineteenth-century missionary enterprise, including evangelistic work, missionary correspondence, religious and cultural observations, and contemporary developments in the various mission fields.
ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS
The volume is particularly attractive for its numerous finely executed Victorian engravings and historical maps.
Of special interest is coloured map entitled "The Languages of India", illustrating the linguistic geography of the Indian subcontinent during the period of British rule.
Other illustrations and maps include:
A historical map of India.
A map of Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka).
Kin Shan, or Golden Island, on the Yangtze River in China.
Views of missionary activity at Peshawar.
A funeral procession in Japan.
Scenes depicting Indigenous peoples of North America, including an Indian medicine-man preparing his charms.
Engraved portraits and scenes illustrating the peoples, customs, architecture and landscapes encountered by nineteenth-century missionaries.
The engravings provide an interesting visual record of the period, accompanying accounts written from the perspectives of Victorian missionary observers.
HISTORICAL AND RELIGIOUS CONTENT
Among the subjects discussed are missionary work in India following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the activities of the Church Missionary Society's Special Fund for India, the development of indigenous churches, missionary education, evangelism and the translation and distribution of the Scriptures.
The volume also includes a separately paginated section entitled Recent Intelligence, containing further reports and communications from the missionary fields.
An interesting original source for collectors and researchers of Victorian Christianity, Church Missionary Society history, British India, nineteenth-century geography, missionary exploration and the history of Christian evangelism.
BINDING AND CONDITION
Attractively bound in period half leather with decorative marbled paper-covered boards, leather corners and gilt lettering and ruling to the spine.
The binding is sound and the leaves are secure.
There is rubbing and general external wear consistent with age, particularly to the spine, corners and board edges.
Occasional spotting is present internally, but the pages are generally clean and well preserved for their age. The illustrations and maps remain attractive.
A sound and appealing antiquarian volume, retaining its decorative Victorian binding.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Title: The Church Missionary Intelligencer
Subtitle: A Monthly Journal of Missionary Information
Volume: X
Year: 1859
Publisher: Seeley, Jackson, and Halliday
Place: London
Pagination: 292 pages, plus 58 pages of Recent Intelligence
Illustrations: Numerous engraved illustrations and historical maps, including a hand-coloured map of the languages of India
Binding: Half leather with marbled boards
Dimensions: 250 × 176 × 25 mm
Weight: 864 g
Please examine the photographs carefully, as these form an important part of the condition description.