Thayer, William M. Pastor's Wedding Gift. Boston: John P. Jewett and Company, 1854. First Edition. [10601]
Red cloth decorated in gilt & blind, a few worm holes in the front joint, 7 x 4 3/4 inches. Waxed white end papers, all page edges gilt, tight. 111 clean pp., frontispiece wood engraving of a wedding ceremony, by Smith-Pierson. Newspaper clipping laid in, a poem, "The Dying Wife." Very good. Hardcover.
A book that was intended to be the wedding gift given by the pastor.
Chapters: Pastor's Address to the Bridal Pair, Duties of the Conjugal Relation, Dedication of the Bridal Home, and Last Words with the Bridal Pair. Followed by poetry.
William Makepeace Thayer (1820- 1898), orthodox Congregational minister, graduated at Brown (1840), developed throat trouble that led to his leaving the pastorate; he then devoted himself to writing and editorial work at age 38. He was a member of the Mass. State legislature in 1857 and 1863, and was Secretary of the Massachusetts Temperance Society form 1860-1876. “The circulation of his books is said to amount to nearly a million volumes.” – Allibone.
