Dean, Christopher C. [copyright holder]. Ellen: or Visit of the Rod. Boston: Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, 1837. From the London Edition, Revised by the Committee of Publication. [10639]
Rose-colored cloth, decorated in blind & gilt, 6 x 3 3/4 inches, binding worn with light stains, no damage. Gold end papers with floral pattern. Woodcut frontispiece of a man and woman sitting at a table in a fashionable parlor, the man pointing to an open book on the table; the woodcut is signed "Devereux." 71 pages, tight, foxing throughout. Good. Hardcover.
The story of Ellen who was left orphaned at the age of eighteen, whose mother, on her deathbed, pleaded with her about the state of her soul. She becomes a sincere Christian, but marries a wealthy lawyer, who is not. The book is replete with her suffering in mind and soul over the temptations proffered to her through this "unscriptural marriage," and the fears that she has for her children, who are removed from her home after her husband's death; his brother had been made the executor of his will and the guardian of his children.
The author has Ellen writing a letter at the end of the book, which concludes, "Oh! my friend, remember the poor sufferer who warns you; break the snare, and endure anything but the wretchedness of an unscriptural marriage. Sometimes pray for the affectionate, but broken-hearted Ellen R_____".
A morality tale intended to warn against Christians uniting in marriage with an unbeliever.
The engraver, Nicholson B. Devereux, was born in Massachusetts in 1813. He was a wood engraver with the Boston Bewick Co. (1834-1842); he later moved to Philadelphia (1849-1860). By 1858 he was head of his own firm in Philadelphia, Devereux & Co. - Groce & Wallace, The New-York Historical Society's Dictionary of Artists in America.
