first edition
1854 · New York
by Ladies of the Mission.
New York: Stringer & Townsend, 1854. First edition. Spine and board edges sunned and faded; a trifle worn, some light foxing; a very good copy. 12mo (7.38 x 5 inches), original gilt pictorial blind-stamped lilac cloth, gilt lettering, 304 pages. Frontispiece view of the new mission building. Women's mission work in the Five Points neighborhood of Manhattan, with some background on the brutal conditions of life there for the poor. The Old Brewery of the title had long been a notorious tenement and headquarters for gangs (cf. Scorsese); the Methodist mission erected a new building on the site in 1850 and began their work in the area to provide jobs, schooling, and medical care in addition to their preaching. This account, from several women who give only their initials, includes the expected tales of conversion--but also provides some glimpse of the lives of urban poor blacks and Irish immigrants, including a disapproving account of an Irish wake: "I succeeded at last, much to my joy, in breaking up this strange wild scene of frantic wo[!]." With a preliminary leaf of ads, including one for "A Book for Every Protestant." Sabin 57115; Hamilton 1047. (Inventory #: 21214)
