Wigglesworth, Michael | America's first bestseller

Wigglesworth, Michael

The Day of Doom or A Poetical Description of the Last Great Judgment with a Short Discourse About Eternity. Boston: Printed by J. Allen, for N Boone, at the Sign of the Bible in Cornhill, 1715

12mo (80 x 132 mm). Repair to title with a portion in facsimile, loss to upper corner or C1, E2 present in facsimile, F1–6 with marginal repairs with some loss, portion of F6 supplied in facsimile, H5 largely in facsimile, lacking first and final blank, browning, spotting, and soiling. Contemporary calf; extremities rubbed with some loss. In custom half morocco slipcase and folding chemise.

Wigglesworth's epic poem.

The Day of Doom has been referred to as America's first bestseller. Composed of 224 ballad stanzas, the poem laments the "backsliding" of Puritans into sin and complacency, and depicts the final day of Judgement (or "doom") as a series of dramatic confrontations between sinners (i.e. everyone), and their God. Copies of title are rare, as they were literally read to pieces. The Day of Doom was first published amid the controversy over church membership in the early 1660s, and it is this that likely gave the poem special urgency: at a time when parishioners were falling away from the church, Wigglesworth's poem passionately summoned them back.

Of the 1,800 copies of the first edition that were printed, Wigglesworth noted: “there were scarce any unsold (or but few) at ye yeers end.” No perfect copies of any edition prior to the fifth (Boston 1701) are known to exist. Matt Jones, in his monograph Notes for a Bibliography of Michael Wigglesworth’s “Day of Doom” and “Meat Out of the Eater” identifies the present edition seventh (although it is stated to be the sixth on the title-page). He also locates two issues of this edition, the one as described above and the other “printed by John Allen, for Benjamin Eliot.”

Rare – our records locate no other copy having been offered at auction in over 70 years. 

PROVENANCE

Sally Foster (contemporary ownership inscription to pg. 1)

REFERENCE

Bristol B500; ESTC W42683; cf. Grolier/American 4; Sabin 103919; Shipton & Mooney 39642; Wegelin 453