AUTOGRAPH LETTER TO THE MAJOR JAMES B. POND OF THE POND LECTURE BUREAU SIGNED BY ENGLISH CONGREGATIONAL THEOLOGIAN JOSEPH PARKER. by Parker, Joseph. (1830-1902). English Congregational Theologian - 1887.

Bridgeport, CT: October 11, 1887., 1887.. Good. - 42 words penned on the upper half of an approximately 9 inch high by 5-1/2 inch wide sheet of cream paper. Signed "Joseph Parker". The paper is darkened around the edges. There are 2 chips to the right edge & a small piece out of the top edge. A red stamp indicating the letter has been answered affects the top left corner of the text without making it illegible. Folded 3 times for mailing. Good. <p>Parker writes to his manager Major James B. Pond announcing his arrival in Bridgeport, Conn. and his plans to reach Everett House, Pond's residence, in time for lunch at 1 p.m. on Wednesday. "Then we rest. Then we go to Mrs. Beecher's arriving about 5.30. You can warn Everett Ho[use] of the approach of two comets." Parker has arrived in the US. to deliver a eulogy on Henry Ward Beecher, who was a close friend.<p>Accompanying this letter is a copy, typed by Pond, of an affectionate letter written to him by Parker the day before Parker's departure for England, in which Parker jokingly but firmly refuses payment for this engagement. Pond notes that he presented Parker with a check for $1,100 which Parker immediately tore up in front of him.<p>In the years from 1845-1850, Joseph Parker [1830-1902] was already gaining a reputation as a young preacher and temperance orator. After entering the Congregational ministry and serving as a pastor in London, Banbury and Manchester, and making a name for himself as a power in English Nonconformity, he returned to London in 1869 as minister of the Poultry church, founded by Thomas Goodwin. There he began a scheme to erect the great City Temple in Holborn Viaduct, which opened in May 1874. From this center his influence spread far and wide. His stimulating and original sermons, delivered with a ready command of vigorous English, made him one of the best known personalities of his time.