[EARLY AMERICAN JUDAICA 1700]. [The Fountain Opened: or, The Great Gospel Priviledge of having Christ exhibited to Sinfull Men. Wherein also is proved that there shall be a National Calling of the JEWS]. Together with: [The Fountain Opened; or, The Admirable Blessings plentifully to be Dispensed at the National Conversion of the JEWS]

Boston in New-England: Ad 1: Printed by B. Green, and J. Allen; Ad 2: B. Green, 1722. First Edition and Second Edition. Ad 1: 16mo. Lacks pp. 1-14 (including title), and pp. 199-208, [2] at end. Bound in contemporary American sheep over scale-board (VERY WORN: SEE IMAGES). Preserved in a cloth protective case with 4-flap lig-free chemise. Ad 2: 40 pp. (lacks title-page). Stitched as issued (text stained). Preserved in a mylar L-sleeve. FIRST EDITION. Very rare early American Judaica, the last copy on the market appearing ninety-three years ago in a 1929 Goodspeed's catalogue (untraced). Seventeenth-century American books on the Jewish Conversion Question are almost unobtainable in any condition. This 1700 first edition of "The Fountain Opened" is distinguished by the fact that only SEVEN American Judaica books preceded it. The work is #8 in A.S.W. Rosenbach's "Books and Pamphlets by Jews or Relating to Them, Printed in the United States, From the Establishment of the Press." Whereas our copy is defective, it will be seen below that 17th century American Judaica are not only extremely rare in commerce, but are almost invariably defective:

1. Bay Psalm Book 1640. Last copy at auction: Sotheby's New York 2020 ($14M, lacking one leaf).
2. Mather, Mystery of Israel's Salvation 1669. Last copy at auction: Sotheby's London 1951 (GBP 17).
3. Keith, New-England's Spirit of Persecution 1693. Last copy in commerce: 1979 Nebenzahl catalogue ($18,000, purchased at Sotheby's London 1977 GPB 4,000); prior to that: 1935 (the Brinley-Goelet copy, sold at Anderson Galleries).
4. Keith, Truth Advanced 1694. Last copy at auction: Sotheby's New York 2021 (Dupuy-Smith-Zinman-Snider copy, est. $70,000 to $100,000 unsold; previously offered at Bloomsbury 2007 and Sotheby's New York 1981); prior to that: Sotheby's London 1977 (Sion College copy, GBP 4000); prior to that: 1930 Henkels catalogue ($62.50 lacking four leaves).
5. Jameson, Remembrance of Former Times 1697. No copy located at auction or in commerce.
6. Sewall, Phaenomena Quaedam Apocalyptica 1697. Last copy at auction: 1897 Bangs auction ($9, stained, title-mounted and imperfect).
7. Mather, Faith of the Fathers 1699. Last copy in commerce: 1946 Midland catalogue ($50).
8. Willard, Fountain Opened 1700 (THE PRESENT EDITION). Last copy in commerce: 1929 Goodspeed's Catalogue 181 (item 144), whereabouts unknown; prior to that: 1897 Brinley Sale (lot 920), whereabouts unknown.

CENSUS OF COPIES: Massachusetts Historical, AAS, Huntington, JCB, Yale, Harvard (stained and tightly bound with some loss of print), American Jewish Historical Society (Rosenbach copy), Library of Congress, Library Company, Princeton (title mounted), Peabody Essex (defective), Boston Public, Boston Athenaeum, Emory, Salem Athenaeum.

THE TEXT: Willard (1640-1707), a colonial clergyman, graduated from Harvard in 1659, served as acting president of Harvard from 1701 until his death. Here he argues that the conversion of Jewish people to Christianity is inevitable and would be "a blessing" for all concerned. Willard "claims that when the Jews finally return to God and accept Jesus as the true messiah, 'there shall be a more peculiar opening of Christ as a fountain of life,' leading to 'spiritual felicity.'" (see see Sarah Levy, An Annotated Bibliography of Printed American Judaica 1676-1835 in the N-Y Historical Society, recording the 1722 edition only, which incidentally is the third oldest printed American Judaica in the Library).

CATALOGUER'S NOTE: Two title-issues of this first edition exist, one printed for Benjamin Eliot, the other for Samuel Sewell Junior. References to one or both issues appear in:

Rosenbach 8. Sabin 104082. Singerman, Judaica Americana 6. Evans 960. ESTC W25228 and R39834. Wing (2nd ed.) W2277 and W2277A.

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SECOND EDITION: Whereas our copy lacks the title-page, it contains ALL the text on the Jewish Conversion Question. The last copy of this 1722 edition to appear on the market sold in the 1879 Brinley auction, which likewise lacked the title.

CATALOGUER'S NOTE: Presented here for the first time (apparently) is a comparison between the first and second edition: the text of the first pages of the second edition is an abridgement of first pages of the first edition; then, on p. 6 begins the text relating to the Jewish Conversion Question, which in the first edition appears on pp. 106-127 (see below). The second edition has an Appendix by Sewell (pp. 31-40) likewise related to the Jewish Conversion Question, which is NOT found in the first.

Rosenbach 23. Sabin 104083. Singerman 19. Evans 2406. ESTC W20331.

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PASTEDOWNS: Our copy has a remarkable bifolium pasted down inside the front and back covers. The first page of the text of the bifolium is pasted inside the back cover and reads: "Upon Mr. Samuel Willard, his first coming into the assembly, and praying, after a long and dangerous fit of sickness; November 21. 1700. at 3. in the afternoon, being a day of publick thanksgiving. Mr. Pemberton's text, Psal. 118.2" [Boston, 1720]. Pasted inside the front cover is the second page of text, which makes reference to the pages in THIS edition of "The Fountain Opened" thusly: "N[ote]. The 106-127, & 166 pages of this book, do more especially treat the calling of the JEWS." (NB: the text on p. 166 is actually one paragraph inserted "Rather than this page should stand empty").

The text of this bifolium was written by Samuel Sewall, as we learn from his diary entry for Nov. 21, 1700. The verse is in three stanzas, the first lines being "As Joseph let his brethren see Simeon both alive, and free." This is an EARLY specimen of New England poetry. No text is lacking here, as pages [1] and [4] of the bifolium are blank. Our copy, with double-rule at head of p. [2], is a reprint of Evans 952 which was printed in 1700.

Copies at AAS, Boston Public, and Beinecke have Sewall's 1720 "Upon Mr. Samuel Willard" bound in; the Library Company copy (ex-Michael Zinman) has the bifolium pasted inside the boards, as here.

Of this rare bifolium, Rare Book Hub records only two copies at auction: the Streeter copy ($150 for ONE page) and the copy that was offered in several Goodspeed's catalogues from 1927 to 1939.

References: Bristol, Supplement to Evans, B591. Wegelin, Early American poetry, 355. Ford, Broadsides, ballads, &c printed in Massachusetts, 1639-1800, 462. ESTC W33693.