The Natural History of Superstition

New Haven, Conn.: A. H. Maltby and Co., 1821. Hardcover. Good. Rare American imprint by a publisher active from about 1819-1850, who began publishing the Yale Literary Review; book first published in 1709. This title is often confused with a book published in 1836 in France by Baron von Holbach; Holbach's book is anti-organized religion and Trenchard's is not; Trenchard was a former Quaker who theorized that 'transports', etc., attributed to God, are owing to natural causes. Title page mistakenly attributes this title to John Locke, the reason for this is unknown; we found a list of books misattributed to Locke in a Locke bibliography but this is not on it. This is a chapbook, about 3in x 5in, recently bound in nice leather with marbled endpapers; new binding is near fine, the chapbook only good (original covers discolored, stained, rubbed and chipped; chip and tear to side edge of chapbook front cover, closed with non-acidic Filmoplast P; many pages have been turned down and most have worn, creased corners; pages stained and darkened; stain to top edge and foreedge; foreedge stain mostly visible on p51-52; corners of rear blank flyleaf torn off); 52pp.