UPHAM, Charles Wentworth.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Salem Witchcraft. First edition, royal octavo issue, number 40 of 50 copies. The first systematic history of the Salem witch trials of 1692, it analyses the events, legal proceedings, broader context, and consequences of the trials, offering insights on the fear and superstition that pervaded the community. Upham (1802-1875) was a Salem minister, mayor, and congressman. This work was based on, and expanded, a series of lectures that he had held at the Salem Lyceum in 1831. "In Salem Witchcraft Upham established the standard position that the 'afflicted' girls, who were the principal witnesses against the accused, had deliberately lied and were involved in a conspiracy... Among the elements of the study considered most useful to later scholars is Upham's detailed reconstruction of the local family of Salem village, highlighting antagonisms that predated the trials and boundary disputes and quarrels between Salem villagers and between villagers and townspeople, upon which later social historians would depend" (Le Beau, xviii-xx). The book became the standard history of the trials, setting the course of all subsequent studies.A note inside the book attributes the binding to P. B. Sanford, a fine bookbinder active in Boston in the early 20th century. Sanford trained Mary Crease Sears before moving to Pittsburgh. The edition was also published in quarto (100 copies) and in octavo (trade issue, without limitation).

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