This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/20/2021
[GEORGE LUTHER STEARNS (1809-1867)]. The Book of Common Prayer [two copies]. Boston: From the Press of the Christian Examiner, 1828. 4to. FROM THE LIBRARIES OF GEORGE STEARNS AND BROTHER. Full calf (rubbing, scratches) with previous owners’ names stamped in gilt on front covers. Sprung leaves in N.C. Stearns’s book. Overall condition, fair. George Luther Stearns first made a name for himself as an industrialist whose trade was in sheet metal and pipe-lead. An ardent abolitionist, Stearns distinguished himself from fellow industrialists of the age for his outspoken political beliefs and for putting his wealth to ending slavery. He established the Medford station of the Underground Railroad and was one of the “Secret Six” financiers who funded John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859. He is also credited with having raised 13,000 African American recruits for the Union cause during the Civil War.