Trial of the Rev. Robert Taylor, Upon a Charge of Blasphemy, with ..

1827. A Radical Reverend Tried for Blasphemy [Trial]. Taylor, Robert [1784-1884], Defendant. Trial of the Rev. Robert Taylor, A.B. & M.R.C.S.: Upon a Charge of Blasphemy, With His Defence, As Delivered by Himself, Before the Lord Chief Justice and a Special Jury, On Wednesday, October 24, 1827: And as Corrected and Supplied with the Additions which Occurred in Delivery, From the Morning Chronicle, Herald, Times, Sun, &c. London: Printed by John Brooks, 1827. 34 pp. Portrait frontispiece. Octavo (8-1/4" x 5"). Disbound stab-stitched pamphlet. Light rubbing to extremities, frontispiece partially detached, moderate toning to text, somewhat heavier in places, "6" in early hand to head of title page. $950. * First edition, one of two editions published in 1827. Trained as a surgeon, Taylor left medicine for the church in 1809. His career as a cleric was somewhat derailed by his adoption of increasingly freethinking religious views, and he was tried for blasphemy after delivering an unorthodox sermon about Christ's character. He was convicted and sentenced to a year in prison. OCLC locates no copies of the first edition in North America and 8 of the second, 3 in law libraries (Harvard; University of Missouri; Worcester, MA, Trial Court Library). Library Hub locates 1 copy of the first edition (London Library). McCoy, Freedom of the Press T38.