A rare curiosity

Yesterday, I picked up the following curiosity:

Josiah Priest, The Wonders of Nature and Providence
Displayed. Compiled From Authentic Sources, Both Ancient and
Modern, Giving an Account of Various and Strange Phenomena
Existing in Nature, Or Travels, Adventures, Singular
Providences, &C, a first edition self-published in Albany NY
in 1825, bound in leather.

The author (1788 - 1851) was self-educated and deeply
religious, with all of his works (this was his first) tied
to biblical texts. Unfortunately, one of his best known
works is the "Bible Defence of Slavery: Or, the Origin,
History, and Fortunes of the Negro Race, as Deduced From
History, Both Sacred and Profane, Their Natural
Relations--Moral, ...Future Destiny Predicted, Etc." which
used the Bible to justify the existence and continuation of
slavery.

The book I got - "The Wonders of Nature and Providence
Displayed" - has been held by a number of critics to have
been one source for statements in Joseph Smith's 1830 "A
Book of Mormon". Smith was also from upstate New York and
his use of phrases in describing events or phenomena track
Priest's language on more than a few occasions.

--
Francis A. Miniter

Oscuramente
libros, laminas, llaves
siguen mi suerte.

Jorge Luis Borges, La Cifra Haiku, 6