THE PRESENT STATE OF EUROPE COMPARED WITH ANTIENT PROPHECIES; A SERMON, PREACHED AT THE GRAVEL PIT MEETING IN HACKNEY, FEBRUARY 28, 1794, BEING THE DAY APPOINTED FOR A GENERAL FAST. BY JOSEPH PRIESTLEY, LL.D. F. R. S. &C. WITH A PREFACE CONTAINING THE REASONS FOR THE AUTHOR'S LEAVING ENGLAND. [SEVEN LINES QUOTING VIRGIL] ; (Samuel Elam's copy)

London, England: Printed for J. Johnson, No. 72, St. Paul's Church-Yard, 1794. Third edition. pamphlet. Good plus. Octavo, 8 1/2" x 5." Removed from a volume of pamphlets. Loose stitching to spine. Very neatly trimmed edges. Pp. xx, 44, [8]. Includes 4 final advertisement leaves, promoting 77 books by Dr. Priestley, books written by the Rev. T. Lindsey, and a new (1794) edition of The Book of Common Prayer. Title-page and last page shows typical browning. Fore-edge of title-page slightly chipped. 6.75" diagonal crease runs from top edge of title page to a point almost 2 1/2" from bottom right corner, with a thin, 1-inch-long chip at terminus of crease.

Contemporary ink (abbreviated) signature of previous owner (Samuel Elam), with flourish, near top of title page, possibly the same Samuel Elam, President of The Newport Insurance Company. Samuel Elam (ca. 1750-1813) emigrated to the United States from Leeds, England, and became a naturalized citizen of Rhode Island in 1789. A prominent business and civic leader residing in Portsmouth, he served terms in both houses of the Rhode Island legislature and played an active role in promoting the economic interests of his adopted state. He was unanimously elected the first president of the newly chartered Newport Insurance Company One letter from that Elam to President Thomas Jefferson (1801), and several to President James Madison (1805 & 1806), are to be found amongst respective presidential papers. The letters deal with claims against Newport for goods lost by sundry captures at the hands of French privateers.

Also a handwritten "No. 3" to top of title-page. The polymath Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) was a prominent natural philosopher of the British Enlightenment, known for his scientific discovery of oxygen and his sharp theological and political tracts. His unique blend of theism, materialism, and determinism along with his outward support of the French Revolution made him a highly controversial figure in Britain. He was nicknamed "Gunpowder Joe" for his fiery, unapologetic prose and was frequently lampooned in political cartoons. Contemporaries likened him to the devil or Guy Fawkes. During the Birmingham Riots of 1791, his family home and laboratory were burned down and he was forced to flee to London. He settled in the borough of Hackney, where he served as a nonconformist minister to the Gravel Pit congregation. While there, he penned this Fast Sermon. The Sermon situates recent historical events, namely the French Revolution, within the biblical prophecies that foretold the second coming of Christ. The Sermon reflects "his growing millenarianism, his belief that the end of the world was fast approaching." (Wikipedia).