The Herald of the Morning

The Herald of the Morning (originally entitled The Midnight Cry and Herald of the Morning) started publication at the end of 1873. Shortly after CTR came across the paper its publication was suspended, after the death of Daniel Cogswell as reported in the February 1876 paper (Volume 4, number 2).

It is known that during 1877, while Barbour, Paton and Russell were preaching in various areas that Barbour’s Three Worlds was sent out in lieu of Herald subscriptions as a part-work. It was once thought that the actual paper was suspended until Volume 7 began in July 1878. Barbour changed the volume number every six months and Volumes 7 and 8 (with CTR as associate editor until May 1878) are readily available from various internet sources.

However, it can now be established that the paper ran as a semi-monthly publication for the second half of 1877 and the first half of 1878.

For 1877 we have the testimony of George N H Peters whose mammoth work The Theocratic Kingdom (1884 and partly sponsored by W H Conley) quotes from the Herald for August 1, 1877 and September 15, 1877. One quote is from an article written by Patton (sic). We must assume this was Volume 5. Some years ago I contacted the repository for Peters’ papers, but alas, there were no Heralds among them.

For 1878 we have one issue for June 15, 1878. (It was found in the archives of Atlanta Bible College over twenty years ago.) It describes how the June 1 issue was not published due to the time Barbour was away at a conference, and so June 15 is Volume 6 number 11. It also announced how the paper would be a smaller sized 16 page monthly from July 1878, making it easier for binding. The fact that the magazine could be bound into volumes ensured the survival of the familiar years down to our day.

The June 15 issue has CTR as main publisher and an assistant editor. There are no articles from CTR’s pen in this particular issue, most of the contents appears to have been written by Barbour and Paton.

Here are a few frames from this paper.

The masthead

 The publisher announcement

And finally, the list of those who had written in over the previous month. Can we see any familiar names here? 

The Watch Tower and the Koreshan Unity

If a search engine has brought you here please check the revised and expanded article posted on this blog in June 2022. The comment trail from the first posting has been left here.

Food for Thinking Christians

Following the booklet Object and Manner of Our Lord’s Return, CTR’s first major work was the small book Food for Thinking Christians published in 1881. It was the template for the later Divine Plan of the Ages.

Food for Thinking Christians was issued in more than one edition. The original was a special issue of ZWT for September 1881. Below is the cover of one of those originals.

The current owner commented that this original was not in the best of condition “but it has been lovingly read many times over in the past.”

When the publication was reprinted in large numbers to be used in evangelising work, the cover was changed in one respect. Here are two copies of the revised cover.

The special issue for September 1881 ZWT has now become a Free Supplement to Zion’s Watch Tower, 1881.

Any readers who have access to Tower Archives can see this cover was originally a greenish-blue color.

The copy of the Food on the left in the picture has an extra paper strip and holes near the spine, because this was originally bound with a copy of Tabernacle Teachings as described in the article that follows this.

This particular copy had a brief inscription on the front end papers.

Homing in for an enhanced close-up we can see this is from Sunderlin to McCormack.

This would be J C Sunderlin who came to Britain in 1881 to circulate this publication. The G L McCormack is probably the “Brother McCormack” who transferred to Chicago in 1882 as described in ZWT for July 1882, page 1.

(With grateful thanks to Mike C and Brian K who supplied the images)

The Tabernacle and its Teachings

After publishing Food for Thinking Christians as a special ZWT supplement in September 1881, CTR followed it shortly thereafter with a large booklet called Tabernacle Teachings, first published as a special supplement to ZWT for February 1882. It was later expanded into the more well-known work Tabernacle Shadows.

There was certain logic in the two small books being presented together, and in fact, the second from last page of the original Tabernacle Teachings presented them as companions.

As noted in the previous article, there are reports of the two being actually bound together into one volume. However, the one copy that has been seen shows the two publications being printed separately and then just bound together without any additional title page. So the second title page comes after the end of the first book. There were just extra end sheets added to the combined item. On the inside end sheet of the one example that is known is the inscription “from J C Sunderlin to G L McCormick,” as reproduced in the previous article. So it may be that Sunderlin had this particular example hard bound or it may be that there are other examples out there still to be found.

The very end page of Tabernacle Teachings advertises Zion’s Watch Tower magazine.

There is no mention of price on Tabernacle Teachings as the booklet was free. The only mention of cost was in the advertisement for ZWT on the final page. The subscription price for ZWT was 50 cents per year in the United States and sixty-five cents in Britain. The Lord’s Poor could have it free on request.

(With grateful thanks to Mike C who supplied the images)