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College Archives

Current Exhibits

Current Archives Exhibits include:
 

Translating The Pilgrim's Progress located in the Reference Room along blue wall when walking towards Bistro 255. (Closing January 2025)

Privateers, Pirates, and the Perils of the Sea: A Glimpse into 17th and 18th Century Maritime Culture - located outside of the Archives (Jenks 217)

Privateers, Pirates, and the Perils of the Sea: A Glimpse into 17th and 18th Century Maritime Culture

Privateers, Pirates, and the Perils of the Sea 
A Glimpse into 17th and 18th Century Maritime Culture 

Curated by Renata Boulay ('26) - Archives Inter (Fall 2024)

Maritime culture of the 17th and 18th century emerged from a rocky environment of intense global competition. Trading empires such as the Dutch, British, and Spanish were in constant rivalry for resources, land, money, and power. While these countries engaged in battle with each other on both land and sea, they were also engaged in a conflict with nature itself – a constant struggle for control of the ocean, something no one could truly master. No matter how skilled a sailor was, the winds and waves would always have the upper hand. Unpredictable weather and topography made for a constantly shifting and treacherous field of operation that could steal lives and dash hope in an instant. Shipwreck, disease, storms, creatures of the deep, mutiny, and piracy were just some of the fears in the mind of a 17th century sailor. However, despite this peril, countless people set out to sea – some sought adventure, some sought wealth, others freedom, and still yet others were not given a choice. 

This exhibit highlights three books from the Vining Collection: William Dampier’s A New Voyage Round the World, Alexandre Exquemelin’s Bucaniers of America, and The Mariner’s Chronicle.  

The page is open to a tri-fold map showing the known world on the left side and the title page on the right side.

The Forgotten Contributions of Captain William Dampier

A once influential figure, William Dampier was a renaissance man of the 17th century – explorer, author, pirate, cartographer, British Naval captain, naturalist, illustrator, and hydrographer. Dampier was also a man of many “firsts;” he was the first Englishman to reach Australia and document it, including interactions with the Aboriginal peoples. He was also the first person to circumnavigate the world three times, and in doing so recorded detailed accounts of the lands he travelled to. These accounts included descriptions and illustrations of the flora and fauna, native peoples, and culinary phenomena unfamiliar to Europe. He recorded recipes for what we would call mango chutney and guacamole, as well as descriptions of exotic meat such as flamingo and manatee, and even introduced words such as “barbeque,” “cashew,” and “tortilla.” Dampier, through his exploits, writing, illustration, and collection of samples helped advance 17th century scientific knowledge in a radical way that continued its impact for years to come.  

Image: An early copy of Dampier's A New Voyage Round the World published in London in 1697. The page is open to a tri-fold map showing the known world on the left side and the title page on the right side. (Vining G 420 .D15w 1697)

Portrait of William Dampier (c. 1832)

Image: Drawn portrait or engraving of William Dampier c. 1832.

Page shows numerous scenes of pirate raids and battles surrounding the original Dutch title

Alexandre Exquemelin and His Pirate Memoir

Although little is known about the early life of Alexandre Olivier Exquemelin, what is remembered today are the spine-tingling accounts of ruthless pirates and buccaneers who prowled the Caribbean, recorded in his book Bucaniers of America, or, A true account of the most remarkable assaults committed of late years upon the coasts of the West-Indies, by the bucaniers of Jamaica and Tortuga, both English and French ... especially the unparallel'd exploits of Sir Henry Morgan, our English Jamaican hero.  

What we do know about Exquemelin is that he was, presumably, a Dutch or French indentured servant in the West Indies but later became a surgeon on board a ship with the famed Captain Henry Morgan. During his time at sea, Exquemelin recorded encounters with other pirates such as François l'Olonnais, Rock Brasiliano, and Bartholomew the Portuguese. It was thanks to Exquemelin’s writing that we have accounts of these men, their lifestyles, and exploits, which overall provide one of the earliest and most comprehensive accounts of the “Golden Age of Piracy.” 

However, these accounts of piratical undertakings are far from the romanticized and theatrical view we may hold today. Exquemelin provides narratives of extreme cruelty inflicted by the pirates upon towns, innocent people, and particularly, the Spanish Fleet.  

Regardless of how true these accounts may be, there is no denying that Exquemelin caused a sensation. His books provoked the imagination, spreading a fearful curiosity that has trickled down through time. Even today, pirates remain icons of history, often symbolizing an enticing free and reckless lifestyle that continues to be perpetuated in media, literature, and pop culture. 

Image: First edition of Alexandre Exquemelin’s Bucaniers of America published in the original Dutch in Amsterdam. The open page shows numerous scenes of pirate raids and battles surrounding the original Dutch title. (Vining F 2161 .E71)

Engraving of French pirate Francis L'Olonois standing at an angle with face looking out at reader while holding a sword over his opposite shoulder

Bucaniers of America (1704)

Image: Exquemelin's Bucaniers of America was first written in Dutch, then translated into English in 1684. This copy is a third edition published in London and is open to an “engraving,” or picture, of the ruthless French pirate Francis L’Olonois. (Vining F 2161 .E767)

Engraving of Bartholomew the Portuguese from waist up. He is standing at an angle while holding a sword over his opposite shoulder with both hands.

Bartholomew the Portuguese (c. 17th c.)

Image: Engraving of Bartholomew the Portuguese (c. 17th century) from Exquemelin's Bucaniers of America.

Henry Morgan

In Alexandre Exquemlin’s Bucaniers of America, there are many chapters dedicated to the particular attacks of Henry Morgan and his torturing of victims; however, Morgan took the publisher of Exquemelin’s book to court over false accounts and won. In the book The Governors of Jamaica in the Seventeenth Century, of which Henry Morgan was one, there is a quotation from the “London Gazette” June 8, 1685 that refers to The History of the Bucaniers as containing “many False, Scandalous, and Malicious Reflections on the Life and Actions of Sir Henry Morgan of Jamaica Kt.” The text continues by revealing that Morgan ultimately received £200 compensation, but due to heavy drinking, illness, and a generally taxing lifestyle, he died only a few months after this ordeal.   

Image: Engraving of Henry Morgan (c. 17th century) from Exquemelin's Bucaniers of America

On the right page, there is an image of a whaling ship sinking, and on the left – the top image shows the burning of the ship Kent, while the bottom image depicts the exploding of the steamboat Helen McGregor. 

The Mariner’s Chronicle: Treacherous Tides

In the book The mariner's chronicle, of shipwrecks, fires, famines and other disasters at sea containing narratives of the most noted calamities and providential deliverances which have resulted from maritime enterprise, both in Europe and America; together with an account of the whale fishery, the title almost completely reveals the content. This book, published in 1843 in Boston, tells the tales of sailors and expeditions gone awry. It encompasses much of the sailing culture from the 17th and 19th centuries, including the hazards of nature such as storms, run-ins with pirates, and whaling trips gone wrong. The chronicle also includes sixty engravings, or images, that portray various disasters at sea. The stories here provide both intriguing and cautionary tales of danger, adventure, and woe – all with the common theme of the sea.  

Image: This book was printed in Boston in 1834 and contains numerous engravings of disasters at sea. On the right page, there is an image of a whaling ship sinking, and on the left – the top image shows the burning of the ship Kent, while the bottom image depicts the exploding of the steamboat Helen McGregor. 

Slightly blurred photo of a piece of lead shot from c. 1715 on the right with a quarter to the left of it for size reference. Quarter is slightly larger than the lead shot.

Lead Shot (c.1715)

Image: Slightly blurred photo of a piece of lead shot from c. 1715 next to a quarter for size reference. Courtesy of a private collection.

Lead Shot Certificate

Mel Fisher Center, Inc.
Certificate of Historic Artifact 
from the 
1715 Spanish Plate Fleet

This is to certify that this Lead Shot was recovered from a shipwreck site of the 1715 Spanish Plate Fleet. Lead Shot of this type were ammunition for early handguns such as the musket or pistol.

Because they were loaded with rich cargo of treasures accumulated in the New World, the ships of the 1715 Spanish Plate Fleet were well armed for their transatlantic voyage from Cuba to Spain. On July 31, 1715, the Fleet was driven by a fierce hurricane onto the treacherous Florida reefs and destroyed.

To the bottom left is a photo with 3-4 examples of lead shot with a small section of a ruler about 1 inch in length. Underneath it says "Photograph is representation of Lead Shot assemblage." To the right of this photo is written: "Certified on this 21st day of July 2023" with the signature of Taffi Fisher Abt. In the center of the certificate seems to be a watermark of a Spanish soldier/sailor holding a gun and a sword.

Map of Cape Cod with the tip of Cape Cod pointing toward the top of the page. A red arrow points to the spot where

A Local Look

Image: Cyprian Southack’s 1734 Map of Cape Cod notes the lost pirate ship Whidah. A red arrow locates the spot of the wreck on the map. Today, the Whydah Pirate Museum houses the partially excavated wreck and treasure in Yarmouth, Massachusetts. For more information, visit the museum's website!

Translating Pilgrim's Progress

Painting of John Bunyan. He has shoulder-length brown hair with a mustache and goatee. He is standing with one hand on his hip and the other arm is holding a book.

Translating The Pilgrim's Progress
Curated by Damon DiMauro

John Bunyan was born near Bedford, England in 1628. He was a tinker by trade. By his own account, he led a debauched life, having “but few equals… both for cursing, swearing, lying, and blaspheming the holy name of God.” In 1648, he married a God-fearing woman (whose name remains unknown). He was converted, though, through an encounter with a group of poor women whose “talk was about a new birth, and the work of God on their hearts.” Bunyan lived during one of the most turbulent periods in English history, in which Oliver Cromwell ousted the monarchy. Bunyan himself suffered religious persecution, spending twelve years in prison (1660–72) for preaching without government authorization.

During his confinement, Bunyan composed Part One of his classic allegory, The Pilgrim’s Progress, about Christian’s journey with Hopeful to reach the Celestial City. They plod through perilous landscapes, wade through the Slough of Despond, labor up Hill Difficulty, and grope through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Christian encounters fellow travelers along the way, some of whom, like Obstinate, Mr. Worldly-Wiseman, Mistrust, and Talkative, try to lead him astray. He learns important spiritual lessons before arriving at Palace Beautiful. In Part Two, Christian’s wife, Christiana, and her companions are escorted by knight Great-heart to the Celestial City.

Part One of The Pilgrim’s Progress, published in 1678, had already been translated into several languages before Part Two appeared in 1684. Bunyan’s worldwide appeal lay in his ability to provide a language for the emotional experience of religion, with its stress on conversion, occasioned by an acute awareness of sin, and framed as a journey from earth to heaven. The book offered a pointed message of future bliss, but also presented a realistic image of this present life as a daily struggle. The Pilgrim’s Progress became a kind of Bible companion, a devotional aid that incapsulated the essential verities of the evangelical message in a user-friendly form.

The Pilgrim’s Progress has been translated into more languages than any book except the Bible. There have been 30 translations into European languages and countless others into non-European languages, including 80 in South and East Africa, 23 in South Asia, 11 in Oceana, 8 in the Middle East, 5 in China, and 3 in North America (Cree, Dakota, Eskimo). Translators came from diverse backgrounds and worked during different time periods. The needs on the ground also changed the shape and tenor of the book. There were thus many different “Bunyans.” Missionaries experimented and adapted with abridged versions, wall charts, magic lantern slides, pageants, plays, sermons, hymns, etc.

Bunyan has also been hailed as an untutored genius and The Pilgrim’s Progress as a monument of English literature. Benjamin Franklin, in noting that the work “has been more generally read than any other book except, perhaps, the Bible,” also reflected, “Honest John was the first that I know of who mixes narration and dialogue, a method of writing very engaging to the reader.”

Image: Portrait of John Bunyan by Thomas Sadler (1684)

Title page showing English and Burmese titles for Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan.

Burmese Pilgrim's Progress (1840)

Sarah Hall (1803–1845) was raised in Alstead, New Hampshire. She married George Boardman in 1827 and one week later they sailed to Burma to minister to the Karen people. When Boardman succumbed to illness in 1831, Sarah elected to remain on the mission field. In 1834, she wrote a letter of appreciation to Adoniram Judson. The two met and were married four days later. The couple had eight children, three of whom died young. A gifted linguist, Sarah Judson translated part of The Pilgrim’s Progress and other materials into the Burmese language. She also learned the language of the Peguan people of southern Burma and translated the New Testament into their language. Illness forced her to return to the United States in 1844, though she passed away en route at Saint Helena, where she was interred. No image of her is known to exist.

The college owns the first edition of Sarah B. Judson’s translation of the first part of John Bunyon’s Pilgrim’s Progress into Burmese. The work was intended for catechetical purposes and for use in “Sabbath schools.”

Image: Title page of Burmese Pilgrim's Progress (Vining PR 3330 .A73 1840w)

Example page from Pilgrim's Progress showing Burmese script.

Burmese Pilgrim's Progress (1840)

Image: Sample pages from Burmese edition of Pilgrim's Progress (Vining PR 3330 .A73 1840w)

Title page showing Cree and English titles of Pilgrim's Progress

Cree Pilgrim's Progress (1886)

Clergyman Thomas Vincent (1835-1907) was the grandson of a Scottish Hudson’s Bay Company fur trader and his Cree wife. He was a native speaker of the Cree language. His rendition of The Pilgrim’s Progress was part of a series of English-language religious texts translated into Cree syllabics—the Holy Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and numerous collections of hymns. He worked for the Church of England in remote northern missions established to evangelize the Cree and Ojibwa in what was then called Rupertsland. Vincent was known for his stamina as well as for his uncompromising approach to native spiritual practices—he viewed the use of the drum as “the first step back to heathenism & conjuring.” Nevertheless, because of his indigenous roots, he often felt diminished by the discriminatory racial views of other churchmen. Vincent voyaged at his own expense to London to oversee the printing of The Pilgrim’s Progress.

The college owns the first edition of Thomas Vincent’s translation of John Bunyon’s Pilgrim’s Progress into Cree. Based on its title page alone, the material properties of the text bespeak limited resources. The cover is simple, the typeset of poor quality, the illustrations haphazardly placed. Unlike other Cree syllabic publications, Vincent follows the European convention of word separation, but with minor punctuation. What is most surprising about his translation is the absence of Christian’s name. Vincent refers to him through non-gendered Cree verbs. Moreover, there is no direct translation for “pilgrim” since the concept did not exist for the Cree at the time.

Image: Title page of Cree Pilgrim's Progress (Vining PM 989 .B8 1886)

These example pages from Pilgrim's Progress show the Cree language which is geometric instead of having a romanized alphabet. The illustration on display here depicts the image of

Cree Pilgrim's Progress (1886)

 The illustration on display here depicts the image of "Burden and Distress." The Pilgrim, soon-to-be called "Christian," is clothed in rags and begins a book, the Word of God, which awakens him to the realities of sin and judgement.

Image: Example page of Cree Pilgrim's Progress (Vining PM 989 .B8 1886)

Title page of Dakota edition of Pilgrim's Progress

Dakota Pilgrim's Progress (1858)

The Rev. Stephen R. Riggs (1812-1883), missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, composed A Grammar and Dictionary of the Dakota Language (1852) as well as a Dakota New Testament (1871). His translation of Bunyan’s classic, Mahpiya ekta oicimani ya (literally, “Heaven journey to make”), was published by the American Tract Society in New York in 1858.

Initially, the Dakota had little interest in Rigg’s literacy efforts, much less his Mahpiya. It was only when scores of men, women, and children were imprisoned in Mankato, Minnesota following the US-Dakota War of 1862 that there was suddenly a pressing need for communication among the dispersed family members. The Dakota now implored Riggs for instruction in reading and writing. From Riggs’ western-colored lenses, he ascribed this urgent plea to the superiority of his religion. Riggs was indeed awestruck how the Dakota took to “book-education,” dubbing it “a revolution in letters.”

“The prison is one great school. Go in almost any time of day and you will see from ten to twenty groups or circles, reading. These circles average about ten persons and each one usually has its teacher. All over the prison too you will see men engaged in writing, some with slate and pencil and others with pen and paper.”

After the 400 copies of the spelling book which Riggs had “improvised and printed at St. Paul” were depleted, he offered his cache of Bunyan translations and at least 100 copies were distributed to the native prisoners.

Notwithstanding Rigg’s evangelization efforts, 303 Dakota men were sentenced to death. President Lincoln gave a reprieve to all but 38 who were said to have slain women and children. On December 26, 1862, the 38 Dakota prisoners were hanged on a scaffold specially constructed for their execution. To the end, some Dakota, such as a certain Hdainyanka, protested of the injustice: “I have not killed, wounded or injured a white man, or any white persons. I have not participated in the plunder of their property; and yet to-day I am set apart for execution, and must die in a few days…”

Image: Title page of Dakota Pilgrim's Progress (Vining PM 1024 .B78 R5 1857)

The pages on display here show the title written in Dakota with an illustration of the main character, Christian, on the left side and the life of Bunyan with a drawn portrait of Bunyon on the right side.

Dakota Pilgrim's Progress (1858)

The pages on display here show the title written in Dakota with an illustration of the main character, Christian, on the left side and the life of Bunyan with a drawn portrait of Bunyon on the right side.

Image: Example pages of Dakota Pilgrim's Progress (Vining PM 1024 .B78 R5 1857)

Title page of Pilgrim's Progress in German

German Pilgrim's Progress (18--)

This German-language edition of “Johann” Bunyan’s work was published in New York sometime in the 1800s. A first edition in German, Eines Christen Reise nach der seligen Ewigkeit, was printed in Amsterdam in 1703. A second with the same title was printed in London in 1751. Several other translations simply titled Die Pilgerreise were published in Germany in the nineteenth century (Hamburg 1833, 1865; Güns 1848; Barmen and Stuttgart, 1864; Bremen 1870). The New York version was probably based on one of these. Since it was also published by the American tract association, it was apparently destined for a Germanophone immigrant population.

Image: Title page of German Pilgrim's Progress (Vining PR 3330 .A5 1800)

Example pages from Pilgrim's Progress in German.

German Pilgrim's Progress (18--)

Image: Example pages from German Pilgrim's Progress (Vining PR 3330 .A5 1800)

Title page of Manganga Pilgrim's Progress in a dialect of Nyanja but written out in the Roman alphabet

Manganga Pilgrim's Progress (1894)

The Mang'anja are a Bantu people of central and southern Africa, found particularly around Chikwawa in the Shire River valley of southern Malawi. They speak a dialect of the Nyanja language, and constitute a branch of the Amaravi people. As of 1996 their population was estimated at 2,486,070.

Nineteenth-century newspaper accounts followed closely Dr. David Livingstone’s “Discoveries in Africa.” In 1859, he wrote: “Never saw so much cotton grown as among the Manganga of the Shire and Shirwa valley—all spin and weave it.” Livingstone noted that the Mang’anja chiefs were wont to sell their fellow tribesmen to slave traders. It was this situation that induced Livingstone to prevail upon the British community to introduce legitimate trade to replace slavery, as well as Christianity to foster stability.

Scottish missionaries of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian were the first to work in the region. In 1892, the Rev. David Clement Scott published A Cyclopaedic Dictionary of the Mang’anja Language Spoken in British Central Africa. In his preface, he noted:

We wholly believe that language is the poetic or creative attempt of a people to incarnate will and spirit in sound and word… it remains for the spirit bevisioned of a Christian civilisation, in the faith of the Son of man and the ministry of the Spirit, to interpret these voices for the salvation of the world.

Largely because of Rev. Scott’s efforts, the four gospels in Mang’anja were published in 1893. The indigenous edition of Bunyon’s The Pilgrim’s Progress on display here was published the following year. It is not known what role Scott had in its composition, although it can be assumed he had a hand. The entire New Testament was published two years later in 1896.

Image: Title page of Manganga Pilgrim's Progress (Vining PL 8593 .B8 1894)

Example pages of Manganga Pilgrim's Progress

Manganga Pilgrim's Progress (1894)

Image: Example pages of Manganga Pilgrim's Progress (Vining PL 8593 .B8 1894)

Title page of Methodist Pilgrim's Progress

Methodist Pilgrim's Progress (18--)

As a devotional work producing a deep psychological impact and cutting across all class distinctions, The Pilgrim’s Progress took hold in the subcultures of gender and denomination. For Nonconformist women, Book Two, which narrates the journey of Christiana and her children, held particular sway. Some women formed study groups. Others read passages aloud to their children on a weekly basis. Still others dramatized parts of the story with their households. The book was also appropriated and adapted by different denominations. Baptists, for instance, laid claim to the dissenting Bunyan as a spiritual father and so put heavy emphasis on his work. As early as 1744, John Wesley edited a widely disseminated abridged version of The Pilgrim’s Progress in which he minimized Bunyan’s Puritan views of predestination and highlighted Wesleyan Arminianism.

Image: Title page of Methodist Pilgrim's Progress (Vining PR 3330 .A2 W3)

A small rectangle bookplate that is damaged at the top so that you can't fully read Methodist Episcopal - only Met...Opal is visible. Underneat the ripped area is written Sunday School Library, Wiscasset. Underneath is a decorative scroll-like image wiht No. 366. Underneath, at the bottom of the bookplate, states

Methodist Pilgrim's Progress (18--)

In Wesleyan grammar schools, The Pilgrim’s Progress was incorporated into the curriculum for fourth and fifth grades, along with Thomas Dilworth’s Arithmetic and Thomas à Kempis’ The Imitation of Christ. The following bookplate from the Methodist Episcopal Church of Wiscasset, Maine is from the edition on display here.

Image: Bookplate from the Methodist Episcopal Church of Wiscasset, Maine (Vining PR 3330 .A2 W3)

Illustration of Christian and Hopeful Crossing the River

Christian and Hopeful

Image: Illustration of Christian and Hopeful Crossing the River from the Methodist Pilgrim's Progress. (Vining PR 3330 .A2 W3)

Title page in Persian of Pilgrim's Progress

Persian Pilgrim's Progress (1883)

In 1878, missionary leaders in Teheran reported back to the American Presbyterian Board that the Rev. J. L. Potter intended to publish The Pilgrim's Progress in Persian. “Encouragement has been given to Mr. Potter to proceed with the work, but the final arrangements have not yet been made.” As it turned out, Potter completed the task in 1883, and Bunyan’s allegorical work was printed on the government press. Funds had been provided by “the subscriptions of missionaries” and “box collections.” The total number of pages printed was 471,000. In spite of “persecuting movements in Tabriz, Hamadan and elsewhere in Persia,” the missionaries marveled at the degree of liberty… accorded in the capital under the immediate direction of the Government.”

While Rev. Potter busied himself with translation, Mrs. Potter was not idle in ministry. She held “a weekly service in the Armenian quarter on the west side of the city.” “A monthly social gathering of the native women” was also held at her home “in hopes of more effectively reaching the women.”

Image: Title page from Persian Pilgrim's Progress (Vining PK 6448.1 .E9 B8 1883)

Illustration showing Pilgrim arriving at the

Persian Pilgrim's Progress (1883)

This illustration shows Pilgrim arriving at the "Wicket-Gate." This is the beginning of the novel, and the entryway to his journey towards the Celestial City.

Image: Example pages from Persian Pilgrim's Progress (Vining PK 6448.1 .E9 B8 1883)

Punjabi Pilgrim's Progress (1902)

Presbyterian missionaries reached the Punjab in northwestern India in 1834. The history of Bible translation in many countries has been intimately linked to the development of a national language and literature. This was also the case of Punjabi. A printing press was soon established in the Punjab, with a translation of Matthew’s Gospel published in 1840, followed by John’s Gospel in 1841, and the entire New Testament in 1868. The first edition of The Pilgrim’s Progress came out in 1880.

Missionaries also promoted literacy and encouraged local authors to write in their native prose. They published a comprehensive Grammar of the Punjabi Language in 1851 as well as a 438-page Vocabulary Book in 1854. A native scholar has studied the various works by Christian missionaries between 1811 and 1859 with special emphasis on the Punjabi text of The Pilgrim’s Progress:

From these examples we can conclude that the prose produced by Christian missionaries during the 19th century is according to the rules of grammar. To make the ideas more effective and clear, the right use of full stops was made… None of these publications carry the name of either the author or translator. From this we can guess that from the very beginning these works were produced by team work… In short, we can say that the prose of this period is the link between old Punjabi prose and the modern Punjabi prose and it is indeed a valuable contribution…

Image: Title page from Punjabi Pilgrim's Progress (Vining PR 3330 .A84 1902)

Example page from Punjabi Pilgrim's Progress with romanized alphabet

Punjabi Pilgrim's Progress (1902)

Image: Example page from Punjabi Pilgrim's Progress (Vining PR 3330 .A84 1902)

Unknown Pilgrim's Progress

An early cataloguer at Gordon College deemed this translation of Bunyan’s classic to be in Sanskrit. It is more likely that it was in Urdu (the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan), although this has not been confirmed. The edition was indeed published in Lahore (Pakistan) by The Punjab Religious Book Society. The title page bears the stamp of the Rev. H. S. Nesbitt, who was an American missionary and amateur horticulturalist stationed in Zafarwal, India and later in Gujranwala, India. Nevertheless, the particulars surrounding the publication of this edition remain unknown.

Such is the case with scores of materials in the Vining Collection. New discoveries continue to be made. For instance, a short time ago, the first edition of the New Testament in Spanish (1543) by Francisco de Enzinas was found on the Archives shelves. In 1541, Enzinas had enrolled at the University of Wittenberg to study with Philip Melanchthon, and it was at his house that he finished his translation. Charles V later had Enzinas arrested and many of the copies of his New Testament were burned. Today, they are extremely rare, and Gordon College is privileged to own a copy. This underscores the work that still remains in investigating and cataloguing the Vining Collection, as, potentially, surprising discoveries await.

Image: Title page of unknown Pilgrim's Progress (Vining PR 3329 .H75)

Example pages from the unknown Pilgrim's Progress. You can even see a handwritten note on the right page that notes this, incorrectly, as

Unknown Pilgrim's Progress

Image: Example pages from the unknown Pilgrim's Progress. You can even see a handwritten note on the right page that notes this, incorrectly, as "Sanscrit." (Vining PR 3329 .H75)

Title page of illustrated Pilgrim's Progress from 1869

The Illustrated Pilgrim's Progress

The Pilgrim’s Progress has enjoyed its perennial success not only because of its compelling story, but also in some measure because of its illustrations. Early English editions were almost always illustrated. The most popular “pictures,” as they were termed, included The Pilgrim’s Dream, Christian Meeting Evangelist, Christian and the Worldly-Wiseman, The Burden Falling Off, Passing the Lions, and the Fight with Apollyon. Crudeness of style—especially in the many pirated editions—was so rampant as to constitute the norm. But acclaimed artists such as Romantic painter William Blake, who left twenty-nine watercolors, were also drawn to Bunyan’s classic allegory. It is no wonder as well that The Pilgrim’s Progress was one of the earliest illustrated books in America—the first appearing in 1740—as all the important early illustrators cut at least one set of engravings for the popular text.

The display below features Charles H. Bennett’s well-known illustrations for Bunyan’s classic, published in London in 1869.

The settings for “pictures” of The Pilgrim’s Progress have sometimes been criticized for their excessive Englishness. It appears that no energy was spared by Bunyan scholars in trying to identify sites in the Bedfordshire area—with its hedgerows, stiles, and characteristic church architecture—as models for the original. Nevertheless, indigenized illustrations also began to appear in foreign editions and spoke to the work’s universality. As one African missionary opined, the illustrations showed that the protagonist, Christian, was not simply “a mere Briton,” but was rather “a New Man in Christ.”

Title page of The Pilgrim's Progress Illustrated edition (Special Coll. PR 3330 .A1 1869)

The pages displayed heres show illustrations of

The Illustrated Pilgrim's Progress

The pages displayed heres show illustrations of "Vanity Fair," which symbolizes the world as a whole, especially its opposition to Christianity.

Image: Example pages from Pilgrim's Progress (Special Coll. PR 3330 .A1 1869)

Faces: Christian

Image: Illustration of Christian from Pilgrim's Progress (Special Coll. PR 3330 .A1 1869)

Faces: Mr. Worldly Wiseman

Image: Illustration of Mr. Worldly Wiseman from Pilgrim's Progress (Special Coll. PR 3330 .A1 1869)

Faces: Simple, Sloth, & Presumption

Image: Illustration of Simple, Sloth, & Presumption from Pilgrim's Progress (Special Coll. PR 3330 .A1 1869)

Faces: Discontent

Image: Illustration of Discontent from Pilgrim's Progress (Special Coll. PR 3330 .A1 1869)

Faces: Envy, Superstition, & Pickthank

Image: Illustration of Envy, Superstition, & Pickthank from Pilgrim's Progress (Special Coll. PR 3330 .A1 1869)

Map showing

Bunyan's Country Map

Image: Map showing "Bunyan's Country" which was Bedfordshire, England from Bunyan's Country by Albert J. Foster. (Special Coll. PR 3330 .A9 F7 1901)

This edition of Pilgrim's Progress includes a labeled, tri-fold diagram of the different locations visited during Christian's journey.

The Illustrated Pilgrim's Progress

This edition of Pilgrim's Progress includes a labeled, tri-fold diagram of the different locations visited during Christian's journey.

Image: Tri-fold diagram (Special Coll. PR 3330 .A1 1800)

Blue cover and spine of Pilgrim's Progress. There is a gilt knight figure on the center of the cover and you can see tape on th top and bottom of the spine with wear and tear along the edges where the spine and front cover meet.

Worn Copy of Pilgrim's Progress

This English version of Pilgrim's Progress shows just how popular Bunyan's work was. This copy is an ex-library book and attempts to fix it have been made in the past. You will notice tape on the binding. When the book is opened, sections of the book are starting to pull apart from the center binding. 

Image: Cover and spine of Pilgrim's Progress (Special Coll. PR 3330 .A2 H6w)

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