A Few Words on Christian Science
New York: Loizeaux Brothers, Bible Truth Depot. Item #82861
This booklet is titled “A Few Words on Christian Science” by S. R. (initials only). It’s a small pamphlet-format publication, priced at five cents, likely from the late 19th or early 20th century.
Context
• Christian Science: The movement was founded in the late 1800s by Mary Baker Eddy, author of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (1875). It emphasizes healing through prayer and spiritual understanding, often challenging traditional medicine.
• Pamphlets like this: In the early decades of Christian Science, adherents and sympathizers frequently issued inexpensive tracts and booklets to spread or defend its teachings. Many were written anonymously or under initials, which was common in religious polemics at the time.
• Design clues: The border ornaments, typography, and “Five Cents” pricing suggest a printing style from around 1890–1910. This matches the period when Christian Science was rapidly growing in the U.S. and abroad.
Possible Author (“S. R.”)
Without more detail, it’s difficult to pin down “S. R.” Several minor Christian Science writers used initials in tracts, while better-known figures (like Septimus J. Hanna, Edward A. Kimball, etc.) usually published under their full names. This may have been:
• An early adherent writing a defense or clarification of the faith.
• A critic offering a rebuttal to Eddy’s teachings (anti–Christian Science tracts also circulated under plain initials).
Pamphlets like this are quite scarce today because they were cheaply printed and often discarded. Condition (like the visible crease and small tear at the top) affects value, but collectors of Christian Science history, Americana religious tracts, or ephemeral printings would find it of interest.
What it is
• Title: A Few Words on Christian Science
• Author (almost certainly): Samuel Ridout (1855–1930), a Plymouth Brethren writer who commonly signed as “S. R.” The Plymouth Brethren Archive lists a Ridout pamphlet with this exact title and length.
• Extent: 31 pages (matches the archive listing).
• Date window: Likely early 1900s (Ridout’s pamphlet work flourished c. 1890–1915; the brethren listing groups it with other pre-1915 items).
• Publisher: Loizeaux Brothers (Ridout’s regular Brethren publisher; many of his works on that page are Loizeaux titles). While the specific publisher isn’t shown on the archive entry for this tract, Ridout’s other listed items are Loizeaux, making this a reasonable inference.
Why “S. R.” fits Samuel Ridout
• The Plymouth Brethren Archive page for Samuel Ridout explicitly includes A Few Words on Christian Science (31 pp) among his pamphlets—matching your cover’s “By S. R.” and the tract format/price (“Five Cents”).
What the tract likely is (content & stance)
• Ridout wrote numerous anti–Christian Science and apologetic pieces; his lectures/books frequently critiqued Christian Science by name, consistent with the tract’s title.
How to confirm bibliographic details
1. Title page verso (or final page): often shows publisher/city (likely Loizeaux Brothers, New York) and sometimes a date.
2. Last page: Brethren tracts often print series notices or imprints there.
3. Collation: Count pages (should be 31 pp + covers). The archive listing’s extent helps confirm.
Library / reference trails
• Plymouth Brethren Archive – Samuel Ridout: lists the pamphlet with extent; good for confirming authorship.
• Brethren “Bookshelf” index: also enumerates Ridout’s pamphlets and gives the same title cue.
• If you want to locate library holdings, try WorldCat with the query: Ridout "A Few Words on Christian Science". (WorldCat requires JS to view results, but it’s the right catalog for finding copies if any are recorded.)
Dating cues from this copy
• The ornamental border, type, and “Five Cents” pricing line up with cheap Protestant polemical tracts from ~1895–1915, which fits Ridout’s timeline. (This is an inference; confirm via imprint/date as noted above.).
Price: $150.00 save 20% $120.00