New Acquisitions
An Account of the Designs of the Associates of the Late Dr. Bray. London: [s.n.], 1767. *2008-1094. |
Thomas Bray (1658-1730) was an Anglican clergyman who worked tirelessly throughout his life to publish and distribute Christian literature, through his founding of the Society to Promote Christian Knowledge. He also founded parish libraries in England and throughout the colonies. This library-building was carried on after his death by the Associates of Dr. Bray, which regularly published reports on their activities such as this one. The membership list shown here memorializes an intriguing meeting between two of the Associates, Johnson and Benjamin Franklin, at a May 1760 meeting of the society, shortly after Franklin had been named its chairman. Although Johnson remained a member of the group, and bequeathed it the royalties from the posthumous publication of his Prayers and Meditations, he is not recorded as having attended any other meetings. |