Trust Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel Printed Collection

IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 2160 Trust Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel Printed Collection
Held at: Moravian Church Archive and Library
Domain: printed
Title: Trust Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel Printed Collection
Date(s) of contents: 18th century -
Level of description: Collection
Extent and medium: 200 printed book titles plus c5 metres of periodicals

CONTEXT

Name of creator(s):

Brethren's Society fo the Furtherance of the Gospel among the Heathen
Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel
Trust Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel

Administrative/Biographical history: The Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel (S.F.G.) was founded by the Moravian Church in 1741 in order to undertake missionary activities around the world. On 17 September 1921 it was incorporated to become the Trust Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel.

The Moravian Church has produced periodicals documenting its missionary work since the late 18th century, notably Periodical Accounts (1790-1961), The Moravian Missionary Reporter (1879-1902) and Moravian Missions (1903-1956).

See also:
John Taylor Hamilton, A history of the missions of the Moravian Church, during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Bethlehem: 1901).
Joseph Edmund Hutton, A history of Moravian missions (London: Moravian Publication Office, 1923).
Samuel Baudert, The advance guard: 200 years of Moravian missions 1732-1932 (London: Moravian Book Room, c1932).
J. C. S. Mason, The Moravian Church and the missionary awakening in England, 1760-1800 (Rochester: Royal Historical Society/Boydell, 2001).

Custodial history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

In the continuous possession of the Moravian Church.

CONTENT AND STRUCTURE

Scope and content/abstract: Periodicals include: the Moravian Mission Reporter, Moravian Missions, and Periodical Accounts; the latter two titles consisting of complete series covering the period 1790-1961. Periodicals document Moravian missionary activity worldwide from 1790 onwards, including printed extracts of letters, diaries, etc. Later issues (from c1900) include illustrations and photographs.

System of arrangement:

Books are classified according to an inhouse system, with groupings according to types of material (eg, hymnbooks, reports), and with classification suffixes indicating the language of a work.

Periodicals are arranged numerically by volume and date.

ACCESS AND USE

Language:

Books are mostly English, with some works in other languages such as Danish, French, German and Latin. Periodicals are in Danish, English, French and German.

Conditions governing access: Open access.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Reproduction in any form is subject to the permission of the archivist and/or the Moravian Church. Copyright restrictions may also apply.

Finding aids:

Books are listed on a card catalogue; a computerised database is in preparation

A computer database of all periodical titles in the library of the British Province is available onsite.

ALLIED MATERIALS

Related material:

The Moravian Church Archive and Library also holds the archive of the Trust Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel.

Moravian Church Manuscripts, held at the John Rylands Library, University of Manchester, include the journal of Christian Ignatius Latrobe (1758-1836) on Moravian missionary work.

University of Bristol Special Collections holds reports of Moravian congregations and memoirs of individuals (1728-1944) relating mainly to the Caribbean (reference DM 1538).

The central archives of the worldwide Moravian church (including an ethnographic museum of objects collected by Moravian missionaries) are held at the Unity Archives in Herrnhut, Germany.

DESCRIPTION NOTES

Date(s) of descriptions: 18th April 2002

INDEX ENTRIES

Subjects

Personal names

Corporate names

Brethren's Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel among the Heathen

Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum)

Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel

Trust Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel

Places

Africa

Americas

Antigua and Barbuda

Asia

Barbados

Canada

Caribbean

Central America

China

East Africa

East Asia

Egypt

India

Israel

Jamaica

Jerusalem

Labrador

Middle East

Newfoundland

Nicaragua

North Africa

North America

Saint Christopher and Nevis

South Africa

South Asia

Tanzania UR

Tibet

Trinidad and Tobago