[PUTNEY & ONEIDA COMMUNITY PERIODICALS] The Witness, The Perfectionist, The Perfectionist & Theocratic Watchman, The Spiritual Magazine, The Free Church Circular, The Circular, The Circular New Series, The Oneida Circular, The American Socialist

Oneida, NY, et al.: Oneida Community, 1839-1879. First Edition. The Perfectionist [vol. I nos 1&2 condensed]. New Haven, CT: 1835. Second edition. One folio issue (40cm), 4pp. Split along fold, with damage to margins, small spots of discoloration: Good. DARE 1517.

The Witness [vol. I nos xx, xxii, xxv; vol. II nos ii, iv-vi, viii, xi-xii, xiv-xvi, xviii-xxi]. Putney, VT: 1839-1842. Seventeen individual issues (30cm), each 8pp. Some disbound, with sewing holes and remnants of thread, others never bound. With one leaf from vol. I no. vi. Largely whole, with small clippings excised from vol. I nox. xxii and vol. II no. xii; vol. II no. xviii lacking two leaves. Condition varies, with some issues clean and fresh, others battered at edges, with splits along folds, occasional foxing and minor dampstaining: overall, Good and sometimes better. DARE 1543.

The Perfectionist [later issues titled: Perfectionist and Theocratic Watchman] [vols III-IV complete, vol. V nos 1-2, 5, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16, 24]. Putney, VT: 1843-46. Unbroken run of vols III-IV, with 9 issues of vol. V. Vols III-IV bound together in one folio volume (42cm). Quarter brown sheep with brown marbled paper over boards; plain endpapers; 96pp. Externally rubbed, as expected, but internally clean and crisp: Very Good. Loose folio issues (45cm) rubbed at edges, with minor chips and short tears, some issues browned: most issues Very Good. DARE 1518.

The Spiritual Magazine Vol. I nos 1-12. Putney, VT: 1846-7. Octavo (24cm). Twelve 8-leaf pamphlets. Some with names at head, including Alva Barron, Josiah Converse, and B. W. Drake. Disbound, with sewing holes visible; some fastened with pins. Lightly rubbed at edges, with minor soiling to exteriors; clippings removed from no. 1, no. 7, and no. 8, with no. 7 also lacking two leaves: Good or better. DARE 1530.

The Spiritual Magazine vol. II nos. 1-24 [COMPLETE]. Putney, VT & Oneida, NY: 1847-50. Octavo (21.5cm). Disbound volume, lacking boards, but with all issues. Slight browning to margins, occasional spots of discoloration, but text block generally Good or better. DARE 1530.

The Free Church Circular [vol. III nos 1-24; vol. IV nos 1-16] [COMPLETE]. Oneida Reserve, NY: 1850-1851. A complete run of 40 issues. Octavo (24cm). Each issue 16pp. Many copies with the name "Alvah Barron" at head. Some with sewing holes, some without. Rubbed, with some soiling, but largely whole: Good. A complete run of the publication, which began with vol. III (succeeding The Spiritual Magazine vol. II). DARE 1451.

The Circular [vols I-XII] [incomplete run of 600 issues]. Oneida, NY: 1851-1864. Vol I, nos 1-52, complete; vol. II nos 1-104, complete; vol. III, nos 79-156; vol. IV, nos 2-52; vol. V, nos1-10, 16, 20, 33, 36-52; vol. VI, nos 2-4, 6-25, 26-43, 45, 48-49, and the extra number for July 11, 1857; vol. VII, nos 2, 7, 12-14, 17-21, 24, 27, 29, 35, 38, 42-47, 49, 51-52; vol. VIII, nos 1-7, 10-20, 23-24, 27-30, 32-33, 35, 37-39, 41-46, 49-52; vol. IX, nos 2-9, 14, 18, 21, 25-29, 32-33, 35, 37-38, 40-52; vol. X nos 1, 3-14, 17-20, 22-42, 44, 46-48, 50-52, and the extra number for March 22 1861; vol. XI, nos 2-17, 19, 21-33, 35-41, 43-44, 46-48, 50-52; vol. XII, nos 1-2, 4-7, 9-52. 600 folio issues (46cm), most loose. Condition varies, but largely whole, edges rubbed and chipped, some issues with minor browning, spotting, or dampstaining, a few with significant browning, three issues with clippings excised: on the whole, Very Good. Vol. I bound, stab-sewn with plain white paper wraps (46cm). Vol. III bound in half brown leather with blue marbled paper-covered boards, titled in gilt on spine, plain endpapers. Binding rubbed and scuffed, internally lightly browned but clean: Good. DARE 1511.

The Circular. New Series [vol. I-VI complete; vol. VII, nos 1-41]. Mount Tom, NY: 1864-1870. Vols. I-IV in bound volume containing vols I-IV, with loose issue of vol. III, no. 21 inserted. Quarto (36cm). Half-bound in black leather, paper over boards, titled in gold on spine, edges sprinkled; plain endpapers. Much rubbed, paper over boards lacking on front, almost completely detached from rear, front free endpaper detached, but complete: around Good. Vols V-VI and vol. VII, nos 1-41 loose. 143 quarto issues (36cm), each 8pp. A fresh set, with occasional browning and chips to edges: Very Good or better. WELLS (The Oneida Community Collection in the Syracuse University Library) p.24. DARE 1511.

The Oneida Circular [vols. VIII-XIII] [COMPLETE]. Oneida, NY: 1871-1876. 270 loose quarto issues (36cm). Condition varies slightly, but most issues are fresh, with minor wear to edges and occasional minor dampstains, soiling, and browning: Very Good or better. The Oneida Circular began at vol. VIII, following vol. VII of The Circular (New Series). DARE 1511.

The American Socialist. Devoted to the Enlargement and Perfection of Home. Vols. I-IV [1876-79] [COMPLETE]. Oneida, NY: 1876-79. A complete set, with vol. I nos. 1-40, and nos 1-52 of vols II-IV, totaling 196 individual issues (41cm) of 4 leaves. With sewing holes. Largely whole, with some wear, chips, and small tears to edges, with minor soiling to exteriors, first leaf of vol. 2, no. 1 heavily browned, damage to fore-edge of vol. 4, no. 1: Good. DARE 1503. A substantial (albeit incomplete) run of public-facing periodicals produced by John H. Noyes and the Oneida and Putney Communities from 1839 to 1876. Though this collection includes some lacunae, it provides a detailed history of Noyes' theology and doctrines, and of the activities of the perfectionist communes established at Putney, Oneida, and Wallingford. The earliest periodicals (The Witness, The Perfectionist) focused primarily on theology with occcasional articles on social reform. They concentrated on Noyes's "religious views, especially as they pertained to the Christian attitude towards human sin and to relations between the sexes in the perfect Christian society" (Wells 18-19). (The Oneida Community departed from nineteenth-century gender norms in multiple ways: practicing nonmonogamous "complex marriage," developing rigorous practice for male birth control, and encouraging women to participate in community labor, business, and governance.) The Spiritual Magazine and The Free Church Circular began to include articles about spiritualism, religious testimonies, and updates from religious communes, including Oneida. The Circular and later periodicals went into more detail about the daily practice of Bible Communism and socialism at Oneida, as well as reporting on other Perfectionist and Associationist communes and occasionally on national and international events. While individual issues and volumes of Oneida publications have been offered as remainders over the years, the last opportunity to acquire a collection as extensive as this one was in 1980. WELLS (The Oneida Community Collection in the Syracuse University Library) pp18-25. DARE (American Communes to 1860) 1451, 1503, 1511, 1518, 1530, 1543.