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(SPIRITUALISM). HAMMOND, C[HARLES]. Light From the Spirit World. Containing a Series of Articles on the Condition of Spirits, and the Development of Mind in the Rudimental and Second Spheres. Being written wholly by the control of Spirits, without any volition or will by the Medium, or any thought or care in regard to the matter presented by his hand. Rochester, N.Y: Printed for the Proprietor, by W. Heughes, 1852. 1st ed. 12mo. [v]-xii, [13]-268 pp. Recent half cloth and marbled boards, new endpapers (lacking ad for Dewey on fro. Title a little soiled, repair to lower margin of last leaf. Good. $325.00

 

 Sabin 30088. Not to be confused with another work by Hammond, Light From the Spirit World. The Pilgrimage of Thomas Paine and Others, to the Seventh Circle in the Spirit World (also Rochester 1852) which contains a portrait.

     Rev. Hammond had taken charge of the Universalist society in Rochester in 1843 and began editing a paper, The Luminary. But within a year the society disbanded and by 1846 The Luminary had ceased publication. Following news of the strange happenings in nearby Hydesville, N.Y. in 1848, Rochester quickly became a hub of spiritualism. The Fox sisters conducted private meetings at their sister's house on Troup St. in Rochester and in November, 1849 public demonstrations were held before packed audiences in Corinthian Hall. Hammond was part of a circle of Rochester reformers that included Isaac and Amy Post that converted to the new religion. For his part, though, Frederick Douglass was not impressed: a February, 1850 letter to Amy Post shows that the new phenomenon had created a rift in their friendship. Hammond was also associated with Douglass, writing several letters to him, around this time, on abolition and other topics.