[Women's Prisons, Slavery]

Updated August 6, 2026

Lot number	45
Auction	1066: Rare Books & Bookworm, ONLINE-ONLY Sale
Date	August 9, 2026 at 5:00 PM EDT
Auction house	Addison & Sarova Auctioneers
Location	Social Circle, Georgia

Estimate: 1 / 1000 Cross, Andrew B. PRIESTS' PRISONS FOR WOMEN; OR, A CONSIDERATION OF THE QUESTION, WHETHER UNMARRIED FOREIGN PRIESTS OUGHT TO BE PERMITTED TO ERECT PRISONS... IN TWELVE LETTERS TO T. PARKIN SCOTT, ESQ. Baltimore: Printed by Sherwood & Co., 1854. 8vo, disbound. Good. A scarce antebellum anti-Catholic polemic published during the height of the American nativist movement. Written in the wake of the sensational allegations surrounding the 1839 escape of Olivia Neal from a Baltimore convent, the work attacks Roman Catholic convents and religious orders, arguing that they functioned as places of coercion and imprisonment for women. Originally appearing in the Baltimore Clipper, these twelve letters reflect the intense anti-Catholic sentiment that helped fuel the rise of the Know-Nothing movement in the 1850s and provide a revealing primary source for the era's religious and political controversies. Condition: For lots in this online-only auction, condition is stated in general terms only, ranging from Poor to Fine, with Good being average (i.e. an exhaustive list of individual flaws is not included, but only our opinion of the overall cumulative grade is provided.) Most books in this sale have been given a brief inspection only and have not been fully collated (unless the collation is shown.) However, if loss or absence of text is observed during our inspection, then this will always be noted in the description. All lots are sold as-is and not subject to return for any reason. PLEASE READ THE VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOUND IN LOT #1.

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