1900 Booth Christian Eschatological Doomsday Broadside

The Ultimate Timeline.

This is a stunning c. 1900 evangelical Christian broadside providing an eschatological chart of time according to Scripture from a Dispensationalist perspective. Dividing history and the future into distinct phases, the chart traces time from the eternity before Genesis to the eternity that will follow the Apocalypse and the Second Coming.

A Closer Look

The chart displays the course of time from Genesis until the Apocalypse, dividing it into seven 'dispensations'. Dispensationalism is based on a literal interpretation of the Bible, though the number and duration of the dispensations are debated. The 'weeks' of Daniel referred to here are derived from a description of the Babylonian Captivity in the Book of Daniel, the translation of which is debated in Biblical exegesis, but which more literally means 'sevens'. (However, in the King James Bible and other vernacular Bibles, it is often translated as 'weeks'). In any event, these weeks or 'sevens' are a time marker for separating historical eras, in which the Jews and their connection with Israel play a central role; note 'Israel One Nation in the Land' in the Millennium or 6th Dispensation.

Divided into the Dispensations, key events in history are listed, from Genesis to the Garden of Eden and Abraham, down to the present age, and then onto the future Rapture, millennium, and a following eternity of a New Heaven, New Earth, and the Lake of Fire. References to Scripture appear throughout, particularly to Genesis, Daniel, and Revelation.

Historical Context

Although consistent with some evangelical and many fundamentalist strains of Christianity, this broadsheet was produced and primarily intended for the Plymouth Brethren movement, a low church, Nonconformist movement that originated with Irish Protestants in the 1820s. By the 1860s, the movement had spread to North America. Within the Plymouth Brethren, where Booth was a prominent figure, the present chart served as an essential pedagogical tool. It was also used by other Christian groups who shared similar beliefs on premillennialism and a pretribulation rapture, distilling complex prophetic interpretations into a linear, digestible, and visually stunning format.

Chromolithography

Chromolithography, sometimes called oleography, is a color lithographic technique developed in the mid-19th century. The process uses multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, to yield a rich composite effect. Generally, a chromolithograph begins with a black basecoat upon which subsequent colors are layered. Some chromolithographs used 30 or more separate lithographic stones to achieve the desired effect. Chromolithograph color can be blended for even more dramatic results. The process became extremely popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when it emerged as the dominant method of color printing. The vivid color chromolithography made it exceptionally effective for advertising and propaganda.

Publication History and Census

This broadside was prepared by Albert Edward Booth, a Plymouth Brethren Minister, printed by the Hayes Lithographing Company, and published by Loizeaux Brothers, also affiliated with the Plymouth Brethren. It is undated but likely dates to the very early 20th century, given the printing style, characteristic of the turn of the century. The name 'Hayes Litho. Co.' dates it to 1900 or later, while the address of Loizeaux Brothers used here means it must date to before 1910. Several later editions of this broadsheet were printed in multiple languages throughout the 20th century, but this is one of the earliest and perhaps the first edition. Several editions of an accompanying key (The course of time from eternity to eternity: key to a chart) were also published but were, like most editions of the chart, undated. The chart appears in some institutional collections and occasionally on the market, but in both cases generally in later editions from the 1950s or 1960s.

Cartographers

Albert Edward Booth (December 15, 1860 - October 25, 1953) was a Canadian-American Christian Fundamentalist preacher and author who preached extensively in both countries during his life. Booth was born in Peel, Ontario. At some point in his youth, certainly by 1892, he had relocated to Los Angeles, and by 1900 had moved again to Buffalo, New York, where he is listed as being employed as a clergyman (a Plymouth Brethren Minister, more specifically). By 1930, he had returned to Los Angeles and soon afterward settled in Pasadena, where he would spend the rest of his life. Booth traveled widely to preach within the Plymouth Brethren movement and published several works for the same audience, his best known being 'A Chart on the Course of Time from Eternity to Eternity,' for which he also wrote an accompanying 'key' (explanatory booklet). Booth married three times during his life (his first two wives predeceased him), the last time when he was 88 years old, but had no children.   Further Details...

Loizeaux Brothers (1876 - c. 1994) was an evangelical Christian publisher based in the New York City area. The firm was founded by brothers Paul Jacob Loizeaux (1841 - 1916) and Timothy Ophir Loizeaux (1843 - 1927). The brothers were born in the Department of the Aisne, in northern France, to a French Protestant family. In 1853, the family relocated to the United States, settling in Vinton, Iowa. Both brothers spent time in New York City teaching at the Charlier Institute, a thriving private school founded by their uncle, Elie Charlier (1826-1896). In 1876, the brothers founded the Bible Truth Depot in Vinton, distributing evangelical tracts and booklets to train passengers. Three years later, the brothers were enjoined to take over management of a print shop of the same name in New York City. Over the following decades, the brothers transformed the Bible Truth Depot (now renamed Loizeaux Brothers) into a Christian publishing powerhouse, successively moving to larger premises in New York City and New Jersey to keep up with printing demand. Although not well known in wider society, Loizeaux Brothers were a mainstay of certain evangelical and fundamentalist Christian circles, particularly the Plymouth Brethren, throughout the 20th century.   Further Details...

Julius Herman Cosack (February 15, 1826 - May 2, 1892) was a German-American engraver based in Buffalo, New York, in the second half of the 19th century. Cosack was born in Danzig, Germany, where he apprenticed as a lithographic engraver before emigrating to the United States in 1853. He spent 3 years in New York before relocating to Buffalo, where he took a job with the lithographic firm of Sage and Sons. There he met the English-American artist and lithographer Hugh De Musgrove Clay (1834 - 1904), with whom he founded, in 1864, the lithography firm of 'Clay and Cosack.' The partnership lasted about 13 years before Clay split off to found another firm with Henry A. Richmond. From 1878, Cosack operated independently as 'Cosack and Company' before taking on Edwin Alonso Clark (1848 - 1881) as a partner in 1880. The firm subsequently operated as 'Cosack and Clark'. Clark died suddenly in 1881, and the firm reverted again to 'Cosack and Company'. Soon afterward, Cosack took on Herman T. Koerner (1855 - 1927) and Charles Eugene Hayes (1858 - c. 1910) as partners, but did not change the imprint. The firm became prominent, acquiring a large five-story building in downtown Buffalo and installing presses capable of printing 200,000 sheets a day. When Cosack died in 1892, the firm was taken over fully by Koerner and Hayes, who introduced their own imprint, with Robert Heussler as an unnamed third printer. Although very active at the end of the 19th century, operating one of the largest lithographic print shops in the U.S. and known for its vibrant chromolithographic advertisements, broadsides, and other works, the firm overextended, became indebted, and filed for bankruptcy in 1900. Two weeks later, a buyer for the company was found, and it was renamed the Hayes Lithographing Company, with Koerner being 'retired.' The Hayes Lithographing Company continued to operate until about 1920, publishing books, musical scores, and even food-serving trays, in addition to advertising, posters, and trade cards.   Further Details...

Condition

Good. Some discoloration and edge wear. Closed tear, repaired on verso, through the 'I' in 'Time'.

References

Rumsey 13573.000 (later edition). OCLC 1572426790 (later editions). A Century of Christian Publishing: Loizeaux Brothers, 1876 - 1976, (Loizeaux Brothers: Neptune, NJ) 1976.