John Wesley's Book Stock and the Arminian Magazine Catalogue of 1789

This study is an attempt to place John and Charles Wesley and their Methodist organization within the general context of the eighteenth century book trade in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and parts of British North America. John Wesley proposed to spread his evangelical message through the sale and distribution of books and depended on the income of those books to allow for the mission’s operation and conduct. The Book Stock fulfilled these two objectives, albeit with personal and organizational difficulties. The Arminian Magazine “Catalogue” of 1789, the subject of this study, helps demonstrate and define Wesley’s role as an eighteenth century publisher.