catalogue three hundred seventeen
Crucible of War:
Conflict in North America
1757–1792
W illiam R eese C ompany
409 Temple Street
New Haven, CT 06511
(203) 789-8081
A Note
This catalogue derives its title from Fred Anderson’s superb history of the French and
Indian War, The Crucible of War. That colonial war shaped an aftermath of colonial dissent and imperial struggle which led directly to the American Revolution and ultimately
to the federal government of the United States as we know it. The third of a century
covered in this catalogue is the crucible out of which the United States emerged.
We are pleased to offer many landmark books here, among them the Paris 1785 edition of Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia; a wonderful James Sharples portrait of
Alexander Hamilton; Simcoe’s Journal..., a legendary Revolutionary rarity; and General
Gage’s proclamation of martial law after Lexington and Concord. Also offered are sets
of the Journals of the Continental Congress and The Pennsylvania Magazine of 1775-76;
a series of crucial Revolutionary pamphlets; a set of the Intolerable Acts; and much more.
Available on request or via our website are our recent catalogues 311 American Women,
313 World Travel & Voyages, 314 Recent Acquisitions in Americana, and 315 The Only
Copy For Sale, as well as Bulletins 33 American Natural History, 34 Adams & Jefferson,
35 American Travel, 36 American Views & Cartography, 37 Flat: Single Significant Sheets,
and many more topical lists.
Some of our catalogues, as well as some recent topical lists, are now posted on the
internet at www.reeseco.com. A portion of our stock may be viewed via links at www.
reeseco.com. If you would like to receive e-mail notification when catalogues and lists
are uploaded, please e-mail us at [email protected] or send us a fax, specifying whether
you would like to receive the notifications in lieu of or in addition to paper catalogues.
Terms
Material herein is offered subject to prior sale. All items are as described and are considered to be on approval. Notice of return must be given within ten days unless specific
arrangements are made. Connecticut residents must be billed state sales tax. Postage
and insurance charges are billed to all nonprepaid domestic orders. Overseas orders are
sent by air unless otherwise requested, with full postage charges billed at our discretion.
Payment by check, wire transfer or bank draft is preferred, but may also be made by
MasterCard or Visa.
William Reese Company
409 Temple Street
New Haven, CT 06511
www.williamreesecompany.com
Phone: (203) 789-8081
Fax: (203) 865-7653
E-mail: [email protected]
Front cover: 114. Romney, George: Joseph Tayadaneega Called The Brant.... London. 1779.
Rear cover: 31. [Continental Congress]: A Declaration by the Representatives.... Phila. 1775.
1. Adair, James: THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS;
PARTICULARLY THOSE NATIONS ADJOINING TO THE MISSISIPPI [sic], EAST AND WEST FLORIDA, GEORGIA, SOUTH
AND NORTH CAROLINA, AND VIRGINIA...ALSO AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING A DESCRIP TION OF THE FLORIDAS,
AND THE MISSISIPPI [sic] LANDS.... London. 1775. [12],464pp.
plus folding map. Half title. Quarto. Contemporary calf, rebacked, preserving
original gilt morocco label. Light wear to binding, modern bookplate on rear
pastedown. Very good.
Adair, “one of the most colorful figures in Southern colonial history” (Clark), came
to America in 1735. He was heavily involved in trading with the Indians of the
Southeast, including the Catawba, Cherokee, and Chickasaw, between 1735 and
1759, and this work contains a chapter on each of these major tribes. Considered
by many to be the leading authority of his time on the southeast Indians, he offers
detailed descriptions of Indian customs and religion, with many observations on
Indian trade and traders. A large portion of the work is devoted to Adair’s twentythree arguments by which he attempts to prove the descent of the Indians from
the Lost Tribes of Israel. The map “illustrates a Southeast with the Indians safely
tucked away in the interior wilderness, exactly the condition Adair’s readers would
have approved of ” (Cumming & De Vorsey).
HOWES A38, “b.” PILLING, PROOF-SHEETS 18. CLARK I:28. VAIL 643. FIELD
11. JCB (3)I:2013. SERVIES 517. BELL A59. SABIN 155. GRAFF 10. CUMMING &
DE VORSEY 448.
$4000.
Lobbying for Approval of the Massachusetts Constitution
2. [Adams, John]: AN ADDRESS OF THE CONVENTION, FOR
FRAMING A NEW CONSTITU TION OF GOVERNMENT,
FOR THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS-BAY, TO THEIR
CONSTITUENTS. Boston: White and Adams, 1780. 18pp. 20th-century
three-quarter red morocco and marbled boards, spine gilt. Extremities rubbed.
Institutional bookplate on front pastedown. Contemporary ownership inscription on titlepage, a few contemporary notations. Second “S” in “Address” on
half title lacking, some paper damage to the “E” as well. Light soiling, foxing,
and wear. About very good.
Although primarily written by Adams, this explanation of the new constitution was
issued by James Bowdoin, convention president. After the rejection of the 1778
Massachusetts constitution, the document was entirely revised, largely by John
Adams, and offered to the public in 1780. Adams and others then lobbied hard
for its acceptance, and this is the opening gun.
EVANS 16843.
$3000.
One of the Rarest of All Revolutionary War Narratives
3. Allen, Ethan: A NARRATIVE OF COLONEL ETHAN ALLEN’S
CAP TIVITY, FROM THE TIME OF HIS BEING TAKEN BY
THE BRITISH...TO THE TIME OF HIS EXCHANGE...CONTAINING, HIS VOYAGES AND TRAVELS...INTERSPERSED
WITH SOME POLITICAL OBSERVATIONS. WRITTEN BY
HIMSELF AND NOW PUBLISHED FOR THE INFORMATION
OF THE CURIOUS IN ALL NATIONS. Philadelphia: printed, Boston: re-printed by Draper and Folsom, 1779. 40pp. Early 20th-century blue
morocco by Macdonald, gilt inner dentelles, raised bands, spine gilt, a.e.g.
Lightly edgeworn, raised bands rubbed. Modern bookplate on front pastedown.
Stained and tanned. Trimmed close, costing several catchwords and occasionally shaving a running headline, page number, or letter of text. Overall, good.
In a half morocco and cloth folding case, spine gilt.
The excessively rare second edition of
Ethan Allen’s Revolutionary War captivity narrative. Four editions were printed
in 1779, all of which are extremely rare.
The Philadelphia edition printed by Bell
is designated by Evans as the first edition,
and this Boston printing is called the second edition. We have never seen a copy of
the Bell edition offered for sale, and the
North American Imprints Project locates
only two copies of that edition – it is so
rare as to be virtually unobtainable. This is
only the second copy of the Boston edition
that we have ever seen offered for sale.
As leader of the Green Mountain Boys,
Ethan Allen played a crucial role in the
attack on Fort Ticonderoga, and proved
to be a constant source of difficulty to the
British in the Northeast. He was captured in September 1775 while leading a
group of New Englanders and Quebecois
in an attack on Montreal, and suffered two
years of brutal captivity in British prisons,
aboard prison ships, and in the New York City jail. Allen was finally exchanged
for a British prisoner and wrote this account of his ordeal, excoriating the British
for their cruelty and calling on Americans to forsake any thought of compromise
in the revolutionary cause. Allen’s narrative was very popular “and is rated second
among best-selling books of the revolutionary period after Thomas Paine’s Common
Sense” (ANB). It was reprinted several times in the following decades.
The great 19th-century Americana collector, George Brinley, possessed three
copies of this Boston edition, all of which were sold at the auction of his collection
some 120 years ago. All three of those copies, however, were defective in some
way, and the catalogue description still referred to this Boston printing as being
“excessively rare.” Neither Thomas W. Streeter, E.D. Church, or Herschel Jones,
three of the greatest Americana collectors of the 20th century, were able to obtain
any 1779 edition of Allen’s narrative. The ever-bold Charles Heartman offered a
copy of this Boston edition in 1930 (at the onset of the Depression) for $975. Very
rare, and an essential Revolutionary War narrative.
HOWES A136, “b.” GILMAN, p.5. SABIN 793. EVANS 16181. NAIP w013736. ANB
I, pp.309-10.
$35,000.
A Set of Early American Military Manuals,
Printed by Robert Bell
4. [American Military Manuals]: THE ART OF WAR.... [with:] A
TREATISE ON THE MILITARY SERVICE OF LIGHT HORSE,
AND LIGHT INFANTRY, IN THE FIELD AND IN FORTIFIED
PLACES. Philadelphia: Robert Bell, 1776-1777. Two volumes. [8],264; [2],
228pp. Half title in each volume. Contemporary speckled calf, gilt-lettered
spines. Rubbed, more particularly along hinges; front board of second volume neatly detached. Contemporary
ownership signature of Joseph Hiller
on front free endpaper of first volume.
Internally clean. Very good. In separate
cloth chemises within a half morocco
and cloth box.
Two important early American military
manuals, published shortly after the first
American work of the kind, Roger Stevenson’s Military Instructions for Officers...
(1775). Both volumes are English translations of earlier French military guides. Although issued separately and complete in
themselves, the works are often found as a set, as here. The first title is actually a
compilation of three tracts by Monsieur de Lamont, an anonymous French author,
and the Chevalier de la Valiere, respectively. Titled “The Duties of Officers...,” “The
Duties of Soldiers...” and “The Rules and Practices of the Greatest Generals...,” they
offer a thorough guide to the proper behavior of a military body of the sort so much
needed by the fledgling Continental Army. The second volume, translated by the
American, Major Lewis Nicola, was originally written by Thomas Grandmaison,
the father of French cavalry tactics. The two volumes, intended by Bell to be a set
(the second volume includes an advertisement for the first opposite its titlepage),
are often found stamped with a “W” and a “G” on their respective spines, leading
some who have seen only one copy to surmise their copy once belonged to George
Washington. However, the appearance of multiple copies with such markings seems
to defeat that hopeful hypothesis. Many Bell bindings are stamped with similar
singular letters, suggesting the intrepid printer employed some sort of classification
system for his bindings. Throughout the Revolution early military guides such as
these were in great demand. Often subjected to extensive study and use, they are
rarely found in such fine condition.
HILDEBURN 3412, 3553. EVANS 14816, 15319. NAIP w013180, w028183. $7500.
5. [American Newspaper]: [American Revolution]: THE BOSTON GAZETTE AND THE COUNTRY JOURNAL. No. 1484. Boston: Benjamin Edes and sons, Feb. 3, 1783. 4pp. Folio. Old fold lines. Minor foxing
and soiling. Very good plus.
The Boston Gazette, published weekly, was established in 1719 as a competitor to
the Boston News-Letter and ran for nearly a century (1719-1798). From April 1756
to December 1793, it was published with the additional “And Country Journal.”
During the American Revolution, the Gazette was a leading publisher of material
protesting British taxes and anti-British sentiment. Contributors included such
notable personages as Samuel Adams, Phyllis Wheatley, and Paul Revere, who also
did the engraving on the masthead.
This issue, from the end of the American Revolution, contains a lengthy article
written by “Grotius” on the evil of a federal impost and the rights of states to be
independent. He writes: “For the general court to pass an act which they consider
in its nature irrepealable, thereby giving Congress the power of levying imposts of
the property of this state...is ‘delivering up the people to the subjection of a foreign
power.’” Power assigned to Congress by the Articles of Confederation – or the lack
thereof – would be hotly debated, eventually leading to the creation of the U.S.
Constitution in 1787. It also contains news from the front including an extract
from a letter by General Greene to Congress, announcing the flight of the British
$1500.
from Charleston. A View of Charleston, South Carolina in 1776
6. [American Revolution]: A N.W.b.N. VIEW OF CHARLES TOWN
FROM ON BOARD THE BRISTOL COMMODORE SIR PETER
PARKER KNT. &c. &c. TAKEN IN FIVE FATHOM HOLE THE
DAY AF TER THE ATTACK UPON FORT SULIVAN BY THE
COMMODORE & HIS SQUADRON, WHICH ACTION CONTINUED 9 HOURS & 40 MINUTES. London: William Faden, Aug.
10, 1776. Engraving, 12¼ x 19½ inches. Small old stamp on verso. Near fine.
A profile view of Charleston, South Carolina and the British fleet in the waters
offshore, following the attack on Fort Sullivan in June, 1776. The engraving includes a key indicating various important points of interest; several of the ships
in the view are labeled. Below the view is a separate platemark with an engraved
dedication which reads: “To Commodore Sir Peter Parker Knt. &c. &c. &c. This
View is most humbly dedicated and presented by Lt. Colonel Thos. James Rl. Rt.
of Artillery, Five Fathom Hole South Carolina, June 29th, 1776.”
In the spring of 1776, South Carolina was in the firm possession of the patriot
Americans, which the British were determined to challenge. They dispatched a
fleet of twenty ships under Commodore Peter Parker, with the mission under the
overall command of Major General Sir Henry Clinton. The ships moored in Five
Fathom Hole, and landed on Long Island, which lay to the north of Sullivan’s Island.
Meanwhile, practical considerations indicated that the Patriot defenders were in
considerable trouble. Led by Col. William Moultrie, the Americans were short
of experienced troops and ammunition. Fort Sullivan, located on the southern tip
of the island of the same name, had to be held, otherwise Charleston would fall.
Moultrie had a total of 1,125 men against 2,900 British marines. More worryingly,
the fort had only twenty-six guns, with only twenty-eight rounds of ammunition
per gun against the British fleet’s 270 well stocked cannon. On June 28th, the
British mounted their full on naval assault of the fort. Moultrie wisely rationed
and synchronized the use of his limited firepower, such that the British met heavier
than expected resistance. Unfamiliar with the tidal shoals that lay near the fort,
the British ships were unable to sail in close enough to the fort to deliver lethal
blows, while remaining in range of the American guns. Amazingly, many of the
British rounds which did strike the fort were harmlessly absorbed into the structure’s
spongy palmetto logs. The British flagship H.M.S. Bristol took heavy losses, and
another ship ran aground and had to be abandoned. Another British attempt to
storm Thomson’s northern positions with a raid by long boats was easily repelled.
This handsome view shows the position of the British ships in this important
engagement, with the city of Charleston in the background. This view was published
by Faden, who did many of the most important Revolutionary maps in the first
several years of the Revolution. Very rare; the is the first copy of this Charleston
view we have handled.
CRESSWELL 611.
$15,000.
The British Thrown Out of Boston, with a Fine Woodcut
7. [American Revolution]: TWO FAVORITE SONGS, MADE ON THE
EVACUATION OF THE TOWN OF BOSTON, BY THE BRITISH TROOPS, ON THE 17th OF MARCH, 1776. [Boston. March 17,
1776]. Broadside, 17 x 10½ inches. Large woodcut of a harbor fortress and
naval vessels exchanging cannon fire (2½ x 6½ inches), text in two columns.
One vertical and three horizontal folds. Edges mildly frayed with small losses;
several small losses at fold intersections, slightly affecting woodcut and two
words of text. Minor foxing, one light stain in woodcut (½ x ¾ inch). Very
good. Matted. In a cloth chemise and blue half morocco and cloth slipcase,
spine gilt.
“...Now is the time to man your lines, / for the soldiers have lef t Boston.”
A rare, large-format broadside containing two songs celebrating the British evacuation of Boston to General Washington’s army after a siege that had lasted from
April 1775. Winslow noted that the large woodcut had previously been used on a
broadside of 1745 describing the siege of Louisbourg. The first song begins: “In
seventeen hundred and seventy six, / On March the eleventh, the time was prefix’d,
/ Our forces march’d on Dorchester Neck, / Made fortifications against an attack.”
The supplies and munitions left by the departing British are mentioned, as is a fire
set at Castle William during the evacuation. The poet concludes spiritedly: “Let
‘em go, let ‘em go, for what they will fetch, / I think their great Howe is a miserable
wretch; / And as for his men, they are fools for their pains, / So let them return
to Old England again.”
The second song, in a different meter, comprises thirteen four-line stanzas. It
commences with a remembrance of the Battle of Bunker Hill: “It wasn’t our will
that Bunker-Hill, / From us should e’er be taken....” The American re-occupation
of Bunker Hill is described, along with several scarecrows left by the British (to give
the impression it was still garrisoned). Then: “The women come, and children run,
/ To brave Putnam rejoicing, / Saying now is the time to man your lines, / For the
soldiers have left Boston.” The poet speculates on the British force’s destination:
“Some say they’ve sail’d for Halifax, / And others for New-York...Where they are
bound there’s none can tell, / But the great God on high, / May all our heads be
covered well, / When cannon balls do fly.”
A smaller format broadside of the same two songs, set in a different type but
employing the same cut, is entitled, simply, On the Evacuation of Boston by the British Troops. ESTC locates only three copies, at the Essex Institute, the American
Antiquarian Society, and Princeton.
SABIN 97588. BRISTOL B4385. SHIPTON & MOONEY 43179. FORD 2040. WEGELIN 808. ESTC W38633.
$17,500.
A Fundamental Work of Great Rarity on the American Revolution:
The First Continental Printings of Common Sense,
the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation,
and Many State Constitutions, Greatly Influenced by Franklin
8. [American Revolution]: [Genêt, Edmé-Jacques, editor]: AFFAIRES
DE L’ANGLETERRE ET DE L’AMÉRIQUE. Anvers [i.e. Paris]. 17761778. Six volumes. Complete collation available upon request. Contemporary
French mottled calf, spines richly gilt with leather label. Extremities lightly
rubbed. Bookplates on front endpapers. From the collection of the Ducs de
Luynes. Very minor scattered foxing. Very good plus.
A monumental and fundamentally important set of documents tracing the early
course of the American Revolution and events on the North American continent.
Affaires de l’Angleterre et de l’Amérique contains among the earliest, and in some cases
the first, European printings of many of the most basic documents in American
history, including the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense,
the Articles of Confederation, and several state constitutions. The series was produced by the French government in order to inform the French public of the origins
and course of the American Revolution, and to build and justify support among
the French aristocracy and bureaucracy for an eventual Franco-American alliance.
With the crucial editorial assistance of Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, the
Affaires... helped accomplish this goal, as well as providing the French people with
their first taste of American democratic philosophy.
Affaires de l ’Angleterre et de l ’Amérique was actually produced by the French
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was available from the French bookseller, Pissot.
The false imprint and the anonymity maintained by the editor served to hide the
fact that it was issued by the French government and helped maintain a facade of
impartiality. The first issue appeared on May 4, 1776, and publication proceeded
through October 1779 (the present run goes from the beginning to Feb., 1778).
The series was edited by Edmé-Jacques Genêt, chief interpreter to the French
Foreign Minister, Charles Gravier, the Comte de Vergennes. Genêt was the father
of Edmund Charles “Citizen” Genêt, who later caused so much discord in FrenchAmerican relations during his tenure as minister plenipotentiary to the United
States in the 1790s. Edmé-Jacques Genêt produced a similar journal during the
French and Indian War, using correspondents in Britain, Spain, and the German
states to gather news and information on events in the various fields of battle. He
called upon some of those same sources, and cultivated American contacts as well,
for Affaires de l’Angleterre et de l’Amérique.
Affaires de l’Angleterre et de l’Amérique contains some of the earliest appearances
of many of the basic works of the Revolutionary era. The number of important
publications contained in the journal is nevertheless remarkable, with many key works
appearing in this first year. The Declaration of Independence appears in the Aug.
16, 1776 issue of the Affaires (in the “Banker’s Letter”) and is the first European
printing of that landmark document, preceding other French and British printings
by one to two weeks. Durand Echeverria mistakenly identifies a printing of the
Declaration in the Aug. 30, 1776 edition of the Gazette de Leyde as the first French
translation, missing its appearance a full two weeks earlier in the Affaires. Thomas
Paine’s incredibly influential and wildly popular Common Sense was the first purely
political essay published in the Affaires, appearing in the issue of June 15, 1776. It
does not appear in a word-for-word translation, but Genêt reprinted the majority
of Paine’s text, summarizing the sections he excluded. Gimbel notes only one other
French language printing of Common Sense in 1776, bearing a Rotterdam imprint.
A version of the Articles of Confederation, based on the July and August 1776
drafts fashioned by John Dickinson, appears in the third volume, received on Oct. 4,
1776. This is the earliest appearance of any form of the Articles outside the United
States, though inaccurate (see Will Slauther’s article, cited below). The Constitution
of New Jersey appears in Volume 4, followed by the Constitution of Delaware, the
May 15, 1776 Constitution of Virginia, and the Constitution of South Carolina.
The Constitution of Maryland appears in Volume 5.
Affaires de l’Angleterre et de l’Amérique was issued intermittently in parts. It can
be bound in a varying number of volumes, and bibliographer Paul L. Ford calls it
“one of the most intricate and puzzling studies in collation.” Howes notes that sets
are made up of “twenty-four parts divided into fifteen volumes,” but are usually
bound in seventeen volumes. Sabin concurs on twenty-four parts, while LeClerc
catalogued an incomplete set of only thirteen parts. Ford throws out the notion of
“parts” entirely, giving a complete collation in fifteen volumes. Obadiah Rich asserts that the series was “an imitation or translation of Almon’s Remembrancer,” but
Sabin and Howes both correctly refute this utterly incorrect notion. Howes calls it a
“counterpart” to the Remembrancer, while Sabin notes that it is “quite different” from
Almon’s work. As we have noted, it is a wholly original collection of documents,
assembled to provide close reports on the progress of the American Revolution and
to pave the way toward the French alliance with the rebellious Americans.
The present set is comprised of the first six volumes, which contain many of
the key documents in their first European printings, and extends to shortly after
the Franco-American alliance was signed on Feb. 8, 1778 (but to just before it was
made public a few weeks later). “Essential for the Revolutionary period” – Sabin.
“Of singular importance for the history of the period covered; but, owing to its
rarity, and to the extreme bibliographical confusion in its parts and volumes, it has
been singularly neglected as historical material” – Larned. “Collection des plus
importantes pour la periode de la revolution des Etats-Unis” – LeClerc. A rare
and fundamentally important collection of documents on the early years of the
American Revolution, in many cases containing the earliest European printings of
several iconic works of American history.
HOWES A85, “b.” LeCLERC 2464. SABIN 491. JCB 1(III):2185. FORD, FRANKLIN
BIBLIOGRAPHY 326. LARNED 1210. Laura Anne Bédard, Les Affaires de l’Angleterre
et de l’Amerique: A French Journal Covering the American Revolution from France (Unpublished
Master’s Thesis, 1986), especially chapters 2 and 3 and appendices. Durand Echeverria,
“French Publications of the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitutions,
1776-1783” in Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, Vol. 47, pp.313-38. Paul Leicester
Ford, “Affaires de l’Angleterre et de l’Amérique” in Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 1889, pp.222-26 has the clearest collation. Will Slauter, “Constructive Misreadings:
Adams, Turgot, and the American State Constitutions” in Papers of the Bibliographical Society
of America, Vol. 105, No. 1, pp.33-68.
$37,500.
9. [American Revolution]: AMERICAN JOURNAL EXTRAORDINARY. FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 1779 [caption title]. [Providence]:
Printed by Southwick and Wheeler, 1779. [2]pp. Quarto broadsheet, printed
in two columns. Minor wear and soiling. Very good.
This extra, issued the day after the first issue of this newspaper, has intelligence
extracted from “Yesterday’s Boston Paper” containing news from Pennsylvania that
14,000 freemen “have expressed, by petition and remonstrance, their disapprobation of any measures to disturb the execution of the present plan of government; a
number which has never before appeared on any occasion in that State....” There
is a long discussion of news concerning British peace feelers (what was called the
Carlisle Commission after its leader, the Earl of Carlisle), who were proposing some
limited autonomy for the Americans if they would relent in their revolution. The
paper also contains news that the “post from Providence, brings an account...that
a body of Negroes...had been attacked by a part of General Lincoln’s forces, and
entirely routed; and that 1400 of this black corps of men were killed and taken.”
Issued weekly from March 18, 1779 through January 27, 1781, thereafter semiweekly through Aug. 29, 1781, the American Journal was the fourth newspaper to be
published in Rhode Island and the second to be published in Providence. Solomon
Southwick had published the Newport Mercury, but was forced to leave when the
British occupied Newport in 1776. The American Antiquarian Society has a nearly
consecutive run of this periodical, starting with the first issue on March 18 and
running through July 12, 1780, but does not have a copy of this extra. The earliest
issue held by the Library of Congress is April 15, 1779. Brigham shows only one
holding of this extra, at Brown University. Rare.
EVANS 16186.
$6000.
10. [American Revolution]: [Political Satire]: [THE WORTHY DUTCHMAN – EERWARDIGEN NEDERLANDER]. [Netherlands. 1780].
Engraving, 10 x 15 inches (plate mark) on a sheet 13½ x 17¾ inches. Very
minor soiling. Fine. Matted.
This cartoon shows a wealthy Dutch merchant at center, surrounded by several
artisans and tradespeople, all gathered around a trunk full of money bags. The
central merchant figure empties coins into the apron of an artisan, while he holds
up an unfriendly and dismissive hand toward a group of foreign nationals with
bonds and treaties of alliance – Great Britain, France, and possibly America, are
all represented. To the left, a man is being fitted with “Oeconomische Brillen” or
“economic glasses,” a reference to the Dutch ability to see profit even in war. Behind the central figures gathered around the money chest, a woman with a spear,
possibly the figure of Britannia, leads a column of men. In the foreground, the
Dutch lion attacks England, in the form of a dog, upon which stands an angry
rooster, symbolizing France. In the background, a temple containing Liberty is
being toppled while various virtues float above it. In the background is a fleet of
ships, all flying the Dutch flag, and Mercury – representing commerce – flies over
them. The print is a warning against Dutch investments in British securities, on
both economic and political grounds.
A fine clean copy, with wide margins beyond the platemark. OCLC locates a
copy at the University of Minnesota; other copies located at the American Antiquarian Society, Colonial Williamsburg, and the British Library. A lovely copy of
a scarce print.
BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOG 5720. DOLMETSCH 67.
$2750.
With an Early Paul Revere Engraving
11. Ames, Nathaniel: AN ASTRONOMICAL DIARY: OR, ALMANACK FOR THE YEAR OF OUR LORD CHRIST, 1766. Boston:
Printed and sold by the Printers and Booksellers, [1765]. [24]pp., including
a cut on page seventeen. Stitched. Small tape repairs on four leaves. First and
last pages soiled, text evenly tanned. Foredges chipped, not affecting text. A
good copy.
The self-styled “Second Edition” of this 1766 almanac by Nathaniel Ames, son of
Dr. Nathaniel Ames, who started a popular and highly regarded series of almanacs
in 1726. Ames continued writing the almanac after his father died in 1764, and
continued until the beginning of the Revolutionary War. He was a successful
doctor, ardent Anti-Federalist and local politician. This second edition contains
a copy of a Paul Revere engraving that appeared in the first edition (which was
issued by a different printer). The cut shows the position of the Sun, Moon, and
Earth during an eclipse.
Ames denies the claims of a rival almanac maker, Joseph Willard, that he had
not planned on printing an almanac after his father’s death: “I propose to make
my appearance before you annually, notwithstanding what some obscure persons
would insinuate to the contrary ...for they have not only made use of my name, to
impose upon the public, by prefixing it to their counterfeit almanacks, but have
even advertised that I was not about to publish an almanack for this year, which
the public knows to be false.” In response to the Stamp Act, Ames suggests that
when the British government learns of the needs of the colonists that they will
respond to their demands.
DRAKE 3149. EVANS 9897. NAIP w029742. BRIGHAM, PAUL REVERE’S ENGRAVINGS, p.133.
$1000.
An Arnold Letter from a Few Weeks Before His Plot is Unveiled,
Requesting Horses for Courier Duty, Possibly to the English
12. Arnold, Benedict: [AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM
BENEDICT ARNOLD TO THE ADJUTANT QUARTERMASTER GENERAL, REQUESTING FRESH HORSES]. Headquarters,
Robinson House [Garrison, N.Y.]. Sept. 1, 1780. [1]p. Folio. Old fold lines.
Minor wear and soiling, some separation starting at folds. About very good.
A letter written by General Benedict Arnold the day after receiving word that
British General Henry Clinton had agreed to his price for turning his coat. In his
letter, Arnold requests fresh horses to run express courier routes – some of which
surely carried treasonous information to the British. He writes:
Sir, I have sent the brave Sergeant Pike for six or eight of the best horses you
have in pasture for the purpose of relieving the light horse employed here to
go express. With hard service and want of forage they are worn down & unfit
for use. You will please to deliver him eight of the best horses you have if we
can find so many that will answer. Also, a pair of the best waggon horses you
have in lieu of two which were sent to me by Col. Hay who will not draw.
The letter was clearly drawn up in some haste, as there are several words stricken
through where Arnold has changed his mind about phrasing or information.
In June 1778, Washington placed Arnold in command of Philadelphia, where
he lived and entertained extravagantly, and his private business dealings, haughty
and dismissive behavior, and close association with the Shippens and other quasiLoyalists excited the enmity and wrath of the Executive Council of Pennsylvania.
On Feb. 3, 1779, a courier served him with a copy of eight formal charges filed
against him by the Pennsylvania Council. Outraged, Arnold demanded a court
martial to clear the allegations against him. “From this period began the plot that
would end, eighteen months later, with Arnold’s defection to the British side....
He used those channels to inform General Henry Clinton, commanding the British army, that he was ready to serve the Crown. He explained to Clinton that he
had lost faith in the revolutionary cause when the United States allied itself with
France. No evidence before May 1779 supports this claim. Clinton was cautious
but interested in the chance that Arnold might betray a key point in American
defenses. He left the matter in the hands of young staff officer, John André.” –
ANB. By July Arnold had named his minimum price – £10,000 – and on August
1 became commander of the critical American fortress at West Point. By the time
this letter was written, important information was passing from Arnold to Clinton,
and the plot to betray West Point was well advanced.
A wonderful letter, hastily written and clearly showing Arnold’s agitation as he
$20,000.
slid deeper into infamy. A Classic of American Natural History and Travel
13. Bartram, William: TRAVELS THROUGH NORTH & SOUTH
CAROLINA, GEORGIA, EAST & WEST FLORIDA, THE CHEROKEE COUNTRY, THE EXTENSIVE TERRITORIES OF THE
MUSCOGULGES, OR CREEK CONFEDERACY, AND THE
COUNTRY OF THE CHACTAWS [sic].... Philadelphia: James &
Johnson, 1791. [2],xxxiv,[2],522pp.
plus engraved frontispiece portrait
of “Mico Chulcco the Long Warrior” by J. Trenchard after Bartram,
engraved folding map, and seven
engraved plates of natural history
specimens (one folding). Contemporary tree calf, spine ruled in gilt
and with gilt morocco label. Bind-
ing rubbed, joints worn, chipped at head of spine. Frontispiece creased. One
plate with a two-inch long vertical closed tear and with a small chip in the
upper margin, above the neat line; folding plate torn in upper margin, not
affecting the illustration. Several instances of early ink marginalia, almost
certainly in the hand of Lawrence Washington (see below). Text tanned, with
occasional staining and foxing. A good copy. In a half morocco box.
The rare first edition of one of the classic accounts of southern natural history and
exploration, with much material on the southern Indian tribes.
This copy bears the ownership signature on the front free endpaper of Lawrence
A. Washington (dated 1818), the nephew of George Washington. Lawrence Augustine Washington, (1775-1824), was the fourth son of George Washington’s younger
brother, Samuel. When Samuel Washington died in 1781, the future president
took it upon himself to provide for the education of his nephew, Lawrence, and
for Lawrence’s older brother, George Steptoe Washington. Throughout the 1780s
and early 1790s, Washington supervised and paid for their education in Alexandria,
Virginia, and then at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, from which
the two nephews graduated in 1792. While in Philadelphia, Lawrence Washington
also studied law with Attorney General Edmund Randolph. He married Mary
Dorcas Wood in 1797 and lived at Federal Hill, outside Winchester, Virginia. At
George Washington’s death Lawrence and his brother, George, were absolved of
all debts for their schooling, a sum of approximately five thousand dollars. George
Washington also left his nephews a small portion of his estate in his will.
For the period, Bartram’s work is unrivalled. He travelled several thousand
miles through the Southeast in the years just prior to the American Revolution.
“...Bartram wrote with all the enthusiasm and interest with which the fervent old
Spanish friars and missionaries narrated the wonders of the new found world...he
neglected nothing which would add to the common stock of human knowledge”
– Field. “Unequalled for the vivid picturesqueness of its descriptions of nature,
scenery, and productions” – Sabin. “The classic of southern natural history and
exploration, with much on the southern Indian tribes. Bartram’s account of the
remote frontier, of the plantations, trading posts, and Indian villages at the end of
the eighteenth century is unrivaled” – Streeter. Includes a chapter concerning the
customs and language of the Muscogulges and Cherokees.
HOWES B223, “b.” CLARK I:197. EVANS 23159. SABIN 3870. VAIL 849. Coats, The
Plant Hunters, pp.273-76. TAXONOMIC LITERATURE 329. STREETER SALE 1088.
FIELD 94. PILLING, PROOF-SHEETS 301. SERVIES 669.
$14,500.
A Contemporary Description of the Battle of Bunker Hill:
The Loyalist Point of View
14. [Battle of Bunker Hill]: BOSTON, 26th OF JUNE, 1775. THIS
TOWN WAS ALARMED ON THE 17th INSTANT AT BREAK OF
DAY, BY A FIRING FROM THE LIVELY SHIP OF WAR; AND
A REPORT WAS IMMEDIATELY SPREAD THAT THE REBELS
HAD BROKE GROUND, AND WERE RAISING A BATTERY ON
THE HEIGHTS OF THE PENINSULA OF CHARLESTOWN,
AGAINST THE TOWN OF BOSTON [first line of text]. [Boston:
Printed by John Howe, 1775]. Broadside, 12 x 6 inches (visible portion under
mat). A few light fox marks. Fine. Matted and framed.
A broadside describing the action and praising the British victory at the Battle of
Bunker Hill, printed by Loyalists in Boston a week after the battle. One week after
the battle, this document – which accurately describes the action – was printed and
circulated by John Howe, the same Loyalist printer who published General Gage’s
account of the events of Apr. 19, 1775. The broadside relates a casualty count that
has been heavily embroidered by the British, making this a tidy piece of propaganda
to emphasize the fierce bravery and courage of the British forces:
The loss they [the Americans] sustained, must have been considerable, from
the vast numbers they were seen to carry off during the action, exclusive of
what they suffered from the shipping. About a hundred were buried the day
after, and thirty found wounded on the field, some of which are since dead.
About 170 of the King’s troops were killed, and since dead of their wounds;
and a great many were wounded.
According to Boatner, American strength was about 3,000 with an estimated 140
dead and 601 wounded. British strength was about 2,500, and they lost about 45
percent of their troops; of the British officer casualties in the twenty battles fought
during the Revolution, one eighth were killed and one sixth wounded at the Battle
of Bunker Hill. The broadside concludes: “This action has shown the bravery of
the King’s troops, who under every disadvantage, gained a compleat victory over
three times their number, strongly posted, and covered by breastworks. But they
fought for their King, their laws and constitution.”
NAIP locates seven copies. A scarce and important broadside from the American Revolution.
STREETER SALE 760. EVANS 13842. FORD 1801. NAIP w009549.
$25,000.
One of the First American Abolition Tracts
15. [Benezet, Anthony]: SERIOUS CONSIDERATIONS ON SEVERAL
IMPORTANT SUBJECTS; viz. ON WAR AND ITS INCONSISTENCY WITH THE GOSPEL. OBSERVATIONS ON SLAVERY.
AND REMARKS ON THE NATURE AND BAD EFFECTS OF
SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS.... Philadelphia: Printed by Joseph Crukshank,
1778. 48pp. 12mo. Modern half calf and marbled boards. Two small institutional ink stamps in lower margin of verso of title. Early ownership signature
on titlepage. Very good.
The French-born Benezet was the most prominent abolitionist in the American
colonies in the second half of the 18th century, and he was a major spokesman for
education and other Quaker causes as well. “During the 1770s Benezet published
tracts on a variety of topics, from pacifism to temperance” – ANB. The present
work is one of those tracts, discussing questions of just war (with reference to St.
Augustine), temperance, and slavery. The high quality of the essays demonstrate
Benezet’s wide-ranging learning. Quite interesting, an early American tract on
temperance, and quite scarce in the market.
ESTC W22146. EVANS 15737. HILDEBURN 3674. SABIN 4680. HOWES B348. ANB
2, pp.562-63.
$1750.
16. [Bernard, Francis]: LETTERS TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE
THE EARL OF HILLSBOROUGH, FROM GOVERNOR BERNARD, GENERAL GAGE, AND THE HONORABLE HIS MAJESTY ’S COUNCIL FOR THE PROVINCE OF MASSACHUSETTS-BAY. WITH AN APPENDIX CONTAINING DIVERS
PROCEEDINGS REFERRED TO IN THE SAID LETTERS. Boston: Edes and Gill, 1769. 83pp. Folio. 20th-century half calf and cloth. Small
ex-library ink stamp on front pastedown, blind stamp on titlepage. Lightly
toned, some scattered soiling. Last few leaves with lower margins lost, not
affecting text. Very good.
First edition of this key Revolutionary tract.
Letters written by Massachusetts colonial
governor Francis Bernard to Lord Hillsborough, the Secretary of State for the Colonies,
complaining about the state of affairs in Massachusetts. Bernard, who was governor in the
1760s, writes primarily about the quartering
of troops in Boston, which was much opposed
by the citizens and the Council. Bernard was
replaced as governor by Thomas Hutchinson
in 1769, after being burned in effigy.
“Having failed in 1765 to enforce the Stamp
Act, Bernard hoped to be more successful when
Parliament passed the Townshend Acts in 1767.
However, he failed to perceive accurately the
determination of many in Massachusetts not to
succumb to what they believed were unlawful
acts of the British Parliament. On 11 February 1768, following the passage of the new
taxes, the Massachusetts General Court invited
other colonial legislatures to join in protesting the new duties and in developing
a method for circumventing them. This invitation, the Massachusetts Circular
Letter, marked the beginning of the end of Bernard’s career as governor of Massachusetts. Bernard perceived the letter as an unlawful challenge to the authority
of the royal government and forwarded it to Lord Hillsborough, the secretary of
state for the colonies. Hillsborough told Bernard to order the general assembly to
revoke the letter. The legislature refused, and Bernard was forced to dissolve the
assembly in July 1768. Believing that further trouble was coming, Bernard hinted
in correspondence to his superiors that British troops might be needed in Boston
to aid in the enforcement of imperial legislation. Several public intimidations of
the customs commissioners by mobs produced the order for troops to be sent to
Boston. Their arrival on 1 October 1768 led to a rise in the intensity of the arguments between the colonials and government authorities, an intensity that would
eventually result in the Boston Massacre of March 1770. Luckily for Bernard, he
was no longer in Massachusetts by 1770.
“In April 1769 the editors of the Boston Gazette, Benjamin Edes and John Gill,
acquired six of Bernard’s letters to Lord Hillsborough and published them in a
pamphlet. In the letters, dated from 1 November to 5 December 1768, Bernard
castigated the town of Boston and the General Court for refusing to obey a British
law (the Quartering Act, 1766) to provide quarters for the troops that had recently
arrived in Boston. Bernard wrote that the elected council, the upper house of the
General Court, could no longer be depended on to support the Crown, and he urged
the government to change the Massachusetts charter so that the council could be
appointed directly by the king. Publication of these letters completely destroyed
what remaining confidence the people had in Bernard. In their response, which
also appeared in the pamphlet, the council stated that Governor Bernard had overstepped the powers of his office and officially requested that he be removed. The
royal government apparently believed that Bernard’s usefulness in Massachusetts
was at an end, for they recalled him to London. Bernard left Boston on 1 August
1769, amid much rejoicing by the citizens of Boston” – ANB.
In addition to this separate printing, this work was also published as part of
the Massachusetts General Legislature’s journal of proceedings (see Evans). Only
a handful of copies are recorded in ESTC.
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 68d. EVANS 11332. HOWES B382, “aa.” SABIN
4924.$6500.
The First American Catholic Bible
17. [Bible – Catholic]: [Carey, Mathew]: THE HOLY BIBLE, TRANS-
LATED FROM THE LATIN VULGATE: DILIGENTLY COMPARED WITH THE HEBREW, GREEK, AND OTHER EDITIONS, IN DIVERS LANGUAGES; AND FIRST PUBLISHED BY
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE AT DOWAY, ANNO 1609. NEWLY
REVISED, AND CORRECTED, ACCORDING TO THE CLEMENTINE EDITION OF THE SCRIPTURES. WITH ANNOTATIONS FOR ELUCIDATING THE PRINCIPAL DIFFICULTIES
OF HOLY WRIT. Philadelphia: Carey, Stewart, and Co., 1790. Two volumes bound in one. viii,487; 280,*281-*284,281-490pp. Thick quarto. Titlepage with loss to outer edge of leaf, supplied in expert facsimile, affecting four
letters of title and the end of the imprint line, and some words of the table of
contents on verso. Moderate to heavy foxing throughout. Lacks pp.13-16 (first
volume); pp.461-62, 469-90 (second volume), supplied in expert facsimile.
Original calf boards, expertly rebacked in ornately tooled calf, leather label.
Despite the flaws, a quite acceptable copy of one of the rarest of American
Bibles.
A remarkable gathering of firsts in a single volume: the first Catholic Bible printed
in the United States, the first Catholic Bible printed in any language in the New
World, the first Bible printed in quarto format in the U.S., the first Bible printed
by Mathew Carey, and the first minority-religion Bible printed in America.
Catholics constituted only a small minority of the population of the United
States in 1790. Even so, Mathew Carey, an exile from Ireland, believed that
America could support the publication of an edition of the English Catholic Bible.
He secured approximately 475 subscribers, and it is thought the print run did not
exceed 500 copies. In 1954 a census of extant copies found thirty-five copies in
public and private collections. While the number of copies today may perhaps be
forty-five, the volume’s continuing rarity may be understood when one realizes
that the Vatican Library did not possess a copy until 1979. With good reason,
Margaret Hills describes this edition as “the rarest of the notable early American
editions of the Bible.”
A significant edition both in the history of Bible printing and the history of
publishing in the United States.
EVANS 22349. PARSONS 87. HILLS 23. HERBERT 1343. RUMBALL-PETRIE 168.
O’CALLAGHAN, pp.34-35.
$12,500.
The “Gun-Wad” Bible
18. [Bible in German]: [Saur, Christopher]: BIBLIA, DAS IST: DIE HEI-
LIGE SCHRIF T ALTES UND NEUES TESTAMENTS, NACH
DER TEUTSCHEN UEBERSETZUNG D. MARTIN LUTHERS MIT JEDES CAPITELS FURTZEN SUMMARIEN, AUCH BENGEFÜGTEN
VIELEN UND RICHTIGEN PARALLELEN....
Germantown: Christoph Saur, 1776. [4],992,277,[3]pp.
Quarto. Contemporary calf over wooden boards, clasps
lacking. Hinges cracked but solid, extremities worn. Light
foxing and soiling, moderate wear to first and last few
leaves. Good. In a custom cloth box, gilt leather label.
The third edition of the first European-language Bible
printed in America, famously known as the “Gun-Wad
Bible,” after its use in the American Revolutionary War as cartridge paper during
the Battle of Germantown. It is also notable for being the first Bible printed from
type cast in America. Reputed to have been printed in an edition of 3000 copies,
most are said to have been destroyed by the British during the battle. The present
edition was printed by Christopher Saur II, son of Christoph Saur the elder, a native
of Wittgenstein, Germany. The elder Saur emigrated to Germantown, Pennsylvania
and practiced medicine before turning to printing. It was he who printed the 1743
first edition; the son then printed a second edition in 1763.
EVANS 14663. HILDEBURN 3336. SABIN 5194.
$4000.
19. [Brookshaw, Richard, attributed to]: JOHN PAUL JONES, COM-
MANDER OF A SQUADRON IN THE SERVICE OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA, 1779 [caption
title]. [N.p. ca. 1779]. Mezzotint, 14 x 10 inches. Matted. Trimmed to the
plate mark. Minor dust-soiling, mild staining to bottom edge, not affecting
the caption. Very good.
A stunning portrait of John Paul Jones, the father of the American Navy, and the
source of one of the greatest quotes of the American Revolution, “I have not yet
begun to fight.” Jones allegedly uttered the line after being asked to surrender while
his ship, the Bon Homme Richard, was sinking. “Commissioned a lieutenant in the
Continental Navy by Congress in 1775, John Paul Jones, a Scotsman by birth, soon
proved himself exceptional in both seamanship and courage. The DAB describes
Jones as ‘homely, small, thin, and active,’ but his size and stature never detracted
from his proud bearing” (Creswell).
CRESSWELL 132.
$6000.
Burgoyne’s Account of His Defeat at Saratoga
20. Burgoyne, John: A STATE OF THE EXPEDITION FROM CAN-
ADA, AS LAID BEFORE THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, BY
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL BURGOYNE, AND VERIFIED BY
EVIDENCE; WITH A COLLECTION OF AUTHENTIC DOCUMENTS.... London. 1780. viii,140,lxii pp., plus [1]p. entitled “Advertisement,” five partially colored folding plans (two with overlays), and folding
map. Large quarto. Mid-20th-century three-quarter morocco and cloth, spine
gilt, a.e.g. Folding maps and plans backed with linen, excepting the final plan;
some light scattered foxing and soiling. Minor scattered foxing to text. Very
good.
The first edition of Burgoyne’s defense of his conduct as commander of the British expedition down the Hudson Valley from Canada in 1777. Intended to cut
the New England colonies off from the rest of rebellious America, the expedition
ended in disaster at Saratoga, where American forces soundly defeated Burgoyne
and forced his capitulation. Herein Burgoyne answers the inquiry of the House
of Commons, demonstrating that the forces he was given were not sufficient to
accomplish the task. This is the most important source for information about the
campaign, illustrated with excellent maps and plans. The “Plan of the Encampment and Position of the Army under His Excelly. Lt. General Burgoyne at Swords
House on Hudson’s River near Stillwater...” depicts, among other particulars, the
“First and Second Positions of that part of the Army engaged on the 19th of September.” Tipped to the margin of that plan, as an overlay, is a section of a similar
map depicting the “Third and Fourth Positions...” of the Army on that same date.
The “Plan of the Encampment and Position of the Army under his Excelly. Lt.
General Burgoyne at Braemus Heights...” also has an overlay tipped to the margin
of the plan indicating the position of Burgoyne’s Army on Oct. 8. On the printed
plan beneath the overlay is indicated the General’s camp from Sept. 20 to Oct. 7.
STREETER SALE 794. LANDE 69. TPL 503. SABIN 9255. HOWES B968, “aa.”
$9000.
21. [Burke, William]: THE LETTERS OF VALENS, (WHICH ORIGI-
NALLY APPEARED IN THE London Evening Post) WITH CORRECTIONS, EXPLANATORY NOTES, AND A PREFACE. London.
1777. [2],ii,xv,160,4pp. Modern half calf and marbled boards. Crisp and clean
internally. Very good plus.
“These letters, concerning the war in America, appeared in the London Evening
Post in 1775 and 1776. Here the text is revised. They were attributed to William,
Richard, and Edmund Burke by John Almon in his Biographical, Literary, and Political Anecdotes (London, 1797), 2:347. Jeremy Bentham, in his annotated copy
now in the British Library, seems to suggest that he believed Edmund to have been
the principal author. The extent of the contribution of each of the three Burkes is
not clear, but the Library of Congress lists the pamphlet under William” – Adams.
ESTC T38523. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 77-20. TODD 26. SABIN 98349.
$1000.
Classic Travel Narrative
22. Burnaby, Andrew: TRAVELS THROUGH THE MIDDLE SETTLE-
MENTS IN NORTH-AMERICA. IN THE YEARS 1759 AND 1760.
WITH OBSERVATIONS UPON THE STATE OF THE COLONIES. London. 1775. viii,106,[1]pp. Quarto. Modern three-quarter calf and
marbled boards, gilt leather label. Lightly foxed. Very good plus.
The first edition of Burnaby’s highly regarded travel account, generally considered
one of the best accounts of America from its period. Burnaby arrived in Williamsburg
in May of 1759 while on an excursion to the back country, and spent almost a year
there. During his return trip he visited Mount Vernon, and includes a warm notice
of Washington. In the spring of 1760 he made another trip to the Blue Ridge,
then north through Maryland to Philadelphia, where he stopped for a month, and
to New York for the same period. He then sailed to Newport and went overland
to Boston. “Valuable as exhibiting a view of the colonies immediately preceding
the Revolutionary War” – Sabin.
HOWES B995, “aa.” SABIN 9359. CLARK II:7.
$1000.
23. [Bushe, Ger vase P.]: THE CASE OF GREAT-BRITAIN AND
AMERICA, ADDRESSED TO THE KING, AND BOTH HOUSES
OF PARLIAMENT. Philadelphia. 1769. [2],16pp. Late 19th-century patterned paper wrapper. Foxing and toning. About very good.
Evans and Howes attribute authorship, but Adams lists this pamphlet under its
title. Whoever was responsible, the tract urges that England abandon the idea of
colonial taxation and allow America greater self government, arguing that this policy
would benefit England more in the end. Originally published in London in 1768,
this is the first American edition. Relatively scarce.
HOWES B1039, “aa.” AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 64d. EVANS 11193. HILDEBURN 2423. ESTC W37321. SABIN 9637.
$1250.
Important Survey of the Sugar Trade
24. [Campbell, John]: CANDID AND IMPARTIAL CONSIDER-
ATIONS ON THE NATURE OF THE SUGAR TRADE; THE
COMPARATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE BRITISH AND
FRENCH ISLANDS IN THE WEST-INDIES: WITH THE VALUE
AND CONSEQUENCE OF ST. LUCIA AND GRANADA, TRULY
STATED.... London. 1763. [4],228pp. plus two folding maps and one folding plan, all handcolored. Half title. Modern three-quarter calf, leather spine
label, raised bands. Some scattered light foxing. Very good.
A detailed survey of the important West Indian sugar trade. The illustrations include “A Map of the Caribbee Islands and Guayana,” “The Harbour of Calivenie
on the S.E. End of the Island of Granada...,” and a plan of Fort Royal. Such detailed maps of the Caribbean in this period are unusual. The prolific author, who
wrote frequently on economic topics, advocates increasing British holdings by not
returning St. Lucia and Grenada to the French in the 1763 peace settlement. The
British did give them back, and got Canada instead. “This work is a classic in the
field of colonial and Caribbean literature, embodying as it does one of the clearest
statements of eighteenth-century philosophy regarding the relations which should
exist between a metropole and its outlying possessions” – Ragatz.
SABIN 10232. RAGATZ, p.284. BEINECKE LESSER ANTILLES COLLECTION
246. JCB (I)3:1378. KRESS 6081.
$1750.
No Mercy for Deserters
25. Carleton, Guy: [LETTER, SIGNED, FROM GENERAL GUY CAR-
LETON TO GENERAL CLARKE, REGARDING DESERTERS
AT THE CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR; TOGETHER WITH A DOCUMENT SIGNED BY GENERAL FREDERICK
MACKENZIE ON THE SAME SUBJECT]. New York. May 15, 1783.
2pp. Letter has integral blank. Folio. Old fold lines. Minor soiling and wear.
Very good. In a half morocco and cloth clamshell box, spine gilt.
Letter, signed by Brigadier General Guy Carleton, written to Brigadier General
Alured Clarke regarding clemency for deserters from the British Army at the end
of the American Revolution; together with orders for General Clarke from Deputy
Adjutant General Frederick Mackenzie, dated May 14th, to deny any deserters
wishing to return to the ranks.
At the time, Carleton, who was Commander in Chief of all British forces in
North America, was overseeing the evacuation of the British forces and Loyalists
from New York, a process that would last until November. He writes:
I enclose a copy of an order [not present] I have given here relative to deserters:
Such as come in and surrender themselves to the officer commanding at any of
our posts, shall be pardoned in like manner. You will take such measures for
the transportation of the sick from Philadelphia to this place, as, from their
numbers and other circumstances, you shall judge most convenient and advisable, paying some attention to their own wishes.”
The order from General Mackenzie, however, is far less forgiving and countermands
Carleton’s order:
The Commander in Chief has so far pardoned several English deserters, as
to allow them to return within the lines, and to send them home; but their
dishonor is not done away. No regiment here shall receive them, nor shall they
again serve in this army. ’Tis recommended to the soldiers of every British,
and to the soldiers of every British American Corps, to kick all such rascals
out of their quarters, should they have the impudence to come in among them.
$2500.
Third and Best Edition
26. Carver, Jonathan: TRAVELS THROUGH THE INTERIOR PARTS
OF NORTH AMERICA, IN THE YEARS 1766, 1767, AND 1768....
London. 1781. [4],22,[22],543,[21]pp. plus frontispiece portrait, five plates
(four colored) and two partially colored folding maps. Antique-style threequarter calf and marbled boards, leather label. Maps backed with linen. Internally clean. Very good.
A classic of American travel, in the third and best edition, with expanded text, a
biographical sketch of the author, an index, and the added plate of the tobacco plant
not found in the first two editions. Carver travelled farther west than any Englishman before the Revolution, going as far as the Dakotas, exploring the headwaters
of the Mississippi, and passing over the Great Lakes. The text contains the first
published mention of the word “Oregon.” The author comments on the Indians
he encountered, as well as offering observations on natural history. The tobacco
plant plate is handsomely colored. An important source book and stimulus for later
explorers, especially Mackenzie and Lewis and Clark. This is the second issue,
according to Howes, with the index.
HOWES C215, “b.” FIELD 251. SABIN 11184. VAIL 670. GREENLY 21.
$5000.
Extremely Rare View of Charleston in 1776
27. [Charleston, South Carolina]: A N.b.E. VIEW OF THE FORT ON
THE WESTERN END OF SULIVANS ISLAND WITH THE DISPOSITION OF HIS MAJESTY ’S FLEET COMMODORE SIR
PETER PARKER Knt. &c. &c. &c. DURING THE ATTACK ON
THE 28th OF JUNE 1776. WHICH LASTED 9 HOURS AND 40
MINUTES. London: William Faden, Aug. 10, 1776. Engraving, 12 x 19½
inches. Small old ink stamp on verso. Near fine.
A profile view of Sullivan’s Island, the main fort guarding the mouth of the Charleston
harbor, with a key indicating the main features, ship locations, and gun emplacements. Below the view is a separate plate-mark with an engraved dedication: “To
Commodore Sir Peter Parker Knt. &c. &c. &c. This View is most humbly dedicated
and presented by Lt. Colonel Thos. James Rl. Rt. of Artillery June 30th, 1776.”
In the spring of 1776, South Carolina was in the firm possession of the American
patriots, which the British were determined to challenge. They dispatched a fleet
of twenty ships under Commodore Peter Parker, with the mission under the overall
command of Major General Sir Henry Clinton. The ships moored in Five Fathom
Hole, and landed on Long Island, which lay to the north of Sullivan’s Island.
Meanwhile, practical considerations indicated that the Patriot defenders were
in considerable trouble. Led by Col. William Moultrie, the Americans were short
of experienced troops and ammunition. Fort Sullivan, located on the southern tip
of the island of the same name, had to be held, otherwise Charleston would fall.
While the elegant plan of the fort, located in the inset at the upper left of the map,
makes it appear to be a well designed bastion, it was in reality cobbled together
with palmetto logs. Moultrie had a total of 1,125 men against 2,900 British marines. More worryingly, the fort had only twenty-six guns, with only twenty-eight
rounds of ammunition per gun against the British fleet’s 270 well stocked cannon.
Fortunately for the Americans, the British proceeded to make a series of strategic
errors. Clinton, who relied on information given by harbor pilots who were pressganged into service, spent days looking for a non-existent ford between Long and
Sullivan’s Island, which in reality was prevented by the presence of a seven-foot
deep channel. This bought the Americans time, allowing Col. William Thomson
to fortify the northern tip of the island.
On June 28th the British mounted their full on naval assault of the fort. Moultrie
wisely rationed and synchronized the use of his limited firepower, so that the British
met heavier than expected resistance. Unfamiliar with the tidal shoals that lay near
the fort, the British ships were unable to sail in close enough to the fort to deliver
lethal blows, while remaining in range of the American guns. Amazingly, many
of the British rounds which did strike the fort were harmlessly absorbed into the
structure’s spongy palmetto logs. The British flagship H.M.S. Bristol took heavy
losses, and another ship ran aground and had to be abandoned. Another British
attempt to storm Thomson’s northern positions with a raid by long boats was easily
repelled. The British were forced to completely withdraw, and promptly set sail
for New York.
A handsome view of this important battle, in beautiful condition, by Faden,
who produced so many of the most important Revolutionary War maps in the next
several years.
CRESSWELL 606.
$15,000.
28. Chastellux, François J.: VOYAGE DE MR. LE CHEVALIER DE
CHASTELLUX EN AMÉRIQUE. [Paris]. 1785. 191pp. 12mo. Contemporary half morocco and paper boards. Corners rubbed. Internally clean and
fresh. Untrimmed. Near fine.
The elusive second issue of this work, preceded by the ultra-rare Newport edition
of 1781. The publication of this edition was not approved by the author, who
was preparing a more elaborate production which was issued the following year,
incorporating many additions and changes. The narrative describes the author’s
experiences in America in 1780 and 1781. “One of the most notable travel accounts
of the Revolutionary period not only because of Chastellux’s keen observation and
the directness of his narrative but also because of his acute comments on society
and the character of the people in different walks of life” – Clark. A rare copy of
an important work.
HOWES C324, “aa.” SABIN 12226. MONAGHAN 404 (both for the octavo 1785 ed).
CLARK I:212 (other eds).
$2000.
29. [Constitutions]: THE CHARTERS OF THE BRITISH COLONIES
IN AMERICA. London: Printed for J. Almon..., [1775?]. 142pp. Late 19thcentury three-quarter calf and marbled boards. Hinges cracked but holding,
binding worn. Library ink stamps to titlepage, first and last leaves of text;
minor soiling else. Good.
Reprinted from the 1766 edition, which Howes calls the “first collected edition
of these colonial charters.” Includes those of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode
Island, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Georgia, as well as the first charter
granted to Massachusetts Bay. Adams dates this to 1775, while Howes dates it 1774.
AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 75-23a. HOWES C310. ESTC T120493. SABIN
12162.$1250.
30. [Constitutions]: Jackson, William, arranger: THE CONSTITUTIONS
OF THE SEVERAL INDEPENDENT STATES OF AMERICA;
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; AND THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION BETWEEN THE SAID STATES.
TO WHICH ARE NOW ADDED, THE DECLARATION OF
RIGHTS... London: Printed for J. Stockdale, 1783. [4],xxix,[3],472,[4]pp.
Portrait of Washington. Contemporary calf, gilt morocco label. Boards edgeworn, spine rubbed, front hinge cracked. Very clean internally. Good. In a
cloth chemise and half morocco and cloth slipcase, spine gilt.
Designated “second edition” on the titlepage. The present edition is particularly
interesting for the important treaties relating to the United States which it includes. The two French treaties of 1778 are reprinted first, followed by one of the
first printings (certainly the first English) of the American-Dutch treaty of June
7, 1782. This commercial treaty was the first concluded by the United States with
any power other than France, and opened the door to essential Dutch loans to the
United States. Finally, there is a printing of the Provisional Articles signed by the
U.S. and Great Britain on November 30, 1782, which with very minor changes
became the final treaty signed the next year. These were first made public at the
end of January, 1783. The present edition probably appeared in May, 1783.
SABIN 16088. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 83-53b. HOWES C716. MATYAS 8302. COHEN 3020.
$3800.
The Declaration of Taking Up Arms,
in the Philadelphia and London Editions
31. [Continental Congress]: A DECLARATION BY THE REPRESEN-
TATIVES OF THE UNITED COLONIES OF NORTH-AMERICA, NOW MET IN GENERAL CONGRESS AT PHILADELPHIA, SETING [sic] FORTH THE CAUSES AND NECESSITY
OF THEIR TAKING UP ARMS. Philadelphia: William and Thomas
Bradford, 1775. [2],13pp. [bound with:] THE DECLARATION BY THE
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED COLONIES OF NORTH
AMERICA, NOW MET IN GENERAL CONGRESS AT PHILADELPHIA, SETTING FORTH THE CAUSES AND NECESSITY
OF TAKING UP ARMS.... London. 1775. 32pp. 19th-century red threequarter morocco and marbled boards. Hinges and corners lightly rubbed, front
hinge tender. Loss to top of half title, repaired. Small closed-tear repair to half
title; top portion of titlepage neatly repaired. Quite clean internally. About
very good. See rear cover of this catalogue for illustration.
The rare first edition of this important Revolutionary document, the declaration
of Congress issued July 6, 1775, giving reasons for taking up arms, together with
the first British edition. The London edition of this important collection of Con-
gressional papers includes the declaration of Congress issued July 6, 1775, giving
reasons for taking up arms; the address to the twelve colonies on July 8 calling
for support; and the Olive Branch Petition, the last attempt at conciliation. The
first document appeared in several American editions before the British, but none
combined with the Olive Branch petition. “This London edition was secretly issued, with no printer shown, as propaganda for American sympathizers” – Howes.
HOWES D198, “b.” EVANS 14544. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 75-149a. British
edition: AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 75-149b. ESTC T121380.
$98,000.
The Culmination of the First Continental Congress
32. [Continental Congress]: [American Revolution]: TO THE PEOPLE
OF GREAT BRITAIN FROM THE DELEGATES APPOINTED
BY THE SEVERAL ENGLISH COLONIES...TO CONSIDER OF
THEIR GRIEVANCES IN GENERAL CONGRESS AT PHILADELPHIA, SEPTEMBER 5th, 1774. London. 1775. 16pp. Folded sheets,
stitched. From the library of James Copley. Very good. In a half morocco box.
This pamphlet marks one of the critical moments in the American Revolution, the
final resolution of the First Continental Congress, passed on October 21, 1774,
the day the Congress dissolved. In it, the delegates of the Congress seek to rally
support from the British public, stating the colonial reasons for the discord with
Great Britain, especially the Intolerable Acts passed from March to June, 1774.
The resolution appeals to public sentiment in England to support the American
cause. It represents one of the last efforts to appeal for a peaceful solution before
open war began the following spring.
The First Continental Congress adjourned on October 26, 1774, having ordered
the Philadelphia edition printed (only one copy is known of this printing). The
text reached England in the latter part of December, and given its importance, was
probably printed almost immediately. The resolution appeals to the public, saying,
“You have been told that we are seditious, impatient of government, and desirous
of independency. Be assured that these are not facts, but calumnies. Permit us to
be as free as yourselves, and we shall ever esteem a union with you to be our greatest glory and our greatest happiness, we shall ever be ready to contribute all in our
power to the welfare of the Empire.” The letter later appeared in the Extracts of the
Votes and Proceedings... of the First Continental Congress as well as in their Journal.
ESTC T136331. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 74-86b. SABIN 95960.
$12,500.
A Complete Set of the Journals of Congress
33. [Continental Congress]: [COMPLETE SET OF THE JOURNALS
OF CONGRESS. CONTAINING THE PROCEEDINGS FROM
SEP T. 5 1774 TO THE 3rd DAY OF NOVEMBER, 1788. PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF CONGRESS]. Philadelphia. 1777-1788.
Fourteen volumes. 19th-century green calf and marbled boards, spines gilt
with leather labels. Rubbed at extremities; a few volumes with slight wear to
head or foot of spine; some corners worn. Contemporary ownership inscription in three volumes. Titlepage of volume five with some staining and loss
(likely from removed ownership markings); backed with heavier paper; all but
volumes two, four, and six below with similar loss, repaired, no staining. Light
toning and foxing. Overall, a very good set.
A complete set of the Journals of the Continental Congress, remarkably difficult to
assemble. These Journals contain the most vital documents from the Revolutionary
period through the end of the Confederacy, and culminate with the adoption of
the Federal Constitution in 1788. They are an essential basis for any comprehensive collection of the Revolution and early National period. This set, besides the
customary thirteen volumes, contains a variant edition for the year 1780. Volumes
one and three are signed on the titlepage by Henry Marchant, Attorney General of
Rhode Island 1771-77, and their delegate to the Continental Congress from 1777
to 1779, during which time he signed the Articles of Confederation. Volume two
has the signature of Joseph McIlvane, an officer in the Pennsylvania Line from
Bucks County, Pa.
Shortly after the Declaration of Independence, Congress recognized the necessity
of publishing its proceedings on a timely basis. These volumes appeared in more
or less annual volumes, but in inconsistent formats and from different printers:
Robert Aitken, John Patterson, David Claypoole, and John Dunlap. A tradition
had already been established by the separate publication of the Journals of the first
and second Continental Congresses in 1774 and 1775. The first volume of this
series, begun after the Declaration of Independence, reprinted those journals, and
was issued concurrently with the second volume, both appearing from the press of
Robert Aitken in 1777. The second volume included a printing of the Declaration.
John Patterson issued the third volume in 1778 and the seventh volume in 1787.
David Claypoole was the printer of the fourth, fifth, and eighth volumes of the
present set. Dunlap, printer of the original Declaration broadside, issued the sixth
volume in 1786 and resumed as the printer for the ninth through the thirteenth
volumes. The volumes issued thus cover the entire span of the Continental Congress,
beginning in 1774, through the Revolutionary years, and on to the period from the
Peace in 1783 to the adoption of the Constitution. The final session sat through
November 1788, and the new federal government began in April 1789. The dates,
printers, years of publication, and pagination of the individual volumes, follow:
1) 1774-76. Aitken. 1777. [2],310,[12]pp. EVANS 15683.
2) 1776. Aitken. 1777. [2],513,[1]pp. No index. EVANS 15684.
3) 1777. Patterson. [1778]. [2],603,xxii pp. EVANS 21527.
4) 1778. Claypoole. [1779]. [2],748,[4],lxxxix pp. EVANS 16584.
5) 1779. Claypoole. 1782. 464,[15],lxxiv pp. No index. EVANS 17766.
6) 1780. Claypoole. [1780]. 403,xxxviii,[3]pp. EVANS 17026-17037.
7) 1780. Dunlap. [1786]. 257,xliii pp. EVANS 20079.
8) 1781. Patterson. 1787. 48,[10],49-522,[17],lxxix pp. EVANS 20773.
9) 1783. Claypoole. 1783. 483,xxxvi pp. EVANS 18266.
10) 1784. Dunlap. [1784]. 317pp. No index. [bound with]: [Journals for June 1784
to August 1784]. 47,xvii pp. EVANS 18840.
11) 1785. Dunlap. 1785. 368,xxvi pp. EVANS 19316.
12) 1786. Dunlap. 1786. 267,xvi pp. EVANS 20068.
13) 1787. Dunlap. 1787. 255,[9]pp. EVANS 20772.
14) 1788. Dunlap. 1788. 170,xcviii,[2],xi pp. EVANS 21526.
The Journals are one of the most vital records of the Revolutionary and Confederation
period. A complete set such as this is virtually unobtainable today. A foundation
document of the American Republic.
EVANS 15683, 15684, 21527, 16584, 17766, 20079, 20773, 18226, 18840, 19316, 20068,
20772, 21526. DAB XI, p.327. MATYAS, DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 7709A.$57,500.
The Yorktown Edition of the Journals of Congress
34. [Continental Congress]: JOURNALS OF CONGRESS. CONTAIN-
ING THE PROCEEDINGS FROM JANUARY 1, 1776, TO JANUARY 1, 1777. York-town, Pa.: Printed by John Dunlap, 1778. [2],520,xxviipp.
Contemporary paper boards, spine with paper loss, front board detached. Contemporary ownership inscription of Solon Stevens on front fly leaf. Light, even
toning. Some minor soiling. Very good, in original unsophisticated condition.
In a red half morocco and cloth box, spine gilt.
This volume of the Journals of Congress is one of the rarest of the series issued
from 1774 to 1788, and has a peculiar and romantic publication history. Textually
it covers the exciting events of 1776, culminating with the Declaration of Independence on July 4, an early printing of which appears here, as well as all of the
other actions of Congress for the year. It is thus a vital document in the history of
American independence and the American Revolution.
Through the middle of 1777 the printer of the Journals of Congress was Robert
Aitken of Philadelphia. In 1777 he published the first issue of the Journals for
1776, under his own imprint. This was completed in the spring or summer. In
the fall of 1777 the British campaign under Howe forced the Congress to evacuate
Philadelphia, moving first to Lancaster and then to York, Pennsylvania. The fleeing
Congress took with it what it could, but, not surprisingly, was unable to remove
many copies of its printed Journals, which would have been bulky and difficult to
transport. Presumably, any left behind in Philadelphia were destroyed by the British, accounting for the particular scarcity of those volumes today.
Among the material evacuated from Philadelphia were the printed sheets of
pages 1-424 of the 1776 Journals, printed by Aitken. Having lost many complete
copies in Philadelphia, and not having the terminal sheets to make up more copies,
Congress resolved to reprint the remainder of the volume. Aitken had not evacuated his equipment, but John Dunlap, the printer of the original Declaration, had.
Congress thus appointed Dunlap as the new printer to Congress on May 2, 1778.
Dunlap then reprinted the rest of the volume (coming out to a slightly different
pagination from Aitken’s version). He added to this a new titlepage, under his imprint at York, with a notice on the verso of his appointment as printer to Congress.
This presumably came out between his appointment on May 2 and the return of
Congress to Philadelphia in July 1778.
Because of Dunlap’s name on the titlepage, it has often been erroneously assumed that this volume contains a printing of the Declaration of Independence
by Dunlap. In fact, that appears in the section of the original Aitken printing.
Evans has further muddied the waters by the ghost entry of Evans 15685, ascribing
a Dunlap, York printing to 1777. In fact, there is only one Dunlap version, Evans
16137, with the 1778 date.
A great Revolutionary rarity.
EVANS 15685, 16137. HILDEBURN 3727. NAIP w020598. MATYAS, DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 77-09B.
$24,000.
With Maps of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard
35. [Crèvecoeur, Michel Guillaume St. Jean]: LETTERS FROM AN
AMERICAN FARMER; DESCRIBING CERTAIN PROVINCIAL
SITUATIONS, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS, NOT GENERALLY
KNOWN; AND CONVEYING SOME IDEA OF THE LATE AND
PRESENT INTERIOR CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE BRITISH
COLONIES IN NORTH AMERICA.... London. 1782. [14],318pp.
plus two folding maps and [2]pp. of advertisements. Half title. Modern half
pigskin and marbled boards, leather label. Spine sunned. Titlepage and half
title somewhat soiled, scattered minor foxing or soiling. Very good.
First printing of this important and greatly influential work. Crèvecoeur came to
America during the French and Indian War and served with the French forces.
Afterwards he settled in the British colonies, becoming a farmer. This work,
which describes his experiences in America, is justly famous for its vivid picture of
a colonial world slipping into the chaos of war, revolution, and nationhood. Two
of the essays, “What is an American?” and “Distresses of a Frontier Man,” particularly address the confusion of the times. Crèvecoeur gives a negative assessment
of slavery in his section on South Carolina, and one of the “letters” is written from
Culpeper County, Virginia. There is also much on the natural history of British
North America, and ethnographic information on American Indians. Also notable
are Crèvecoeur’s account of Nantucket, and the excellent maps of that island and
Martha’s Vineyard. “As literature unexcelled by any American work of the eighteenth century” – Howes. Certainly one of the chief works of literature, and one
of the most important observations on America during the era of the Revolution.
HOWES C883, “b.” CLARK I:218. STREETER SALE 711. SABIN 17496. MONAGHAN 497. MEISEL III, p.352.
$4250.
36. Deane, Silas: AN ADDRESS TO THE FREE AND INDEPEN-
DANT CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES OF NORTHAMERICA. Hartford. 1784. 30pp. Modern red half morocco and cloth,
spine gilt. Contemporary ownership inscription on titlepage. Minor toning.
Near fine.
Deane has come to be recognized as a martyr to the American cause in the Revolution, although he died a maligned and exiled bankrupt. A prosperous Connecticut
merchant, he went with Franklin and Arthur Lee as commissioners to France in
1778. After the signing of the French treaty he was recalled by Congress on the
basis of accusations by Lee that he had taken gifts from the French and misused
funds. Unable to defend himself without the necessary documents, he returned
to Europe to obtain them, only to become embroiled in further difficulties when
his pessimistic private letters to friends, suggesting that the Americans give up the
struggle for independence, became public. His life thereafter was an attempt to
justify himself from exile; this pamphlet is one of his leading self-defenses.
DAB V:174. SABIN 19063. EVANS 18438. HOWES D172, “aa.”
$1250.
First English Book Printing of the Declaration
37. [Declaration of Independence]: THE ANNUAL REGISTER, OR A
VIEW OF THE HISTORY, POLITICS, AND LITERATURE, FOR
THE YEAR 1776. London: Printed for J. Dodsley, in Pall-Mall, 1777. iv,
192,113-270,[2],259,[9]pp. Contemporary polished calf, gilt leather labels.
Modern bookplate and inscription on front pastedown. Very minor toning,
negligible foxing. Near fine.
Includes what is generally considered the first printing in an English book of the
Declaration of Independence, on pages 261-270. Also includes notices of the
progress of the Revolution in America, with troop movements, etc. “This most
valuable record and chronicle of historical and political events for over a hundred
years contains accurate accounts of the Revolutionary War...” – Sabin.
SABIN 1614. ESTC T212983.
$2250.
The Force Printing of the Declaration of Independence
38. [Declaration of Independence]: [Force, Peter]: IN CONGRESS, JULY
4, 1776. THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...[caption title]. [Washington: Peter Force, 1848, but actually 1843]. Broadside, 29½ x 25 inches, printed
on parchment. Some faint offsetting and minor foxing. Near fine. Matted.
The Declaration of Independence, the foundation document of the United States,
has been printed myriad times since its original publication in 1776. At first as
broadsides, then as an essential addition to any volume of laws, it was from the
beginning a basic work in the American canon. The present document is from one
of the earliest broadside reproductions of the Declaration, done within a few years
of the first broadside republications.
In the period following the War of 1812, Americans began to look back, for the
first time with historical perspective, on the era of the founding of the country. The
republic was now forty years old, and the generation of the American Revolution,
including the signers of the Declaration, was dropping away. With nostalgia and
curiosity, many Americans began to examine the details of the nation’s founding.
Among other things, such documents as the debates of the Constitutional Convention were published for the first time. It seemed extraordinary that the Declaration of Independence, as created, was unknown to Americans, when the text was
so central to the national ego. Several entrepreneurs set out to bridge this gap by
printing reproductions of the document, often featuring calligraphic text, portraits,
or other decorative flourishes.
The most accurate of these early reproductions was an official facsimile, sponsored
by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams and created by William J. Stone in 1823.
Stone used a wet transfer process to make an exact facsimile of the Declaration
(then kept in the State Department), printed actual-size on parchment. Bidwell
calls this facsimile “a magnificent replica,” and it is from this facsimile (likely from
Stone’s original copper plate) that Peter Force made the present facsimile of the
Declaration of Independence, printed in 1843 and published in the fifth series of
his American Archives in 1848. It is an exact facsimile of the actual Declaration, on
a slightly smaller scale, accurately reproducing the restrained force of the original
document.
A most desirable, attractive, and scarce facsimile of the Declaration of Independence.
John Bidwell, “American History in Image and Text” in Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, Vol. 98, 1988, pp.247-302 (also issued as a separate pamphlet by AAS); item
7 (note).
$30,000.
The “earliest serious study into colonial legal rights” – Howes
39. [Dickinson, John]: LETTERS FROM A FARMER IN PENNSYL-
VANIA, TO THE INHABITANTS OF THE BRITISH COLONIES.
Philadelphia: Printed by David Hall and William Sellers, 1768. 71pp. Antique-style three-quarter speckled calf and marbled boards, spine gilt, leather
label. Contemporary notation on titlepage, minor loss to top outer corner,
slightly affecting one letter. Light foxing, otherwise very good.
Second Philadelphia edition, printed the same year as the first. First published
in three Pennsylvania newspapers in December of the preceding year, Dickinson’s
Letters... were reprinted whole or in part in virtually every other newspaper in the
English Colonies. In book form, almost a dozen different printings appeared in
the next half decade, and Howes characterizes this work as the “earliest serious
study into colonial legal rights.” “The Letters, although very pacific in tone, showed
wide knowledge both of the practical economics of the situation and of the broad
legal principles underlying English liberty and created a deep impression here and
abroad” – DAB. Only a handful of copies in ESTC.
EVANS 10879. HOWES D329. AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 54b. SABIN 20044.
ESTC W31741.
$4500.
40. [Dickinson, John]: A NEW ESSAY (BY THE PENNSYLVANIA
FARMER) ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL POWER OF GREATBRITAIN OVER THE COLONIES IN AMERICA; WITH THE
RESOLVES OF THE COMMITTEE FROM THE PROVINCE OF
PENNSYLVANIA. London: J. Almon, 1774. vii,126pp. plus one leaf of ads.
Lacks half title. 19th-century black half morocco and marbled boards, spine
gilt. Extremities worn, boards and spine rubbed. Minor toning and foxing to
first and last few leaves. Very good.
First British edition, after the Philadelphia edition of the same year. An important
political pamphlet by the influential author. Dickinson established his reputation
as a brilliant lawyer in 1765, when he wrote his first tract against the Stamp Act
and his Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania... became one of his most important
patriotic tracts prior to the Revolution. In 1774 he was elected chairman of the
Philadelphia Committee of Correspondence, and this pamphlet consists of three
papers he drew up which were adopted by the Committee in July of that year.
“They state the principles upon which the colonies based their claim to redress;
instructions to the Congressional delegates to be chosen by the Assembly; and a
treatise on the constitutional power of Great Britain to tax the colonies” – DAB.
Over the crucial next two years, Dickinson would grow gradually more conservative,
eventually becoming opposed to the independence movement.
AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 74-28b. HOWES D326. SABIN 20046. DAB V, pp.299300.$2000.
41. Earl, Ralph, and Amos Doolittle: THE BATTLES OF CONCORD
AND LEXINGTON COLLOTYPE REPRODUCTIONS, HANDSTENCILED IN COLOR FROM THE SET OF ORIGINAL COPPERPLATE ENGRAVINGS [portfolio title]. Boston: Goodspeed’s Book
Shop, 1960. Four collotype illustrations, each sheet measuring 16 x 22 inches.
Laid into original grey printed paper portfolio. Some slight wrinkling to the
plates and portfolio cover. Near fine.
From an edition limited to 225 sets, issued by Goodspeed’s Book Shop in Boston.
Shortly after the engagement at Lexington and Concord, the Governor’s Guard of
the Connecticut Militia (under the command of Benedict Arnold) was dispatched
to Massachusetts to take part in the siege of Boston. Among these forces was
Ralph Earl, a portrait painter, and Amos Doolittle, an engraver. During their three
weeks at Cambridge, Doolittle and Earl visited the battlegrounds at Lexington and
Concord, and questioned participants in the battles. Earl made sketches based on
these accounts, which were then engraved by Doolittle and published in New Haven
in 1775. These are among the rarest American engravings from the Revolution.
This facsimile was made from the set of four original engravings in the collection
of the Connecticut Historical Society. Doolittle would go on to a long career as a
significant engraver in Connecticut.
The four prints are entitled:
1)
2)
3)
4)
“The Battle of Lexington, April 19th, 1775. Plate I.”
“Plate II. A view of the Town of Concord.”
“Plate III. The Engagement at the North Bridge in Concord.”
“Plate IV. A View of the South Part of Lexington.”
Scarce, and a significant visual record of a fateful and important moment in American history. $2000.
42. Eden, William: A LETTER TO THE EARL OF CARLISLE, FROM
WILLIAM EDEN, ESQ. ON THE REPRESENTATIONS OF IRELAND, RESPECTING A FREE TRADE. Dublin. 1779. 47pp. Modern
paper boards, printed paper label. Modern bookplate on front pastedown. Very
minor soiling. Very good plus. In a tan half morocco and cloth folder.
One of Eden’s several letters written to the Earl of Carlisle, this text encourages
the close economic relations of England and Ireland, stating that a free trade is not
actually of any benefit to the Irish.
ESTC N52859. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 79-7. HOWES E43 (ref.).
$900.
Financial Dealings of a Signer of the Declaration
43. Ellery, William: [MANUSCRIP T BILL, SIGNED BY DECLA-
RATION OF INDEPENDENCE SIGNER, WILLIAM ELLERY,
DETAILING THE SUMS OWED AND PAID TO ELLERY AND
HIS BROTHERS BY DR. STEPHEN GARDNER ON A FARM
IN COLCHESTER]. Newport, R.I. May 7, 1770. [1]p. manuscript on a
9¼ x 14¾-inch sheet. Lightly backed by tissue. Very good. In a half morocco
and cloth box, spine gilt.
A record of Rhode Island merchant and lawyer William Ellery’s financial dealings,
signed by him six years before he signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Ellery (1727-1820) was a merchant, customs collector, a lawyer, and clerk of the
Rhode Island General Assembly. He was an important leader in the Newport Sons
of Liberty, and in 1776 became a member of the Continental Congress. Ellery was
intensely loyal to the interests of Rhode Island and the northeast, and would go
on to be a justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. One of Ellery’s grandsons
was Richard Henry Dana, author of Two Years Before the Mast.
This document is an account of the sums that are owed and that have been paid
(mostly in goods) to William Ellery and his brothers, Benjamin and Christopher,
by Dr. Stephen Gardner for rent on a farm in Colchester. It details the amount
owed every year from March, 1765, through 1770, a total of nearly £300. It appears that Gardner paid mostly in goods delivered, those being beef, pork, cheese,
and butter. Though it does not explicitly state it, the farm was likely in Colchester,
Connecticut, in the southeastern part of the state, near Rhode Island. The document is signed by William Ellery, and also by his brother, Benjamin. It is dated at
Newport, Rhode Island, May 7, 1770.
ANB 7, pp.412-13.
$1000.
The Most Critical Naval Battle of the Revolution
44. Estaing, Charles Henri, Comte de: [AUTOGRAPH LETTER,
SIGNED, FROM THE COMTE D’ESTAING TO THE MARSHAL
GENERAL AND MAJOR GENERAL AT CAPE CHOC ON ST
LUCIA REGARDING DESERTERS]. [N.p.] Dec. 22, 1778. [2]pp. plus
integral address leaf. In French. Small octavo. Old fold lines. Center fold
reinforced with linen. Minor soiling. Very good. In a half morocco and cloth
clamshell case, spine gilt.
Letter written by the Comte d’Estaing advising the Marshal General and Major
General of the garrison at Cape Choc of the news of 400 deserters, following the
Battle of St. Lucia on Dec. 15th. The battle, one of the most important naval
engagements of the American Revolution, was fought between the French and
British fleets in the West Indies. Thwarted by Admiral Barrington’s ships of the
line, d’Estaing landed a force of 9,000 troops on St. Lucia. The British, with a
mere force of 1,400 – but all veterans of colonial fighting – inflicted heavy losses
on the French, killing 400 and wounding nearly three times that. This forced the
French to abandon the island. D’Estaing once more attempted an encounter with
the British fleet on Dec. 16th, but it too was unsuccessful. His failure to break
Barrington’s line resulted in the surrender of the French garrison on Dec. 28th.
The Comte writes, in part [in translation]:
I have received, sir, the two letters you did me the honor of writing dated
the 21st and 22d. I thank you for the details they contain and I pray you to
continue....If the news of 400 deserters is true, tell Monsieur de Marquis de
Bouille about it. I authorize you to promise them a good reception, in my name.
Try to find out what they want and to have me informed of it by a mounted
courier, and immediately. In general, it is the right and duty of your position
to know about all the dispositions of prisoners and deserters. Mr. Gauthier
will give you an account of several small matters.
$1250.
45. [Estaing, Charles Henri, Comte d’]: EXTRAIT DU JOURNAL D’UN
OFFICIER DE LA MARINE DE L’ESCADRE DE M. LE COMTE
D’ESTAING. [Paris]. 1782. [2],158pp. Engraved frontispiece. Modern blue
morocco and mottled paper boards, spine gilt. Gilt insignia of the French
“Order of the Star” (“Monstrant Regibus Astra Viam”) on front board and on
bookplate on front pastedown. Bookplate on rear pastedown. Final text leaf
lightly browned around edges. Near fine.
Authorship of this work is uncertain, but Howes theorizes that one Captain Walsh
is the author. Whoever wrote it served as an officer in the Comte d’Estaing’s squadron and is highly critical of his conduct. This work describes the operations of the
French fleet in 1778-79, beginning with the departure from Toulon and covering
the blockade of the British at New York; the planned but aborted naval battle off
Newport; the encounter with the British fleet under Admiral John Byron; and finally, the attack on Savannah, Georgia. The frontispiece is a portrait of d’Estaing,
under which is a view of the taking of Grenada. This is one of the best sources for
the Savannah attack. An important Revolutionary naval item, here present in the
first edition, first issue of the text.
CLARK I:234. HOWES E198. SABIN 23033. DE RENNE I:224.
$1250.
46. Faden, William: A PLAN OF THE ATTACK OF FORT SULIVAN
[sic], NEAR CHARLES TOWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA. BY A
SQUADRON OF HIS MAJESTY ’S SHIPS, ON THE 28th JUNE
1776. WITH THE DISPOSITION OF THE KING’S LAND FORCES, AND THE ENCAMPMENTS AND ENTRENCHMENTS OF
THE REBELS FROM THE DRAWINGS MADE ON THE SPOT.
London: Wm. Faden, Aug. 10, 1776. Copper-engraved map, with original
hand coloring. Text printed below map in two columns. Plate mark: 11½ x
15¼ inches. Sheet size: 20½ x 16½ inches. Very good.
An extremely rare separately issued Revolutionary War battle plan by William Faden,
depicting a critical altercation near Charleston, South Carolina.
This highly important and finely engraved map captures the dramatic action
surrounding the British naval assault on Fort Sullivan, the strategic “key” to Charleston, the South’s largest city. It is the fourth of five states of the map, which was
the first Revolutionary battle plan to be drafted by William Faden. In the Spring
of 1776, South Carolina had fallen into the firm possession of the Americans, a
reality the British were determined to challenge. They dispatched a fleet of twenty
ships (although only nine were armed) under Commodore Peter Parker, manned by
marines, with the mission under the overall command of Major General Sir Henry
Clinton. The ships moored in Five Fathom Hole and landed on Long Island, which
lay to the north of Sullivan’s Island. The British base, with the original positions
of the British ships and with the regiment numbers of marine corps labeled and
heightened in red is located towards the upper right of the map.
Meanwhile, practical considerations indicated that the Patriot defenders were in
considerable trouble. Led by Colonel William Moultrie, the Americans were short
of experienced troops and ammunition. Fort Sullivan, located on the southern tip
of the island of the same name had to be held, otherwise Charleston would surely
fall. While the elegant plan of the fort, located in the inset at the upper left of the
map, makes it appear to be a well designed bastion, it was in reality cobbled together
with palmetto logs. The American or “Rebel” positions are also heightened in red,
and the fort is shown connected to the mainland by an improvised bridge. Moultrie
had a total of 1,125 men against the 2,900 British marines. More troublesome, the
fort had only twenty-six guns, with only twenty-eight rounds of ammunition per
gun against the British fleet’s 270 well-stocked cannon.
Fortunately for the Americans, the British proceeded to make a series of strategic
errors. Clinton, who relied on information given by harbor pilots who were pressganged into service, spent days looking for a non-existent ford between Long Island
and Sullivan’s Island, which in reality was prevented by the presence of a seven-foot
deep channel. This bought the Americans time, which allowed American colonel
William Thomson to fortify the northern tip of the island, as indicated on the map.
On June 28 the British mounted their full-on naval assault of the fort, as indicated on the map by the ships shown grouped together just off the fort, with each
ship being named and detailed with its number of guns. Moultrie wisely rationed
and synchronized the use of his limited firepower, such that the British met heavier
than expected resistance. Unfamiliar with the tidal shoals that lay near the fort, the
British ships were unable to sail close enough to the fort to deliver lethal blows,
while remaining in range of the American guns. Amazingly, many of the British rounds which did strike the fort were harmlessly absorbed into the structure’s
spongy palmetto logs. The British flagship H.M.S. Bristol took heavy losses, and
another ship ran aground and had to be abandoned. Another British attempt to
storm Thomson’s northern positions with a raid by long boats was easily repelled.
The British were forced to completely withdraw, and promptly set sail for New York.
This map conforms to the fourth state noted by Stevens & Tree, having the
text printed below the plan, without the dedication, and an extra bridge of boats
spanning the channel near Fort Sullivan, among other subtle changes.
GUTHORN, BRITISH MAPS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 145/25. NEBENZAHL, ATLAS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, map 8, p.60. NEBENZAHL, PRINTED BATTLE PLANS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 64. STEVENS & TREE 14d.
$10,000.
New Jersey at the Outset of the Revolution
47. Faden, William, and Bernard Ratzer: THE PROVINCE OF NEW
JERSEY, DIVIDED INTO EAST AND WEST, COMMONLY
CALLED THE JERSEYS. London: Wm. Faden, Dec. 1, 1777. Copperengraved map. Sheet size: 32 x 24 inches. Paper repair along center fold.
Minor repairs in margins. In good condition.
The first state of one of the finest and most celebrated maps of New Jersey, made
during the Revolutionary War.
This elegant composition depicts New Jersey in finely engraved detail at a large
scale of seven miles to an inch. The map was the grandest representation of the
state made up to that time, taking in the entire breadth of the state, as well as the
Hudson Valley, most of Long Island, eastern Pennsylvania, and all of Delaware
Bay. It captures the state’s rich topography, including the Jersey Highlands and the
Palisades in the north and the broad Pine Barrens and coastal marshes in the south.
The county divisions, major roads and towns are all carefully depicted, indicating
that New Jersey was, by the standards of the time, heavily populated, having over
120,000 inhabitants.
Faden based his rendering of the state largely on the manuscript works of
Bernard Ratzer, a British military surveyor most famous for his map of New
York City. Ratzer’s rendezvous with New Jersey cartography stemmed from the
resolution of the bitter boundary dispute between that state and New York that
had raged for over a century. In 1764, George III charged Samuel Holland and
William De Brahm with settling the boundary, and their demarcation was finally
surveyed by Ratzer in 1769. Ratzer’s line is noted on the map as “The boundary
settled by commissioners in 1769.” Two of Ratzer’s New Jersey manuscripts, one
dealing with the boundary question, and another featuring Monmouth and Ocean
Counties, are today preserved in the Faden Collection at the Library of Congress.
Faden supplemented Ratzer’s work with surveys of the northern part of the state
made by Gerard Bancker. Curiously, it seems that Bancker’s work found its way
to Faden, by way of John Murray, the Earl of Dunmore, the former governor of
Virginia, who was given a draft by Bancker when he stopped in at New York on
his way back to London.
An interesting feature present on the map are the two lines bisecting the state,
being the boundary lines between the archaic colonies of East and West Jersey. In
1664, Charles II granted the New Jersey charter jointly to Lord Berkeley and Sir
George Carteret. Berkeley sold his share to John Fenwick, a Quaker who, in turn,
passed it on to a consortium that included William Penn. The King elected to renew
only Carteret’s charter to the colony, and from 1676 the already small province was
split into two awkward colonies. One of the lines present on this map is “Keith’s
Line” referring to the 1687 demarcation of the boundary by surveyor George Keith.
While the two colonies were reunited under a royal governor in 1702, certain private
land ownership questions predicated on the partition necessitated that an internal
line of division persist, which was redemarcated as the “Lawrence Line” in 1743.
The map is embellished with a very fine cartouche, formed by trees framing a
bucolic scene inhabited by farm houses and raccoons. The lower left of the map is
adorned with a table of astrological observations. This copy is an excellent example
of this important map, featuring a strong impression and good margins.
GUTHORN, BRITISH MAPS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, p.39. DEGREES OF LATITUDE 47 (state 1). SCHWARTZ & EHRENBERG, p.193. SNYDER,
THE MAPPING OF NEW JERSEY, pp.57-59. BMC MAPS 10:251. STEVENS & TREE
37a.$30,000.
48. Faden, William: THE COURSE OF DELAWARE RIVER FROM
PHILADELPHIA TO CHESTER WITH THE SEVERAL FORTS
AND STACKADOES RAISED BY THE AMERICANS AND THE
ATTACKS MADE BY HIS MAJESTY’S LAND AND SEA FORCES. London: Printed for Wm. Faden. Jan. 1, 1785. Copper-engraved map.
Sheet size: 21¼ x 29¼ inches. Very good. Provenance: Martin P. Snyder.
The Snyder copy of the third and final state of one of the most important maps of
the Revolutionary War, depicting the dramatic military events that transpired on
the Delaware River, just below Philadelphia.
This large scale and finely engraved masterpiece of military cartography embraces
the Delaware River estuary from Philadelphia down to the town of Chester. In
great detail, the map showcases the momentous events of November 1777 when a
British assault of combined naval and army forces struggled to wrestle control of
the river from the Continental forces.
In September 1777 the British retook Philadelphia, the Continental capital and
the largest city in the American colonies. However, they knew that their hold on
the city would prove fleeting unless they managed to secure its access to the sea,
which was blocked by a formidable American cordon militaire. The Americans
could cover the entire width of the Delaware River with artillery, as they controlled
Fort Mercer at Red Bank on the New Jersey shore, and the adjacent Fort Mifflin, on
Mud Island in the middle of the river. Menacingly they also constructed stockadoes,
or chevaux de frise, across the largest channel of the river, both under the American
artillery positions at the aforementioned forts and at Billingsport, New Jersey. The
placements were essentially caissons constructed in the river that were intended
to ensnare and slow British ships, making them more vulnerable to attack. Their
construction is depicted in diagrams on the lower-right of the map.
The British mounted their assault in prongs from the south, one force under
Lord Cornwallis captured Billingsport, before moving on foot to besiege Fort Mercer. The large inset in the upper-left shows the fierce cannonade that ensued, that
eventually forced the Americans to surrender Fort Mifflin on November 16th. As
depicted on the map, the Continental fleet, the contents of which are listed at the
lower centre of the map, mounted a brave resistance to the superior British force, but
were overcome after intense ship to ship combat. After taking Fort Mercer, Lord
Cornwallis’ force continued on to Gloucester, New Jersey, where the Americans had
torched the remainder of their fleet to prevent it from falling into British hands.
The conclusion to the dramatic action portrayed on this map marked the high
point of the British Philadelphia Campaign, as the city was now safely in their
grasp. However, their victory was wasted. The British dithered in complacency,
while the American forces under George Washington spent the following winter
in legendary deprivation at Valley Forge. Washington’s trial in the wilderness galvanized the morale of his men to mount a spirited campaign in New York the next
year, the success of which eventually forced the British to abandon Philadelphia in
an attempt to shore up their fortunes further north.
NEBENZAHL, ATLAS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, map 29 (ref ). NEBENZAHL, A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PRINTED BATTLE PLANS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 1775-1795, 132, state 3. SNYDER, COI 79B. Stevens & Tree,
“Comparative Cartography” in TOOLEY, THE MAPPING OF AMERICA 17(b).
$12,500.
A Legendary North Carolina Revolutionary Rarity:
“The first book printed in the Confederacy” – Howes
49. Fanning, David: THE NARRATIVE OF COLONEL DAVID FAN-
NING. (A TORY IN THE REVOLU TIONARY WAR WITH
GREAT BRITAIN;) GIVING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS ADVENTURES IN NORTH CAROLINA, FROM 1775 TO 1783, as Written
by Himself. Richmond, Va. 1861. xxv,[1],92pp. Quarto. Original printed
boards, later cloth spine. Boards lightly soiled. Contemporary ownership inscription on front fly leaf (“Alice Clemmitt [?] Wilson, Richmond, Virginia”).
A few leaves lightly toned, some minor scattered foxing. Very good. In a red
morocco clamshell case, spine gilt.
A legendary rarity, famed as the first book printed in the Confederacy, and one of
fifty copies printed on thin paper (ten were on thick paper), of which twenty were
destroyed by fire. “David Fanning, a native of Amelia County, Virginia, was one of
the most famous or notorious of southern Tories. His whole Revolutionary career
consisted of raids and guerrilla warfare against the patriots in North Carolina and
occasionally in South Carolina. He was captured several times...but always escaped
to resume his sensational exploits...Full of bravado and vengeance” – Clark. Produced
by Thomas H. Wynne as the first number in a series called “Historical Documents
Relating to the Old North State.” Parrish & Willingham locate fifteen copies.
An exceptionally desirable item and leading Confederate rarity.
PARRISH & WILLINGHAM 5380. HARWELL, CONFEDERATE HUNDRED 30.
HOWES F26, “b.” CLARK I:235. SABIN 23778.
$15,000.
50. [Franklin, Benjamin]: [American Newspaper]: THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. Numb. 1871. Philadelphia: Printed by B. Franklin, PostMaster, and D. Hall, Nov. 1, 1764. 2 leaves. Folio. Dbd. Scattered toning and
foxing, else very good.
Documents, without fanfare, Franklin’s appointment by the Assembly “To embark
immediately for Great-Britain, to join with, and assist the present Agent in transacting the Affairs of this Province, for the ensuing Year.” Franklin’s appointment
as provincial agent by the still anti-proprietary Assembly, following the loss of his
Assembly seat, caused a huge controversy. The Gazette did not acknowledge the
protests against the appointment. Franklin responded in detail to his critics in his
pamphlet, Remarks on a Late Protest (1764).
MILLER 814. BRIGHAM II, pp.933-37.
$1500.
51. [Franklin, Benjamin]: [American Newspaper]: THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE. [NUMBERS 1878 THROUGH 1881]. Philadelphia:
Printed by B. Franklin, Post-Master, and D. Hall, Dec. 20 and Dec. 27, 1764;
Jan. 3 and Jan 10, 1765. 2 leaves each. Folio. Dbd. Some toning and foxing,
old scorch mark affecting a few words on first leaf of No. 1879. Small gouge
in inner margin affecting a few words on first leaf of No. 1880. Else very good.
Franklin’s controversial appointment as Provincial Agent for the Assembly acting in London is the major topic in these issues. John Hughes, a member of the
Assembly, wrote a letter in No. 1878 defending Franklin against William Smith’s
anonymous An Answer to Mr. Franklin’s Remarks, on a Late Protest. Hughes challenged that if the author of An Answer would reveal himself and agree to pay £5 to
the Pennsylvania Hospital for every lie printed in that pamphlet about Franklin,
Hughes would agree to pay £10 for every truth printed therein.
In No. 1879, there is a scathing unsigned reply to John Hughes’ challenge, accusing
Hughes of being “not the Author of this Challenge, but only the Herald or squire
of some dreadful unknown Giant or Knight, who would tear in Pieces the Author
or Authors of the Answer to the Remarks, if they should venture to approach him.”
No. 1880 continues the controversy over Franklin’s appointment as Provincial
Agent for the Assembly. Another challenge is brought to John Hughes’ claims in
Issue 1878, but sidestepping his main point: that Franklin signed his Remarks on
a Late Protest, but that the author of Answer to Mr. Franklin’s Remarks did not give
his name. “Poplicola,” as the author of signs himself, is more intent on ridiculing
Hughes’s challenge than in resolving the “Differences between the Proprietary and
the People,” as he claims to be doing.
Long response in No. 1881 by John Hall. The whole of the first page along
with the first column of the next comprises Hall’s remarks:
The practice of perverting Truth, and imposing your Falshoods [sic] on the
good People of this Province, has long been the principal Weapon you wield.
It is high Time an End was put to it...do you think you will not be esteemed
void of Honour and Conscience, and a common Nuisance in the Community,
which ought to be removed with the utmost Expedition?
MILLER 814, 842. BRIGHAM II, pp.933-37.
$8500.
Franklin Leaves England for America
on the Eve of the Revolution
52. Franklin, Benjamin: [AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN TO SIR ALEXANDER DICK CONCERNING HIS DEPARTURE, AND A LETTER OF INTRODUCTION FOR BENJAMIN DUFFIELD]. London. March 13, 1775. 2pp.
plus integral address leaf. Quarto, on a folded folio sheet. Old fold lines.
Some slight separation at folds. Address leaf with some wear and loss from
wax seal. Very good.
An interesting letter written by Benjamin Franklin to Sir Alexander Dick in Edinburgh, taking his leave from England on the verge of the American Revolution,
and recommending the son of his friend, Benjamin Duffield. Franklin writes:
John Dalrymple the other day inform’d me that you and your dear family
were lately well, which to hear gave me great pleasure. Being on the point
of embarking for America, I would not leave Britain without taking leave of
a friend I have so much reason to esteem and love. I pray God to bless you
and yours with every kind of felicity. If at any time I can on the other side of
the water render acceptable service to you or any friend of yours, it will be a
pleasure to me to receive your commands. May I take the liberty of recommending to your countenance and protection an ingenious young man, son of
a friend of mine at Philadelphia, now studying physic at Edinburg. Your kind
advice may be of great use to him, and I am persuaded he will always retain a
grateful sense of any favourable notice you may think fit to take of him. His
name is Duffield, and he will have the honor of presenting this to your hands.
With Sincere Affection & Attachment I am ever, Dear Sir, Your obliged &
most obedient humbl. Servant B. Franklin.
Franklin has appended a P.S.: “Our Friend Sir J. Pringle was well last evening.”
In 1773, Benjamin Franklin was serving as an agent for the Pennsylvania Colony
in London when he came into possession of letters that further strained the increasingly tenuous relationship between England and her American colonies. Written
by Thomas Hutchinson, the English-appointed governor of Massachusetts, these
letters called for reductions in liberties allowed to English citizens residing in
America. Franklin promptly forwarded these letters to America, where they were
published, resulting in a public outcry. Called before the English Foreign Ministry
in January 1774, Franklin was severely berated for this act and dismissed as deputy
postmaster general for North America.
In spite of this affront, Franklin continued to strive for reconciliation between
the English colonists and their mother country. Hoping to avert the passage of
the Boston Port Bill, he went so far as to personally guarantee payment for the tea
dumped during the Boston Tea Party. Even after the bill passed and Boston’s port
was closed, Franklin maintained his conciliatory stance. Subsequently, he began
collaborating with William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, hoping that this treaty might fare
better than previous endeavors. When Pitt presented the bill in February 1775, it
was vehemently attacked by the ministers and their supporters. Lord Sandwich, one
of the most vocal opponents of the bill, turned his attention towards Franklin, who
was present, and stated that “he fancied he had in his eye the person who drew it
up, one of the bitterest and most mischievous enemies this country has ever known.”
This personal attack was the last straw, and Franklin emerged from that session an ardent devotee of colonial independence. He set sail for Philadelphia on
March 21, a week after this letter was written, and just three weeks before the first
shots were fired at Lexington and Concord, signaling the start of the Revolutionary War. Landing at Philadelphia on May 5, the talk of war and the creation of a
new nation was everywhere. The next day, Franklin was elected a delegate to the
second Continental Congress, and he quickly emerged as one of the most radical
members of that body.
Sir Alexander Dick (1703-85), to whom he writes here, was one of Franklin’s
warmest friends in Great Britain. A physician, he practiced medicine in Edinburgh
and was the president of the College of Physicians there from 1756-63. He was also
a member of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, and was one of the founders
of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Benjamin Duffield (1753-99) was the son of
one of Franklin’s friends, a Philadelphia clock- and watchmaker named Edward
Duffield. Benjamin Duffield traveled to Edinburgh in 1774 to complete his medical
studies and Franklin had a hand in introducing him to several important persons
there. Apparently he ran into some trouble because he sent Franklin a letter from
Bordeaux in 1779, apologizing for past transgressions and indicating that he had
finally managed to scrape together the money to come home to Philadelphia. In the
end, he did return to Philadelphia, acquiring a large medical practice and becoming
an early lecturer in the field of obstetrics.
Franklin’s postscript refers to Royal Society member Sir John Pringle, another
Scottish doctor who was a good friend of both men. A wonderful and unpublished
$37,500.
letter from this key period in Franklin’s diplomatic career. An Unusual Portrait Print of Franklin
53. [Franklin, Benjamin]: Vanloo, Charles Philippe: FRANCKLIN [sic].
[Paris: Marie Francois Drouhin, ca. 1790]. Handcolored mezzotint portrait. Oval portrait, 10 x 8¼ inches on a 12½ x 9¼ inch sheet. Sheet lightly
browned, more so around the edges. Overall, very good. Matted.
An attractive mezzotint portrait of Benjamin Franklin, with delicate contemporary
coloring. The engraving was done after an original portrait by the famed French
painter, Charles Philippe Vanloo (sometimes spelled Van Loo). The original portrait
was done while Franklin resided in Paris in the years during and after the American
Revolution, and is now in the collection of the American Philosophical Society,
which was founded by Franklin. Sellers asserts that it is “beyond question a life
portrait,” done between 1777 and 1785. In Vanloo’s original portrait Franklin wears
a fur coat. In this print of the painting the fur coat has been replaced by a simpler
cloth coat. Franklin wears glasses, his hair is long and gray, and he has a slight
smile on his face. In the caption below the image, his name is spelled “Francklin.”
“The substitution of a simple gray coat for the fur-trimmed costume of the original
was undoubtedly in deference to revolutionary feeling” – Sellers. This print was
engraved after Vanloo’s portrait by the noted French engraver, Pierre-Michel Alix,
who was known for his portraits of leading French citizens and prominent personalities. A handsome contemporary portrait of the American who dazzled France
as a diplomat, scientist, philosopher, and gentleman of society.
SELLERS, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN IN PORTRAITURE, p.394.
$5000.
The Last Straw on the Road to Revolution:
Gage’s Famous Proclamation Against the “Infatuated Multitudes”
of Massachusetts in June, 1775
54. Gage, Thomas: BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE HON. THOMAS
GAGE, ESQ....A PROCLAMATION. WHEREAS THE INFATUATED MULTITUDES, WHO HAVE LONG SUFFERED THEMSELVES TO BE CONDUCTED BY CERTAIN WELL KNOWN
INCENDIARIES AND TRAITORS, IN A FATAL PROGRESSION
OF CRIMES, AGAINST THE CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY OF THE STATE, HAVE AT LENGTH PROCEEDED TO
AVOWED REBELLION....[caption title and beginning of text]. [Boston or surrounding area? 1775]. Broadside, 14 x 9½ inches. Crude woodcut
royal arms (not in Reilly), marked at top “No. 3,” and with eight words in
the text underlined. Trimmed to text block and backed with paper, repairing
a neat closed horizontal separation across the center. Evidence of an early
seal in the lower margin. Very good. In a half red morocco and cloth folding
case, spine gilt.
A unique printing of Thomas Gage’s notorious Proclamation of martial law in
Massachusetts, issued on June 12, 1775, less than two months after the Battles of
Lexington and Concord. In one of the most famous British texts of the Revolution, Gage castigates the Minutemen who fought the British troops on April 19th
“from behind walls and lurking holes,” but offers pardon to all who would lay down
their arms, excepting the leaders of the rebellion, specifically John Hancock and
Samuel Adams.
On May 5, 1775, the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts resolved that as
General Gage had “utterly disqualified himself to serve this colony as Governor...he
ought to be considered and guarded against as an unnatural and inveterate enemy to
this country.” Against this background of open opposition to the King, Gage wrote
to Lord Dartmouth on June 12, “I see no prospect of any offers of Accomdation
and have issued a Proclamation for the Exercise of the Law martial.”
At the outset of his Proclamation Gage acknowledges that a state of open rebellion exists in the colony that is ostensibly under his authority:
The Infringements which have been committed upon the most sacred Rights
of the Crown and People of Great-Britain, are too many to enumerate on one
Side, and are all too atrocious to be palliated on the other. All unprejudiced
People who have been Witnesses of the late Transactions, in this and the neighbouring Provinces, will find upon a transient Review, Marks of Premeditation
and Conspiracy that would justify the fulness of Chastisement....The Authors
of the present unnatural Revolt never daring to trust their Cause or their Actions, to the Judgment of an impartial Public...have uniformly placed their
chief Confidence in the Suppression of Truth: And while indefatigable and
shameless Pains have been taken to obstruct every Appeal to the real Interest
of the People of America; the grossest Forgeries, Calumnies and Absurdities
that ever insulted human Understanding, have been imposed upon their Credulity....The Press, that distinguished Appendage of public Liberty...has been
invariably prostituted to the most contrary Purposes....
Gage proceeds to characterize the Minutemen of Lexington and Concord as cowardly guerillas:
The Minds of Men having been thus gradually prepared for the worst Extremities, a number of armed Persons, to the amount of many Thousands assembled
on the 19th of April last, and from behind Walls, and lurking Holes, attacked
a Detachment of the King’s Troops who not expecting so consummate an Act
of Phrenzy, unprepared for Vengeance, and willing to decline it, made use of
their Arms only in their own Defence. Since that Period the Rebels, deriving
Confidence from Impunity, have added Insult to Outrage; have repeatedly fired
upon the King’s Ships and Subjects,...have possessed the Roads, and other
Communications by which the Town of Boston was supplied with Provisions;
and...carry Depredation and Distress wherever they turn their Steps. The
Actions of the 19th of April are of such Notoriety, as must baffle all Attempts
to contradict them....
Feigning magnanimity, and “to spare the Effusion of Blood,” the Governor offers a
royal pardon “to all Persons who shall forthwith lay down their Arms and return to
the duties of peaceable Subjects, excepting only from the Benefit of such Pardon,
Samuel Adams, and John Hancock, whose Offences are of too flagitious a Nature
to admit of any other Consideration than that of condign Punishment.” For his
part, Samuel Adams wrote to his wife from Philadelphia, on June 28, 1775, “Gage
has made me respectable by naming me first among those who are to receive no
favor from him. I thoroughly despise him and his Proclamation. It is the Subject
of Ridicule here....” (Quoted in Smith [ed]., Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1:552).
The net effect of the Gage proclamation seems to have been to stiffen the resolve
of the colonists against the crown, and was even mockingly reprinted by a patriot
printer in exile from Boston.
There are five known versions of this broadside, presumably all issued in the
summer of 1775. The first official printing of this broadside was executed in Boston
in the shop of the Loyalist printer, Margaret Draper, and her young assistant John
Howe, under Draper’s imprint. There was a general exodus of printers from Boston
in the spring of 1775, and by the summer she was the only one still publishing a
newspaper. Draper had taken over the shop after her husband’s death in 1774, and
only operated it under her own imprint for a year. This Draper printing is very
rare, with only four copies known – at the Public Record Office in London, at the
Huntington Library, the Clements Library at the University of Michigan, and at
the University of Virginia (the copy listed at the American Antiquarian Society is
an electrostatic copy of the one held at the Public Record Office).
The rebellious Americans, as well, recognized the pivotal importance of the
Gage proclamation. An anonymous patriot printing, likely done by Benjamin Edes
at Watertown, has the text in two columns, and is known in three copies – at the
Boston Public Library, the Rosenbach Library, and the New York Public Library.
That printing clearly proclaims the Revolutionary intent of the printer at the head
of the sheet, with a mocking note dated at Cambridge on June 14: “The following
is a copy of an infamous Thing handed about here Yesterday, and now Reprinted
to satisfy the Curiosity of the Public.....”
Another version of the proclamation was issued by the New York Loyalist printer,
Hugh Gaine later in the summer of 1775. Copies of that printing are located at the
Library of Congress, New York Historical Society, and New York Public Library.
Finally, there is the printing identified by Ford as “in newspaper type,” located in
four copies, at the American Antiquarian Society, Massachusetts Historical Society,
Boston Public Library, and the Rosenbach Library.
This version of the broadside, which survives in the present unique copy (the
copy listed at AAS is a facsimile of the present copy), cannot conclusively be attributed to any particular printer or city. Because of the immediacy of the information it conveys, we believe that it was produced within a few days or weeks of
Gage’s issuance of the proclamation on June 12, 1775. It was perhaps printed in
Boston, but it also may have been printed elsewhere in Massachusetts or in a nearby
colony (note the printing of two other versions in Watertown and in New York).
It does not appear to be an additional “official” printing from the Draper/Howe
establishment, as it uses an ornament which is quite different than the one used by
Margaret Draper in her official printing of Gage’s proclamation, and one that is
not found at all in Reilly’s Dictionary of Colonial American Printers Ornaments and
Illustrations. It does not carry any mocking prefatory text as was used on the one
issued by patriot printer Benjamin Edes at Watertown. It is quite likely that this
broadside was printed without any particular political allegiance or point of view,
neither Tory nor pro-patriot, but simply as a piece of work by a printer who was
hired to print a vitally significant document of the day.
This broadside was formerly in the famed collection of J. William Middendorf
II, sold at his auction in 1973 and acquired by the James S. Copley Library, from
which it has since been deaccessioned. An apparently unique printing of this vitally
important Revolutionary War broadside, proclaiming martial law in Massachusetts
and naming John Hancock and Samuel Adams as unpardonable enemies of the
royal authorities.
BRISTOL 4040a. ESTC W34977. FORD, MASSACHUSETTS BROADSIDES 1816.
Thomas, History of Printing in America, pp. 175-176 (Barre, 1970 ed). For the Draper printing see: EVANS 14184. ESTC W41378. FORD, MASSACHUSETTS BROADSIDES
1814. LOWANCE & BUMGARDNER, MASSACHUSETTS BROADSIDES OF THE
AMERICAN REVOLUTION 20. HUDACK 12-18.
$90,000.
55. [Galloway, Joseph]: COOL THOUGHTS ON THE CONSEQUEN-
CES TO GREAT BRITAIN OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
ON THE EXPENCE OF GREAT BRITAIN IN THE SETTLEMENT AND DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN COLONIES. ON
THE VALUE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE AMERICAN COLONIES AND THE WEST INDIES TO THE BRITISH EMPIRE.
London: Printed for J. Wilkie, 1780 [i.e. 1779]. [4],70pp. plus leaf of publisher’s ads. 20th-century half morocco and boards, spine gilt. Spine lightly
worn, head and foot chipped. Corners lightly worn. Bookplate of George
Clinton Fairchild Williams on front pastedown. Internally clean. Very good.
An important pamphlet by the Pennsylvania Tory, pointing out why Great Britain should hold onto the colonies. Galloway was the most prominent Loyalist in
America during the Revolution.
HOWES G36. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 79-42:1a. SABIN 26425. BEINECKE
LESSER ANTILLES COLLECTION 326.
$1250.
56. [Galloway, Joseph]: THE EXAMINATION OF JOSEPH GALLO-
WAY, ESQ; LATE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
OF PENNSYLVANIA. BEFORE THE HOUSE OF COMMONS,
IN A COMMITTEE ON THE AMERICAN PAPERS. WITH EXPLANATORY NOTES. London. 1779. [2],85pp. Modern three-quarter
calf and marbled boards, spine gilt. Extremities lightly rubbed, spine lightly
faded. Modern bookplate on front pastedown. Negligible foxing. Very good
plus.
First edition. Galloway, one of the most outspoken prominent Loyalists, had been
very critical of Gen. Howe and the British ministry regarding their conduct of the
war following the evacuation of Philadelphia. In the present hearing, Lord Germain
in part retaliated, grilling Galloway for several hours and attempting to discredit
him – which he succeeded in doing to some extent. Galloway himself saw his
testimony as a triumph and purchased hundreds of copies.
ESTC T13512. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 79-49a. HOWES G37.
$2750.
57. [Galloway, Joseph]: LETTERS TO A NOBLEMAN ON THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR IN THE MIDDLE COLONIES. London: J.
Wilkie, 1779. viii,101pp. plus folding map and advertisement leaf. 20th-century three-quarter calf and marbled boards, spine gilt. Extremities lightly rubbed.
Minor foxing. Map reinforced at left edge with tissue. Very good.
The second edition of this important work on the campaign of Gen. Howe, 177778, by the most prominent Loyalist in America during the Revolution. “Written
to demonstrate the shameful misconduct of the English generals in the American
war” – Sabin. The map, “A Plan of the Operations of the British & Rebel Army,
in the Campaign, 1777,” shows the region around the Schuylkill, Delaware, and
Brandywine rivers, with an inset of Mud Island Fort.
HOWES G43. SABIN 26436. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 79-44b.
$1250.
58. [Galloway, Joseph]: HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL REFLEC-
TIONS ON THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE AMERICAN
REBELLION. IN WHICH THE CAUSES OF THAT REBELLION
ARE POINTED OUT, AND THE POLICY AND NECESSITY OF
OFFERING TO THE AMERICANS A SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT FOUNDED IN THE PRINCIPLES OF THE BRITISH
CONSTITUTION, ARE CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED. London.
1780. [8],135,[1]pp. Modern three-quarter morocco, leather label, marbled
boards. Modern ink notations on titlepage, otherwise clean and fresh. Very
good.
Galloway was the most prominent Loyalist in America during the Revolution. The
present pamphlet sets forth his wish that the colonies remain with Great Britain, and
how it might be achieved, but also contains his most extensive historical discussion
of the evolution of the conflict. As background for his case, Galloway argues that
the rebellion lacked any reasonable foundation, citing the “principles and dispositions” of the first settlers of New England as the ideological source for the war.
HOWES G39. SABIN 26431. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 80-32.
$2750.
Presentation Copy
59. [Galloway, Joseph]: A REPLY TO THE OBSERVATIONS OF
LIEUT. GEN. SIR WILLIAM HOWE, ON A PAMPHLET, ENTITLED LETTERS TO A NOBLEMAN: IN WHICH HIS MISREPRESENTATIONS ARE DETECTED, AND THOSE LETTERS
ARE SUPPORTED, BY A VARIETY OF NEW MATTER AND
ARGUMENT. London. 1780. [4],149,[2]pp. Half title. Dbd. Presentation
inscription from the author to the Earl of Lisburne on the half title. Internally
clean. Very good plus. In a cardboard case, paper label on spine.
First London edition, after the very rare New York printing of 1777 (most copies
of that edition were destroyed by a New York mob) and another of 1780. This
copy is inscribed by the author on the titlepage: “For the right Honourable Earl
of Lisburne from his most faithfull & obedient servt. The Author.” The Earl was
an Irish peer, and so was sitting in the English House of Commons at the time of
publication. Galloway, former Loyalist “Superintendent” of Philadelphia during
the British occupation of 1777-78, herein replies to Gen. Howe’s Observations...,
preaching to him on how he could have won the war. In spite of its combative
tone, the pamphlet does provide important details on the Revolution in 1777-78,
the nature of the countryside, etc. Galloway attacks Howe’s defense that he was
forced to fight in forests by stating that at least two-thirds and in many places fivesixths of the area in question was cleared farmland. The appendix includes a letter
from Henry Laurens describing the want of supplies and food by the American
army at Valley Forge.
HOWES G48, “aa.” AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 80-35a. SABIN 26443.
$2250.
60. Gascoigne, John, and William Faden: A PLAN OF THE RIVER AND
SOUND OF D’AWFOSKEE, IN SOUTH CAROLINA, SURVEY’D
BY CAPTAIN JOHN GASCOIGNE. London: Faden & Jefferys, [1776].
Copper-engraved sea chart, on an untrimmed sheet. In excellent condition.
A very rare and highly important sea chart of South Carolina’s Hilton Head area,
made towards the beginning of the Revolutionary War, in the first state.
This finely engraved map was the finest sea chart of the area available in the
early days of the Revolutionary War, and most certainly would have played an important role in the development of strategies by various commanders. It embraces
the coastal region of South Carolina, from Port Royal Sound in the north, down past
the mouth of the Savannah River and Tybee Island, Georgia, in the south. Prominently featured is Hilton Head Island (called “Trench’s Island”) and “D’Awfoskee
Sound,” which is today known as Calibogue Sound. The old name survives on
“D’Awfoskee Island,” but now spelled Daufauskie, located at the centre of the map.
The region has one of the most varied and fascinating histories of any in the
American South. Originally inhabited by the Yamassee native tribe, the area first
came to the attention of Europeans during the expedition of Francisco Cordillo in
1521. Parris Island, located in Port Royal Sound, in the upper part of the map, was
home to two early settlements. In 1562, Jean Ribaut founded a Huguenot settlement, Charlesfort, but the Spaniards did not tolerate its presence and destroyed it
in short order. The Spaniards then founded their own fort and Jesuit mission, Santa
Elena, nearby in 1566. In 1661, the English formally staked claim to the region,
naming it Carolina after Charles II. In 1663, Captain William Hilton sailed from
Barbados aboard the Adventure, on a reconnaissance mission to explore his country’s new claims. It was then that he encountered a beautiful island, featuring a
prominent sandy cape, which he named “Hilton Head.” Once ashore, he remarked
that the island was blessed with “sweet water” and “clear sweet air.” English settlers
arrived in the region in the 1670s, but it was not until 1717 that the first Englishman, Col. John Barnwell settled on Hilton Head, having been given a grant of
one hundred acres in the northwest corner of the island. In the 18th century the
region enjoyed a very successful economy based on plantations and maritime trade,
although it was under threat from attacks by both the Spanish and pirates, most
notoriously Blackbeard.
This sea chart was one of the most detailed and accurate of any of the American
coastline. The immense detail of the hydrography was the result of surveys conducted by Captain John Gascoigne, assisted by his brother James. In 1728, aboard
the H.M.S. Alborough he employed the most sophisticated and modern techniques
with exacting attention to detail to produce a manuscript chart. The next year, this
chart was altered by Francis Swaine, and it would appear that Swaine’s manuscript,
or a close copy of it, found its way to the London workshop of William Faden.
Faden, the successor to the great Thomas Jefferys, adapted this map from a section
of Swaine’s manuscript, and the present first state was printed in 1776.
During the American Revolution, this area was an active military theatre. At the
outbreak of the war, Hilton Head and most other areas sided with the Americans,
however Daufauskie Island fell under British control. Britain’s superior naval power
allowed its ships to conduct frequent raids along the coast for the duration of the
war, however the real threat to the American cause came in December 1778 when
British General Augustin Prevost seized Savannah, determined to use it as a base
for further operations. The following February, he dispatched a team of marines to
take control of Port Royal Sound. They initially engaged the Americans at Hilton
Head before proceeding further up Port Royal Sound. However, the invasion was
ultimately repelled by Gen. William Moultrie at Beaufort. On September 24th
of the same year, in what was to become known the Battle of Hilton Head, three
British ships were set upon by a trio of French ships allied to the American cause.
After a dramatic chase and an intense exchange of cannon fire, the principal British
ship, the H.M.S. Experiment, was forced to surrender.
SELLERS & VAN EE, MAPS & CHARTS OF NORTH AMERICA & THE WEST
INDIES 1525. Stevens & Tree, “Comparative Cartography” in Tooley, THE MAPPING OF
AMERICA 16(a). CUMMING, BRITISH MAPS OF COLONIAL AMERICA, pp.47-49
(ref ). CUMMING, THE SOUTHEAST IN EARLY MAPS 204 (ref ).
$12,000.
61. George, Daniel: AN ALMANACK FOR THE YEAR OF OUR
LORD CHRIST, 1780. BEING BISSEXTILE, OR LEAP YEAR;
AND THE FOURTH OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. CALCULATED FOR THE MERIDIAN OF BOSTON, NEW-ENGLAND: LAT. 42 DEG. 25. NORTH. Newburyport: Printed & sold by J.
Mycall, [1779]. [24]pp. 12mo. Dbd. Some light foxing. Very good.
A Revolutionary-era Massachusetts almanac compiled by Daniel George, a former
student of astronomy at Haverhill who issued New England almanacs published in
various Massachusetts towns between 1776 and 1787. In addition to the calendar
for the year and the list of roads and distances from Boston to principal towns on
the continent, this almanac includes a three-page explanation by the American
physician William Cullen on “how to recover persons apparently dead, by drowning.”
DRAKE 3286. EVANS 16286. NAIP w036449.
$950.
Hamilton on the Politics of Peace
62. [Hamilton, Alexander]: A LETTER FROM PHOCION TO THE
CONSIDERATE CITIZENS OF NEW-YORK, ON THE POLITICS OF THE TIMES, IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE PEACE.
Philadelphia: Robert Bell, 1784. 15,[1]pp. Modern green half morocco and
cloth, spine gilt. Light to moderate foxing and soiling. Very good.
One of two Philadelphia editions of this influential political tract, after the first
New York printing of the same year. Here Hamilton argues some of the points that
were to become Federalist creed: compliance with the 1783 peace treaty with the
British, an end to attacks on Tories and Tory property, and the submission of the
states to the central authority of the United States. It is Hamilton’s third political
tract, his first two appearing in 1774 and 1775. “This impression contains, Letters on the stage, pp.13-15, and a List of books, 1 page, added by Robert Bell, and
probably marks a second edition” – Evans. Scarce.
EVANS 18515. FORD 13. NAIP w013451. HOWES H117. HILDEBURN 4486. SABIN
29962.$8500.
Hamilton Organizes the Way
to Pay Down the National Debt
63. [Hamilton, Alexander]: CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES...
AN ACT MAKING FURTHER PROVISION FOR THE PAYMENT OF THE DEBTS OF THE UNITED STATES [caption
title]. [New York]: Printed by Francis Childs and John Swaine, [1790]. 4pp.
Small folio. Dbd. Small contemporary numerical inscription in lower margin
of pp.[1] and 3. Some marginal staining and foxing, not affecting text. Else
very good, untrimmed. In a half morocco clamshell case.
The rare original Congressional printing of a crucial act passed Aug. 10, 1790, raising the duties on various imports to fund the payment of the national debt. This
act was an important part of Alexander Hamilton’s overall strategy for putting the
finances of the infant federal government on a sound basis. Six days before this
act was approved, Congress passed the important “Assumption Act,” by which the
federal government assumed the debts incurred by the individual states during the
Revolution in exchange for any claim those states had on western lands. Hamilton
then proposed to consolidate these debts, and required it to be paid down by money
taken in as duties on imports. That part of the plan was put in place by the Public
Debt Act, passed by Congress two days after this present act.
Hamilton’s plan of paying down the federal debt with an increase in duties also
served another part of his overall plan, which was to encourage domestic manufactures at the expense of imports. The present act increases duties on a wide variety
of goods, wares, and merchandise, including tea, wine, distilled spirits, cheese and
a variety of other foods, spices, bricks, marble, walking sticks, blank books, writing
paper, etc. A scarce document, with ESTC locating five copies, at the American
Antiquarian Society, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Library of Congress,
New York Public Library, and the Rhode Island Historical Society.
EVANS 22965. ESTC W14347, W17366.
$15,000.
The Second Edition of The Federalist
64. [Hamilton, Alexander, James Madison; and John Jay]: THE FED-
ERALIST, ON THE NEW CONSTITU TION. BY PUBLIUS.
WRITTEN IN 1788. TO WHICH IS ADDED, PACIFICUS, ON
THE PROCLAMATION OF NEUTRALITY. WRITTEN IN 1793.
LIKEWISE, THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION, WITH ALL THE
AMENDMENTS.... New York: Printed and sold by George F. Hopkins,
1802. Two volumes. viii,317,[1]pp., with two pages numbered 167 and two
pages numbered 168, as noted on the errata sheet and with page numbering
263-270 repeated; v,[3],351pp. Contemporary sheep, gilt morocco spine label
on first volume (lacking on second volume). Hinges of second volume repaired,
boards quite rubbed and edgeworn. Contemporary ownership signature on
titlepage of both volumes. Moderate tanning and staining. Good. In cloth
chemises and half morocco and cloth slipcases, spines gilt.
Styled the “revised and corrected” edition on the titlepage, with additions to the first
edition of 1788. “Most famous and influential American political work. Written
in collaboration with Jay and Madison” – Howes. Ford attributes editorship of this
edition to John Wells, though Sabin attributes it to William Coleman, noting it as
“the last issued during Hamilton’s life....” This edition is expanded by the addition
of the federal constitution and the first eleven amendments, and a series of articles
written by Hamilton under the pseudonym “Pacificus,” defending Washington’s
“Neutrality Proclamation” of 1793 regarding the Anglo-French war. Arguably
the most complete edition, and the only other English language edition issued in
Hamilton’s lifetime, in the preface it identifies Hamilton, Jay, and Madison as the
authors but does not specify who wrote which essays; “it was at first intended to
mark the numbers distinctly which were written by each; but considerations have
since occurred which would perhaps render this measure improper.” Clearly issued
by Hamilton partisans, the preface implies that virtually all of it was Hamilton’s
work, and the republication of the Pacificus essays (written in opposition to Madison) confirms the Hamiltonian slant.
FORD 21. HOWES H114, “aa.” COHEN 2818. SABIN 23981. DAB XI, pp. 312-13. Ron
Chernow, Alexander Hamilton, pp.44, 48, 188, 603-6.
$20,000.
Signer of the Declaration from South Carolina
65. [Heyward, Thomas, Jr.]: [DOCUMENT SIGNED BY THOMAS
HEYWARD AND THOMAS PINCKNEY REGARDING THE
ADMINISTRATION OF AN ESTATE]. [N.p., but South Carolina].
Oct. 30, 1784. [1]p., docketed on verso. Oblong folio. Old fold lines. Minor
soiling. Reinforced around edges on verso with later paper. Very good. In a
blue half morocco and cloth clamshell case, spine gilt.
Manuscript document, signed by Thomas Heyward and docketed by Thomas Pinckney, concerning the administration of an estate. Thomas Heyward was a lawyer,
judge, and Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation.
He saw action during the American Revolution at Port Royal and the defense of
Charleston, and was captured and exiled by the British to St. Augustine until 1781.
Thereafter he served in the South Carolina state legislature and as a circuit court
judge. Thomas Pinckney was also present at the siege of Charleston, though he
eluded capture. Pinckney was a lawyer and statesman, who served as both governor
of South Carolina and in the state legislature. This document is signed by both
men in their respective legal capacities.
Dealing with the dispersal of the estate of Samuel Horsey, this document notes
that the executor, William Hart, is claiming £1/19/5 for his expenses in that role,
which is being disputed in the court of common pleas by Horsey’s relations. The
document reads, in part: “The defendant William Hart maketh oath that the above
is a just and true account of his administration & that he hath not in his hands any
money, goods, or chattels which was of Samuel Horsey deceased.” It is signed at
the bottom by Thomas Heyward, as judge, and docketed on the verso by Thomas
$1250.
Pinckney, lawyer. Early Photographs of Aged Revolutionaries
66. Hillard, Elias B., Rev.: THE LAST MEN OF THE REVOLUTION.
A PHOTOGRAPH OF EACH FROM LIFE, TOGETHER WITH
VIEWS OF THEIR HOMES PRINTED IN COLORS. ACCOMPANIED BY BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE MEN.
Hartford: Published by N.A. & R.A. Moore, 1864. 64pp. plus six original
mounted photographs and six colored lithographs. 12mo. Original half leather
and pebbled green cloth, front board gilt, spine gilt. Some rubbing and spotting to cloth. Very good.
This book is remarkable for its extraordinarily early mounted photographs of actual veterans of the American Revolution. Hillard produced it during the Civil
War to inspire patriotic sentiments by providing verbal and visual portraits of the
experienced old veterans. The colored lithographs show their homes. The persons
photographed are Samuel Downing, Daniel Waldo, Lemuel Cook, Alexander Millener, William Hutchings, and Adam Link. An additional chapter on James Barham
is unillustrated as he could not be found, although there was no record of his death.
The photographs provide a remarkable reach back in time, showing persons born
in the 1750s and 1760s. “The photographs were made uniformly under makeshift
circumstances as would have been required if the photographs were made in situ
while Hillard visited each for a personal interview” – Goldschmidt & Naef. A truly
wonderful little book.
This copy does not contain a facsimile of a letter written by Edward Everett,
who served as both a congressman and governor of Massachusetts, commenting
on the work. The original letter was written within days of Everett’s death on Jan.
15, 1865, and the facsimile is not found in all copies.
BENNETT, p.56. HOWES H490. SABIN 31871. TRUTHFUL LENS 86. McGRATH,
pp.114-15, 132-33.
$7500.
A Signer of the Declaration Writes the First Secretary of War
67. Huntington, Samuel: [AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM
GOVERNOR SAMUEL HUNTINGTON TO HENRY KNOX REGARDING CONNECTICUT’S REACTION TO THE NEUTRALITY PROCLAMATION]. Norwich, Ct. Aug. 16, 1793. [1]p. Folio. Old
fold lines. Later paper strip attached to top of verso. Slight separation at some
folds. Minor toning. Docketed on verso. Very good. In a half cloth clamshell
case, gilt leather label.
The retained copy of a letter written by Samuel Huntington, but entirely in his hand
and signed by him. Huntington was a Signer of the Declaration of Independence
and Governor of Connecticut, and here writes to Secretary of War Major General
Henry Knox, indicating receipt of the terms of neutrality which the United States
adopted towards Britain and France, and Connecticut’s willingness to abide by those
terms. Samuel Huntington was a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, served
as President of the Continental Congress, and was the third governor of Connecticut,
serving for ten years, until his death in 1793. Henry Knox served with distinction
during the American Revolution; he was charged with Washington’s famous crossing
of the Delaware River, and the successful completion of that mission earned him
the promotion to brigadier general. He was one of the founding members of the
Society of the Cincinnati and was the nation’s first Secretary of War.
On April 22, 1793, George Washington issued a statement announcing that the
United States would maintain a policy of strict neutrality in the conflict between
France and Britain, resulting from the French Revolution. This was the first major
international conflict facing the newly formed United States, and it involved her
ally, France. One of the concerns of the American government was that America
not be seen to be interfering in trade – privateering to the hindrance of one side
or the other. The assurances on Governor Huntington’s part most likely refer to
the willingness of Connecticut ship captains to abide by the law of the land and
maintain U.S. neutrality.
He writes:
Sir, I am on this day favoured with your two letters of the 7th instant containing the rules & regulations which the President of the United States has
thought proper to adopt for a uniform line of conduct throughout the several
states with respect to the belligerent powers; and also the regulations agreed
upon between the general government & the Minister of France. You may be
assured, sir, that a strict observance will be paid to the directions and regulations
contained in those letters. I have also the satisfaction to inform you, that the
inhabitants of this state appear sincerely disposed to observe a just neutrallity
[sic] conformably to the tenor of the proclamation which was issued by the
President on that subject and have reason to believe that the general sense &
sentiment of the citizens of this state will prevent all infractions of the laws of
nations as relative to the powers at war.
A nice document, referring to early Federal policy, penned by one of the Signers
of the Declaration of Independence. $4000.
68. Hutchinson, Thomas: THE SPEECHES OF HIS EXCELLENCY
GOVERNOR HUTCHINSON, TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE MASSACHUSETTS-BAY AT A SESSION BEGUN AND
HELD ON THE SIXTH OF JANUARY, 1773. WITH THE ANSWERS OF HIS MAJESTY ’S COUNCIL AND THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES RESPECTIVELY. Boston: Printed by Edes and
Gill..., 1773. 126pp. Antique-style three-quarter calf and marbled boards.
Light scattered foxing. Very good.
“These speeches were printed in the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly NewsLetter between January and March of 1773. The House ordered 700 copies printed
for itself and 100 for the Council on March 6, 1773” – Adams. “When [Samuel]
Adams organized the correspondence committees in November 1772 and initiated
the movement by publishing the ‘Rights of the Colonists,’ Hutchinson gave life to
the movement by delivering before the General Court, on Jan. 6, 1773, an elaborately argued address designed to prove that since ‘no line can be drawn between
the supreme authority of Parliament and the total independence of the colonies’ the
Parliamentary supremacy must be admitted; and ‘if the supremacy of Parliament
shall no longer be denied, it will follow that the mere exercise of its authority can
be no grievance’” – DAB. The complete text of this address is printed herein, along
with other speeches made during the same session. These speeches immediately
preceded the explosive publication of Hutchinson’s letter back to England, leaked
via Franklin.
HOWES H854. EVANS 12856. AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 97. DAB IX, pp.43943. SABIN 34086.
$3000.
Item 69.
New York Protests the Boston Port Act
69. [Intolerable Acts]: NEW-YORK. THE FOLLOWING DIALOGUE
BEING CONCEIVED, IN SOME MEASURE, CALCULATED TO
ADVANCE THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM, IN THE PRESENT
CRITICAL SITUATION OF AFFAIRS, IS FOR THAT PURPOSE
PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC [caption title]. [New York: Printed
by John Holt, May 20, 1774]. Folio broadsheet, printed in two columns. Approximately 12½ x 8 inches. Lightly silked. Inscribed in later ink in lower
margin of p.[2]: “Printed by John Holt.” Very good. In a half brown morocco
and cloth folding case, spine gilt.
A protest of the Boston Port Act, passed by Parliament on March 31, 1774. The
act, designed to punish Boston for the Tea Party, ordered the port of Boston closed
until the inhabitants reimbursed the East India Company and King’s treasury for the
tea destroyed and customs duty lost on Dec. 16, 1773. “Because Boston alone was
punished, Lord North believed the colonies would not ‘take fire.’ It was a costly
mistake: the cry was raised in America that the Port Act was merely a prelude to a
‘Massacre of American Liberty’; the colonies rallied to Boston’s aid; and the Continental Congress was called to concert opposition to the mother country” – DAH.
The present copy is apparently a variant of the broadsheet recorded by Evans, in
which “Affairs” is spelled “Affaires.” Evans ascribes printing to the press of John
Holt. ESTC locates only three copies, at the Massachusetts Historical Society, John
Carter Brown Library, and New-York Historical Society. Rare.
EVANS 13489. ESTC W24574. DAH I, p.224.
$17,500.
The Intolerable Acts: The Final Spark of the Revolution
70. [Intolerable Acts]: [SET OF THE FIVE PARLIAMENTARY BILLS
KNOWN AS THE “INTOLERABLE ACTS”: THE BOSTON PORT
ACT, THE MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNMENT ACT, THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE ACT, THE QUARTERING ACT,
AND THE QUEBEC ACT]. London. March 31 to June 22, 1774. As
detailed below. Five works bound in one volume. Folio. Modern paneled calf,
spine gilt. Small hole in titlepage of first law, affecting four letters of text,
expertly repaired. Large, wide-margined copies, near fine.
The Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773 unified both the protesting colonists
in America and the forces of reaction in Great Britain in their respective positions. News of it arrived in London in January, 1774. From the point of view
of the English government of Lord North, which commanded a firm majority in
Parliament, the Tea Party represented an outrageous act of defiance which must be
quashed. As soon as news arrived in London, legislation was prepared to punish
the defiant colonists and bring the colonies, especially Massachusetts, firmly to
heel. Their goal was to punish Massachusetts for the Tea Party and extend direct
Royal control at the expense of popular liberty. Between March 31 and June 22,
1774, five acts were passed which became known collectively as the Coercive or
Intolerable Acts. As news of each reached America, with troops to enforce it, a
new spirit of defiance was kindled.
1) The first law passed, on March 31, was the Boston Port Act: Anno Regni Georgii
III. Decimo Quarto. Cap. XIX. An Act to Discontinue, in Such Manner, and for Such
Time as are Therein Mentioned, the Landing and Discharging, Lading or Shipping,
of Goods, Wares, and Merchandise at the Town, and Within the Harbour, of Boston,
in the Province of Massachuset’s Bay, in North America. London: Charles Eyre &
William Strahan, 1774. Caption title, pp.515-522 (pp.517 and 520 misnumbered
417 and 420). The Port Act closed the port of Boston to all shipping, strangling
its commerce. This was particularly aimed at the merchants, such as John Hancock, who were seen as the ringleaders of the dissent. For a city such as Boston,
which lived on maritime trade, it was a crippling blow. The Port was to remain
closed until the East India Company was reimbursed for the tea destroyed in
the Tea Party.
2) The Administration of Justice Act: Anno Regni Georgii III. Decimo Quarto. Cap.
XXXIX. An Act for the Impartial Administration of Justice in the Cases of Persons
Questioned for Any Acts Done by Them in the Execution of the Law, for the Suppression of Riots and Tumults, in the Province of Massachuset’s Bay, in New England.
London: Charles Eyre & William Strahan, 1774. Caption title, pp.991-998. The
Administration of Justice Act was passed on May 20, 1774. Its provisions were,
if anything, more frightening than the Port Act. The Act allowed those charged
with crimes in Massachusetts to be sent to England for trial, away from sympathetic local juries and into a legal mechanism easily manipulated by the British
Administration. Implicitly, it threatened leaders of the colonists with facing
treason charges under hostile circumstances.
3) The Massachusetts Governtment Act: Anno Regni Georgii III. Decimo Quarto. Cap.
XLV. An Act for the Better Regulating the Government of the Province of Massachuset’s
Bay, in New England. London: Charles Eyre & William Strahan, 1774. Caption
title, pp.1047-1062. Also passed on May 20, the Massachusetts Government Act
altered the Charter of the colony, providing that the King, not the Governor,
appoint Council members, and stipulated that town meetings could only occur
annually and to discuss local matters. The goal of the Act was to take away any
local control of the government of the colony and allow any large meetings to
be broken up as riotous assemblies.
4) The Quartering Act: Anno Regni Georgii III. Decimo Quarto. Cap. LIV. An Act
for the Better Providing Suitable Quarters for Officers and Soldiers in His Majesty’s
Service in North America. London: Charles Eyre & William Strahan, 1774. Caption title, pp.1251-1252. The Quartering Act, passed June 2, 1774, was the final
legislation aimed specifically at Massachusetts. It allowed for the lodging and
billeting of British soldiers with families and on private property. This shifted
some of the cost of maintaining an army in the colony to the colonists, besides
the difficulty of having soldiers in homes. Of all the acts, this directly affected
the most people.
5) The Quebec Act: Anno Regni Georgii III. Decimo Quarto. Cap. LXXXIII. An Act
for Making More Effectual Provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec
in North America. London: Charles Eyre & William Strahan, 1774. Caption title,
pp.1827-1835. The Quebec Act was somewhat different from the first four acts,
and was passed last, on June 22. Some of its provisions had little relationship to
the more southern colonies, such as the tolerance of the Roman Catholic religion
and the restoration of French civil law – these steps were designed to appease
the mostly French citizenry and remove reasons for common cause. The provision which did strike at all of the colonies was the transference to Canada of
governmental authority of all lands west of Alleghenies and south to the Ohio
River. This struck directly at the western land speculations of every colony south
to Virginia, and perhaps aroused more widespread anger in the colonies than any
of the Acts aimed specifically at Massachusetts.
The Intolerable Acts brought strong and immediate reaction throughout the colonies.
The most important was the calling of a Continental Congress, first proposed by
Rhode Island on May 17, four days after General Gage took over the government
of Massachusetts as a Military Governor. The stage was set for the escalation of
the crisis. $35,000.
In Defense of Captain Cresap
71. [ Jacob, John J.]: A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF
THE LATE CAPT. MICHAEL CRESAP. Cumberland, Md.: Printed
for the Author, by J.M. Buchanan, 1826. 123,[1]pp. 12mo. Contemporary
three-quarter roan and marbled boards, spine gilt. Boards lightly rubbed and
shelfworn. Early ownership signature on front free endpaper. Light tanning,
scattered foxing, old light dampstain in lower third of final five leaves of text.
About very good. In a burgundy half morocco and cloth slipcase, spine gilt,
and folding cloth chemise.
First edition of this biography of Captain Cresap, defending him against charges
that he slaughtered Indians before the beginning of the Revolutionary War. In
particular, Cresap became infamous in the case of the Indian, Logan, and the murder
of his defenseless family in 1774. “This biography of Cresap was written to refute
Jefferson’s account in Notes on Virginia....The immediate occasion for this now rare
book, written by the revolutionary officer, later clergyman, who had married Cresap’s
widow, was the reopening of old sores by [ Joseph] Doddridge in his then recently
published Notes [on the Settlement and Indian Wars, of the Western Parts of Virginia &
Pennsylvania, from the Year 1763 Until the Year 1783 Inclusive] of 1824. The defense
is complete and the biography is of absorbing interest” – Streeter.
HOWES J32, “b.” SABIN 35488. STREETER SALE 1335. FIELD 769. THOMSON
640. AMERICAN IMPRINTS 24967. DAB IV, p.538 (Cresap).
$3500.
The Fiscal State of the Nation, 1779
72. [ Jay, John]: A CIRCULAR LETTER FROM THE CONGRESS OF
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO THEIR CONSTITUENTS. Philadelphia, printed; Boston, re-printed. [1779]. 15pp. Modern
three-quarter calf and marbled boards, spine gilt. Internally clean, very good.
One of five total printings of this work in 1779, following the official edition, done
in Philadelphia. Herein John Jay outlines the fiscal state of the infant nation, in
particular light of the growing war debt. The pamphlet was ordered to be printed
and distributed to the numerous parishes throughout the nation, to be read by the
several ministers at the close of religious services. Jay implores the populace to
maintain its resolve, and to be wary of insidious reports that the new government
is failing.
NAIP w015193. EVANS 16559. SABIN 15515.
$3000.
The Private First Edition of Jefferson’s Classic
73. Jefferson, Thomas: NOTES ON THE STATE OF VIRGINIA;
WRITTEN IN THE YEAR 1781.... [bound with:] DRAUGHT OF
A FUNDAMENTAL CONSTITUTION FOR THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA. [N.p., but Paris. Stated 1782 on the titlepage,
but actually 1785]. [2],391pp. (without the folding table found in some copies); 14pp. Contemporary calf, expertly rebacked with original gilt spine laid
down, red morocco label. Period manuscript cross outs to five words on p.5
of Notes, presumed to be by Jefferson (as in many copies). Very good. In a
black morocco box. Provenance: David S. Franks (inscription on verso of title:
“This Book was given by the Author Mr. Jefferson to David S. Franks at Paris
7th Feb.y 1787”); Edward Livingston (armorial bookplate engraved by Peter
Maverick); T. Jefferson Coolidge Jr. (book label).
The extremely rare privately printed first edition of Thomas Jefferson’s only booklength work published in his lifetime, issued by him in Paris in 1785, while serving
as the United States Ambassador to France.
Prepared by Jefferson only for distribution to personal friends, the Notes ultimately
went through several dozen editions during his lifetime and is now recognized as
an enduring classic of Americana, as well as one of its greatest rarities. Jefferson
originally wrote the Notes in response to a series of queries sent to him by French
diplomat François Barbé-Marbois, composing them after the defeat of the British at
Yorktown in 1781. On the urging of their mutual friend, the distinguished French
soldier and scientist, the Marquis de Chastellux, he later expanded his responses
into a series of twenty-three essays on every aspect of his native state: geography,
landforms, products, agriculture, climate, population, armed forces, Indians, towns,
laws, religion, manners, and history. Notes is vastly informative, but it was also a
mirror of Jefferson’s tastes and personality. J.M. Edelstein noted: “Jefferson wrote
about things which interested him deeply and about which he knew a great deal;
the Notes, therefore, throws a fascinating light on his tastes, curiosities, and political and social opinions.”
When Jefferson moved to Paris as the American ambassador, he discovered
that printing in the French capital was elegant and inexpensive. He decided to
issue the Notes strictly for private circulation, and 200 copies were printed in May
1785. Millicent Sowerby, in her work on Jefferson’s library, has told the story of
the book’s production in great detail. Jefferson gave a number of copies directly to
friends, but he also shipped numerous copies to James Madison and George Wythe
in Virginia to distribute for him to friends there, as well as students at William &
Mary. However, no copies were offered for sale, and the book was only obtainable
directly from Jefferson, Madison, or Wythe.
After the Notes was printed, Jefferson took advantage of the cheap Parisian
printing to produce three pamphlets: the Constitution of Virginia; the Virginia
Statute of Religious Freedom, which he co-authored; and his ideas on currency units.
Some copies of the Notes were bound up with one or more of the extra pamphlets.
This copy contains the first of these. The Virginia Constitution was the first state
constitution to be created, drafted in May 1776 as the state declared independence
from Great Britain; that Declaration is the preamble of the document. The Virginia
Constitution was primarily the work of John Mason and James Madison. It created
a bicameral legislature, with a House of Delegates and a Senate, an Executive of
a Governor and a Council of State, and inferior and superior courts. The right to
vote was closely restricted to white men over twenty-one of fairly significant wealth.
At the time he produced the private edition of the Notes, Jefferson had resisted
the idea of regular publication. However, the widespread interest the book aroused
soon led to rumors that a pirated edition would appear, and to forestall this, regular
published editions came out with his blessing in French (Paris, 1786) and in English
(London, 1787), soon followed by an American edition (Philadelphia, 1788) and then
a flood of reprints. Even these editions have become rare. The true first edition is
virtually unobtainable. It represents the book as Jefferson originally conceived of it,
as a gift to his friends to help them better understand his beloved state of Virginia.
The present copy includes provenance to David S. Franks, with a note on verso
of the title page, subsequently cancelled, believed to be in his hand, recording the
presentation of the book to him by Jefferson on Feb. 7, 1787. Franks’ meeting with
Jefferson on that date is confirmed by their correspondence, with a letter written
by Jefferson to Franks on February 8 and a return letter by Franks to Jefferson on
February 10, in which he writes: “Permit me my dear Sir at parting to assure you
that my heart feels every sentiment of gratitude and attachment to you for the many
marks of Friendship which you have shewn me since my stay in France and that
it will always be my endeavor to merit the good opinion I flatter myself you have
of me.” At the time, Franks was serving in the diplomatic corps as the U.S. Vice
Consul at Marseilles and further served as the Secretary to the U.S. Ambassador
to Morocco to negotiate a treaty between the two countries. Upon the conclusion
of those negotiations, Franks was dispatched to Paris with the treaty to obtain the
signatures of Jefferson and John Adams, before crossing the Atlantic to deliver the
treaty to Congress.
Franks (1740-93), prior to the American Revolution, served as President of
Shearith Israel in Montreal, the oldest Jewish congregation in Canada. He joined
the American forces under Benedict Arnold in 1775 and was promoted to Major
General and Arnold’s aide-de-camp. Fluent in French, Franks served for a time
as a liaison officer to the Comte d’Estaing before returning to his position under
Benedict Arnold. Although arrested at the time of Arnold’s treason, Franks was
exonerated and later served on George Washington’s staff. At the end of the war,
Franks was dispatched to deliver the official Treaty of Paris to Benjamin Franklin
and served as an honorary assistant to George Washington in his first inauguration
procession. An original member of the Society of the Cincinnati, following his
diplomatic career, Franks was a cashier at the first Bank of the U.S. in Philadelphia,
succumbing to Yellow Fever in the epidemic of 1793.
The circumstances of ownership of this book passing from Franks to Edward
Livingston (1764-1836) are unclear. Livingston’s father, Robert Livingston, as U.S.
Secretary to Foreign Affairs was instrumental in gaining Franks his diplomatic post.
The younger Livingston, at the time of Franks’ return from Paris, was a noted lawyer
in New York, subsequently serving in Congress. Ironically, Livingston would later
become a staunch opponent of Jefferson.
SOWERBY, JEFFERSON’S LIBRARY 4167 (vol. 4, pp.301-30.) Coolie Verner, Mr. Jefferson Distributes His Notes (New York, 1952). CHURCH 1189. STREETER SALE 1722.
SABIN 35894. RICH, p.301. HOWES J78, “c.” VAIL 728.
$325,000.
74. Jefferson, Thomas: NOTES ON THE STATE OF VIRGINIA. WITH
AN APPENDIX. New York: Printed by M.L. & W.A. Davis – For Furman
& Loudon, 1801. 392pp. plus frontispiece portrait, folding map, and folding
table. Lacks folding plate of the Natural Bridge in Virginia. Contemporary
calf; rebacked, spine gilt. Corners worn and repaired. Light toning and scattered foxing. A good, solid copy.
The self-styled “third American edition,” although there were actually five American
editions published before this one. Notes on the State of Virginia is the only booklength work by Jefferson to be published in his lifetime. It has been called “one
of America’s first permanent literary and intellectual landmarks.” It was largely
written in 1781 and first published in Paris, in French, in 1785. Written in the
form of answers to questions about Virginia, the book supplies a description of the
geography, with an abundance of supporting material and unusual information. The
portrait of Jefferson was engraved by John Scoles, and is pictured and described in
Cunningham’s The Image of Thomas Jefferson in the Public Eye....
This is only the second American edition of Jefferson’s Notes with a map. The
map which accompanies this copy is the Samuel Lewis map of Virginia, printed in
New York in 1794. This is the same map which accompanies the 1794 New York
edition, the first American edition of the Notes to have a map.
HOWES J78. Noble E. Cunningham, Jr., The Image of Thomas Jefferson in the Public Eye,
pp.16-17. SABIN 35906. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 722. CLARK I:262. SOWERBY,
JEFFERSON’S LIBRARY 4167. ADAMS, THE EYE OF THOMAS JEFFERSON 57.
$3000.
75. Jefferys, Thomas: THE AMERICAN ATLAS; OR, A GEOGRAPH-
ICAL DESCRIP TION OF THE WHOLE CONTINENT OF
AMERICA; WHEREIN ARE DELINEATED AT LARGE ITS
SEVERAL REGIONS, COUNTRIES, STATES, AND ISLANDS;
AND CHIEFLY THE BRITISH COLONIES.... London: Printed and
Published by Robert Laurie and James Whittle...(Successors to the Late Mr.
Robert Sayer), 1794. Mounted on guards throughout. Letterpress title with
publisher’s overslip (verso blank), 1p. letterpress “Index to the Maps” (verso
blank), otherwise engraved throughout. Twenty-three engraved maps, on thirty
sheets, all with period hand-coloring in outline. Folio. Expertly bound to style
in 18th-century half russia and period marbled boards, spine gilt with raised
bands, red morocco label. Very good.
A very rare issue of The American Atlas, the most important 18th-century atlas for
America. Walter Ristow describes it as a “geographical description of the whole
continent of America, as portrayed in the best available maps in the latter half of
the eighteenth century ...as a major cartographic reference work it was, very likely,
consulted by American, English, and French civilian administrators and military
officers during the Revolution.”
As a collection, The American Atlas stands as the most comprehensive, detailed
and accurate survey of the American colonies at the beginning of the Revolution.
Among the distinguished maps are Braddock Meade’s “A Map of the Most Inhabited
Parts of New England,” the largest and most detailed map of New England that
had yet been published; a map of “The Provinces of New York and New Jersey” by
Samuel Holland, the Surveyor general for the northern American colonies; William Scull’s “A Map of Pennsylvania,” the first map of that colony to include its
western frontier; Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson’s “A Map of the Most Inhabited
part of Virginia,” the best colonial map for the Chesapeake region; and Lieut. Ross’
“Course of the Mississipi,” the first map of that river based on English sources.
Jefferys was the leading English cartographer of the 18th century. From about
1750, he published a series of maps of the English American colonies, that were
among the most significant produced in the period. As Geographer to the Prince
of Wales, and after 1761, Geographer to the King, Jefferys was well placed to have
access to the best surveys conducted in America, and many of his maps held the
status of “official work.” Jefferys died on November 20, 1771, and in 1775 his
successors, Robert Sayer and John Bennett, gathered these separately-issued maps
together and republished them in book form as The American Atlas. Following
Sayer’s death, the plates were inherited by Laurie and Whittle, who re-issued the
atlas with some interesting additions and changes.
The maps are as follow. Many of the maps are on several sheets, and in the Index, each individual sheet is numbered (the measurements refer to the image sizes).
1-3) Braddock Meade (alias John Green): “A Chart of North and South America,
including the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.” Published 21 June 1790. Six sheets
joined into three folding sheets. This great wall map was chiefly issued to expose
the errors in Delisle and Buache’s map of the Pacific Northwest, published in Paris
in 1752. This issue is not listed by Stevens & Tree, but see 4 for earlier issues.
4) Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg: “The Russian Discoveries.” Published March
2nd 1775. One double-page sheet.
5-6) E. Bowen and John Gibson: “A New and Correct Map of North America, and
the West India Islands. Divided according to the Preliminary Articles of Peace...
wherein are particularly distinguished the United States...Corrected from the
Original Materials of Governr. Pownall...1783.” Published 15 August 1786.
Four sheets joined into two folding sheets. Pownall’s map, a later issue of the
updated version that took into account the results of the Versailles peace treaty
of January 1783. STEVENS & TREE 49 (j).
7) Robert Sayer: “The United States of North America with the British Possessions
of Canada...also the Spanish Territories of Louisiana and Florida.” Published 1
January 1790. Double-page. Intermediate issue, not listed by Stevens & Tree,
but see 51 (d) and (e), for an earlier and later issues. It is interesting to note
that the American flag surmounting the cartouche contains just thirteen stars –
Vermont did not join the Federal Union until 1791.
8) Samuel Dunn: “A New Map of the United States of North America.” 10 June
1786. Single sheet. STEVENS & TREE 53 (d).
9) Thomas Jefferys, “An Exact Chart of the River St. Laurence from Fort Frontenac
to the Island of Anticosti....” Published 25 May 1775. Two sheets joined into
one folding sheet. STEVENS & TREE 76 (d).
10) Sayer & Bennett: “A Chart of the Gulf of St. Laurence....” 1 August 1786.
Double-page.
11) “A Map of the Island of St. John in the Gulf of St. Laurence....” [n.d.] Double-page.
12) James Cook and Michael Lane: “A General Chart of the Island of Newfoundland....” 10th May 1775. By Thomas Jefferys...Printed for Robt. Sayer. Doublepage.
13) “A Chart of the Banks of Newfoundland....” Printed for & Sold by Robt. Sayer
...26th March 1787. Double-page. Based on the surveys of James Cook, Chabert, and Fleurieu.
14) Braddock Meade (alias John Green): “A New Map of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton
Island with the Adjacent Parts of New England and Canada....” Printed & Sold
by R. Sayer...1 August 1786. Double-page. Originally published in 1755, at the
beginning of the French and Indian War, this map “proved to be important in
evaluating respective French and English claims to this part of North America”
(Ristow). England gained sole possession of the region by the Treaty of Paris,
1763. STEVENS & TREE 66 (k).
15-16) Braddock Meade (alias John Green): “A Map of the Most Inhabited Part of
New England.” Publish’d 12 May 1794 by Laurie & Whittle. Four sheets joined
into two folding sheets. The first large-scale map of New England. “The most
detailed and informative pre-Revolutionary map of New England...not really
supplanted until the nineteenth century” – New England Prospect 13.
17) Capt. [Samuel] Holland: “The Provinces of New York and New Jersey, with Part
of Pensilvania....” Printed for Robt. Sayer & John Bennett 17 Augt. 1776. Three
insets: “A plan of the City of New York,” “A chart of the Mouth of Hudson’s
River,” and “A plan of Amboy.” Two sheets joined to form one long folding sheet.
An important large-scale map of the Provinces of New York and New Jersey, by
Samuel Holland, Surveyor General for the Northern English colonies. With
fine insets including a street plan of colonial New York City.
18) Brassier: “A Survey of Lake Champlain....” Printed for Robert Sayer...1 Jany.
1788. Double-page. An intermediate issue not listed by Stevens & Tree, but
see Stevens & Tree 25 (b) and 25 (c) for earlier and later issues. Like Stevens
& Tree 25 (c), this issue has the title in a cartouche and added noted regarding
Lake Champlain.
19) Carver: “A New and Correct Map of the Province of Quebec....” Printed for
Robert Sayer...1 Jan. 1788. Double-page. STEVENS & TREE 73 (b).
20) William Scull: “A Map of Pennsylvania Exhibiting not only the Improved Parts
of the Province but also its Extensive Frontiers.” Printed for Robt. Sayer & J.
Bennett...Published...10 June 1775. Two sheets joined to form one folding sheet.
The first map of the Province of Pennsylvania to include its western frontier.
All earlier maps had focused solely on the settled eastern parts of the colony.
21-22) Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson: “A Map of the Most Inhabited Part of Virginia, containing the Whole Province of Maryland...Drawn by Joshua Fry &
Peter Jefferson in 1775 [sic].” Printed for Robt. Sayer, [n.d.]. Four sheets joined
into two folding sheets. An intermediate issue not listed by Stevens & Tree, but
see Stevens & Tree 87 (f ) and 87 (g) for issues printed before and afterwards.
“The basic cartographical document of Virginia in the eighteenth century...the
first to depict accurately the interior regions of Virginia beyond the Tidewater.
[It] dominated the cartographical representation of Virginia until the nineteenth
century” – Verner.
23-24) Henry Mouzon: “An Accurate Map of North and South Carolina with their
Indian Frontiers.” Published by Laurie & Whittle...12th May 1794. Four sheets
joined into two folding sheets. “The chief type map for [the Carolinas] during
the forty or fifty years following its publication. It was used by both British
and American forces during the Revolutionary War” – Cumming. CUMMING
450. STEVENS & TREE 11 (b).
25) Thomas Jefferys: “The Coast of West Florida and Louisiana...The Peninsula
and Gulf of Florida.” [Imprint indistinct, but dated 1775]. Two sheets joined
into one folding sheet. The imprint is indistinct but the date allied with the
presence of the name Bay of Spiritu Santo, both suggest Stevens & Tree 26 (b).
A large-scale map of Florida, based upon the extensive surveys conducted since
the region became an English possession by the Treaty of Paris (1763). STEVENS
& TREE 26 (b).
26) Lieut. Ross: “Course of the Mississipi....Taken on an Expedition to the Illinois,
in the latter end of the Year 1765.” Published by Laurie & Whittle...12th May
1794. Two sheets joined into one folding sheet. The first large-scale map of
the Mississippi River, and the first based in whole or part upon English surveys.
STEVENS & TREE 31 (c).
27) Thomas Jefferys: “The Bay of Honduras.” Printed for Robt. Sayer...20 Feby.
1775. Double-page.
28-29) J.B.B. D’Anville: “A Map of South America....” Printed for Robert Sayer...
July the 1st 1787. Four sheets joined into two folding sheets.
30) Cruz Cano [etc.]: “A Chart of the Straits of Magellan.” Printed for R. Sayer and
J. Bennett...1st July 1775. Double-page.
PHILLIPS ATLASES 1165. HOWES J81, “b.” STREETER SALE 72. SABIN 35953
(ref ). Ristow, Thomas Jefferys The American Atlas London 1776 (Amsterdam, 1974), facsimile
ed. HILL 882 (ref ).
$125,000.
One of the Most Famous Pamphlets of the Revolution
76. [ Johnson, Samuel]: TAXATION NO TYRANNY; AN ANSWER
TO THE RESOLUTIONS AND ADDRESS OF THE AMERICAN CONGRESS. London. 1775. [2],91pp. Lacks half title. 20th-century
speckled calf, gilt, by Sangorski and Sutcliffe. Modern bookplate on front
pastedown. Minor soiling. Very good.
Fourth edition, published the same year as the first, of this famous political pamphlet
by lexicographer Samuel Johnson. Written in response to the opening rumblings of
the American Revolution, Johnson’s acerbic pamphlet was published at the height
of his popularity and fame. He writes of the Americans, “That it is their duty
to pay the cost of their own safety they seem to admit; nor do they refuse their
contribution to the exigencies, whatever they may be, of the British empire; but
they make this participation of the public burden a duty of very uncertain extent,
and imperfect obligation, a duty temporary, occasional and elective, of which they
reserve to themselves the right of settling the degree, the time, and the duration, of
judging when it may be required, and when it has been performed.” This pamphlet
elicited many responses, and doubtless further spurred the cause of the Revolution.
ESTC T49889. SABIN 36303. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 75-69d. COURTNEY
& SMITH, p.125. HOWES J149.
$1250.
A French Mercenary in the British Service
in the American Revolution
77. Joly de St. Valier, Le Sieur: HISTOIRE RAISONÉE DES OPÉRA-
TIONS MILITAIRES ET POLITIQUES DE LA DERNIÈRE
GUERRE, SUIVIE D’OBSERVATIONS SUR LA RÉVOLUTION
QUI EST ARRIVÉE DANS LES MOEURS & SUR
CELLE QUI EST SUR LE POINT D’ARRIVER
DANS LA CONSTITUTION D’ANGLETERRE.
Liege. 1783. xii,235,[1]pp. Without the ten page supplement,
which is not always present. Half title. Handsomely bound in
contemporary French mottled calf, raised bands, spine richly
gilt, gilt morocco label. Light shelf wear. Quite clean internally. A near fine copy. In a cloth chemise and slipcase, gilt
leather label.
A firsthand account of the Revolution, by a little-known but
fascinating French soldier of fortune who fought for the British.
A disputatious and critical man, Joly de St. Valier condemns
the British conduct of the war, especially in naval matters, but
also heaps some scorn on the French and De Grasse. The tenpage supplement, not included here, was issued separately and
is found in only a few copies of the work. It was likely printed
later, and continues Joly’s war of words with Sir Joseph Yorke,
former British Ambassador at the Hague, who was quite involved
in British naval strategy during the war. A very rare work on
the market, with much important firsthand material on the military history of the
American Revolution. The Streeter copy realized $450 in 1967.
SABIN 36428. HOWES J182, “aa.” STREETER SALE 802. GRAFF 2230.
$7500.
First Report of the War Department
78. [Knox, Henry]: A PLAN FOR THE GENERAL ARRANGEMENT
OF THE MILITIA OF THE UNITED STATES. New York. 1790.
26pp. Folio. Dbd. Loose leaves, chipping and wear at edges. Light foxing
and soiling. About very good. In a half morocco and cloth slipcase, spine gilt.
General Henry Knox first made proposals for the organization of a national militia
in 1786, during the Confederacy period. With the establishment of the federal
government under the Constitution, he renewed his proposals, which were published
by order of the House of Representatives on Jan. 18, 1790. This is the first report
issued by the War Department, one of the four departments of the new government,
and the third issued by the new federal government, preceded only by Hamilton’s
appropriations report of 1789 and the same author’s famous report on public credit,
issued four days before the present work.
Knox argued that a large standing army was “hostile to the principles of liberty,”
and suggested that the United States should trust in a well regulated militia, with
the potential of calling up all able men between the ages of eighteen and sixty-five
as its primary means of defense. A staggered system of call-up would be used, and
annual encampments undertaken. All the necessary organizational plans are laid out
in the report. A most important work, providing much of the basis for American
attitudes about the regular army into the 20th century.
EVANS 22958. HOWES K220.
$7500.
The Argument from the British Side
79. [Knox, William]: THE CONTROVERSY BETWEEN GREAT
BRITAIN AND HER COLONIES REVIEWED; THE SEVERAL
PLEAS OF THE COLONIES, IN SUPPORT OF THEIR RIGHT
TO ALL THE LIBERTIES AND PRIVILEGES OF BRITISH
SUBJECTS, AND TO EXEMPTION FROM THE LEGISLATIVE
AUTHORITY OF PARLIAMENT.... London. 1769. [4],207,lv pp. plus
8pp. of publisher’s ads. Later paper wrappers. Minor wear and soiling. Contemporary ownership inscription on titlepage. Some minor foxing and soiling.
Very good. Untrimmed. In a blue half morocco and cloth slipcase, spine gilt.
A pro-British treatise on the misbehaviors of the American colonies. “Ascribed
also to Thomas Whately, M.P. and former secretary to Lord Grenville, but probably
by Knox, who was Under Secretary of State for America at this time” – Howes.
HOWES K226, “aa”. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 69-17a. AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 65a. SABIN 38180. ESTC T4080.
$900.
80. [Knox, William]: EXTRA OFFICIAL STATE PAPERS. AD-
DRESSED TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE LORD RAWDON,
AND THE OTHER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT, ASSOCIATED FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE CONSTITUTION AND
PROMOTING THE PROSPERITY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE.
Dublin. 1789. 308pp. Half-title. Contemporary three-quarter calf and marbled
boards, spine gilt. Extremities heavily worn, boards worn, hinges tender. Modern bookplate on front pastedown. Some negligible soiling, but general quite
clean internally. A good, solid copy. In a green half morocco and cloth slipcase.
Dublin edition, published the same year as the London edition. According to Sabin, Knox was the deputy Secretary of State for America. A reprint of the London
edition, with added matter, containing correspondence dealing largely with Irish
affairs. The second volume which appears with the London edition, which is largely
concerned with American affairs, was not reprinted in this edition.
SABIN 38181. ESTC N9579.
$900.
A Remarkable Journal of Two Critical Expeditions
81. Lacey, John, Jr.: [ORIGINAL MANUSCRIP T JOURNAL DE-
SCRIBING JOHN LACEY, JR.’S 1773 EXPEDITION TO THE
DELAWARE INDIANS, AND THE 1776 CANADIAN CAMPAIGN]. [Pennsylvania. ca. 1777]. Two manuscript journals. [36],[78]pp.,
about 15,000 words in total. Written on laid paper with a large and unusual
watermark depicting a Native American holding a staff. Written in a 12mo.
notebook of contemporary plain paper wrappers, entitled “Journals” in manuscript on front wrapper and “John Lacey’s Journal” in manuscript on first
leaf. Front wrapper and first gathering of text neatly detached, several leaves
loosening. Text tanned. Several instances of cross-outs and corrections in the
text. Occasional staining, one leaf torn in bottom edge, affecting a few words,
but in very nice original condition. In a half morocco box.
A remarkable American Revolutionary manuscript, describing the participation
of John Lacey, Jr. in the 1776 Canadian Campaign, in which he served under
Anthony Wayne and clashed many times with that famous figure. Especially
noteworthy are Lacey’s descriptions of the poor physical condition of the soldiers
of the Continental Army during their retreat from Canada, the illness and death
that ran rampant through the camps, and the deplorable state of their supplies and
provisions. Lacey’s Revolutionary War journal is preceded by his description of his
1773 Quaker missionary expedition to the Delaware Indians, and his interactions
with the Indians in the Ohio country, including the important Chief Logan. The
two manuscript accounts are contained in a contemporary notebook, and appear to
have been written shortly after the Lacey’s 1776 resignation from the Continental
Army, but before he rejoined the army in 1777. Lacey very well may have wanted to
record his 1776 experiences, and his clashes with Anthony Wayne, while the events
were still fresh in his mind. A version of Lacey’s memoirs were published in 1901,
but the published account differs in several respects from the present manuscript.
John Lacey, Jr. (1755-1814), was from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. While still
a teenager he accompanied his uncle, a Quaker minister, on a missionary visit to
the Delaware Indians, in 1773 (see below). Despite his Quaker pacifist religious
beliefs, he became captain of a company of Pennsylvania Associators in August
1775. In January 1776 he was commissioned a captain in the Continental Army,
as an officer in the 4th Pennsylvania Battalion under Col. Anthony Wayne. He
served under Wayne in the ill-fated Canadian Campaign, engaging in a bitter feud
with Wayne until resigning in November, 1776. In March 1777 Lacey accepted
the office of sub-lieutenant for Bucks County with the rank of lieutenant colonel,
taking command of the 4th Battalion of Bucks County militia in May 1777. On
Jan. 9, 1778 Lacey was appointed a brigadier general in command of the Pennsylvania militia, temporarily replacing Brig. Gen. James Potter. Potter returned to
his command, displacing Lacey, in May 1778, but Lacey continued in service as a
brigadier general of Pennsylvania militia at least until October 1781. Please note
that in the following excerpts from Lacey’s journal, spelling errors in the original
have been corrected.
The first section here describes Lacey’s remarkable 1773 journey to Ohio to
accompany his elderly uncle, the Quaker preacher Zebulon Heston (1702-76), on a
missionary visit to the Delaware Indians. The journey of some two months began
on July 7, 1773, and Lacey provides detailed information on their route, where they
stayed along the way, and who they encountered. After nine days they crossed the
Allegheny Mountains, and on July 19 they arrived at Pittsburgh, where they met
with the Delaware Chief, Captain White Eyes. “We had a conference with one
Captain White Eyes a Delaware Chief who had been lately at Philadelphia. He
expressed great satisfaction at our arrival and said he would go with us, but wanted
to stay a few days to see Joseph Simons from Lancaster who was going to bring
his goods from thence.” White Eyes, however, had to remain in Pittsburgh longer
than Heston and Lacey wanted, so they decided to meet up with the Indian trader,
John Gibson, and to have him guide them onward.
[Gibson] informed us that John Logan a Mingo Indian was lying opposite his
house with an intention to kill him, as he had been creditably informed by a
Shananey Indian and that a Delaware had given him the same information and
had also come with him. He then got Kiasuta a Mingo Chief and Captain
White Eyes together who agreed to go and see what was the matter with Logan
and to pacify him and White Eyes informed Gibson in Indian he would attend
us all the way to New comers town for he apprehended the behavior of Logan
would make us afraid as he should be were he in our places.
Logan was one of the most prominent Indian leaders of the Ohio Valley, and it
appears that he blamed Gibson for giving the Indians alcohol, which resulted in
the drowning death of a member of the tribe. Lacey records that “about eleven
o’clock Logan, Kiasuta, Gerty and several Indians came over to Gibson’s. Logan
& Gibson soon began to talk very loud. Kiasuta and all the others stood round
them with their tomahawks in their hands and tho Logan at times appeared in a
great passion their difference was soon made up.” The next morning they again
encountered Logan who, now apparently more sober, “expressed great sorrow for
what he had said yesterday and bid us go forward.” Two days later they came to
a Moravian Indian town on the Muskingum River, where they met with the local
chief Kilbuck (i.e. Lenape/Delaware Chief Gelelemend) and were welcomed:
On the twenty-fifth our guides met us a little out of town on order to conduct
us to the King. When we came before the King he received us with great
kindness and declared he received us with love and friendship as great as our
forefathers and theirs received one another and after giving us the welcome
we were conducted to a house they had prepared for us where we were again
welcomed....The twenty-sixth we breakfast with one John Freeman a trader
and about ten o’clock Captain Kilbuck came and ordered the women to get
us some victuals. In about two hours they brought us some hominy boiled in
bears grease, boiled squashes, some milk and an Indian cake baked in the ashes.
We were visited by the King, Thomas Mekec, the King’s brother White Eyes,
Kilbuck and Gibson with whom we had some conversation but not very material.
While in the Indian village Lacey heard stories of fur trappers being attacked by
Mingo Indians, but his reception is described as very warm and accommodating,
and they held Quaker meetings with the tribal leaders:
On the twenty-eighth we had a middling large meeting. There were Zebulon
Heston, John Parish, myself, Friends, Netowelemon King, Thomas Mekee,
Kilbuck, White Eyes, Indians Chiefs, Samuel Moor interpreter Abraham Smalley and other Indians. John Parish read our certificates from the respective
monthly meetings, also an epistle from the Meeting of Friends at Philadelphia
which being interpreted to the Indians by the said Moor they expressed their
satisfaction and said “Kakeluh,” that is in English, very well. After which a
meeting for divine worship was held in which the Indians behaved remarkably
sober and attentive. When the meeting for worship was over Captain Kilbuck
said if Friends would withdraw they would hold a Council & consider what
answer to make, for Friends to take home with them on which we withdrew
and went to our House.
The reply of the Indians was quite favorable, and indicated their willingness to
accept the Quaker faith. Lacey records:
Captain White Eyes rose up and after receiving from the King a belt spoke
thereon as follows. “We are glad and rejoice in our thanks to see our Brothers
the Quakers, standing & speaking before us, and that what you have said we
believe to be right, and we heartily join in with it. Since our Saviour came a
light into the world there has been a great stir among the people about religion,
some are for one way & some for another. We have had offers of religion many
times, but would not except of it, til we had seen our Brothers the Quakers,
and hear what they would say to us. And now you have come and opened the
road, and we have heard what you have said, and we have felt the grace that was
in your hearts conveyed to us. We think that as we two Brothers the Quakers
& Delawares were brought up together as the Children of one man, and that
it is our Saviours will we should be of one religion. Now you have come and
opened the road, we expect to see the way from town to town, quite over to
the great King over the water. Then our King will know that the Quakers
and Delawares are as one man and make one religion. We are poor & weak
and not able to judge for our selves, and when we think of our Children it
makes us sorry; we hope you will instruct us in the right way, both in things
of this life as well as the world to come. Now what we have said we hope to
be strengthened to abide by.” Then delivered the belt to Zebulon Heston.
Lacey and Heston met with the Delaware over the next few days, and in early
August began their journey back to eastern Pennsylvania. He describes the trip,
the Quaker meetings they attended over its course, and the country they crossed,
writing, for example: “The uplands on the west side of the Ohio is not equal to
the uplands on the East side, but the bottoms and on the sides of Creeks & Rivers
almost surpasses belief for richness, some places on the hills abounds with freestone
of the best quality.” A couple days later, on August 14, “we crossed the Monongahela and came to Braddocks Field of Battle which we viewed, saw but very few
human bones.” Lacey reached York, Pa., on September 9, left for Philadelphia the
next day, “and on the 14 got home.”
The next two-thirds of the manuscript journal gives a long and detailed account
of Lacey’s first service in the Revolutionary War, beginning with his commission
in early 1776 and his subsequent expulsion from the Quakers as a result of his
taking up arms. Lacey was first voted a captain of a local Bucks County volunteer
militia which disbanded upon pressure from the Quakers. In January, 1776 he
was commissioned captain of the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment in the newly formed
Continental Army, commanded by Anthony Wayne, with whom Lacey would have
a complicated and tempestuous relationship, which is well described in this journal.
In fact, early in this memoir Lacey writes that his assignment to Wayne’s battalion
had been “unhappily forced,” and that despite his attempts to find another command, “all my endeavors proved inefffectual,” after which Lacey writes (and then
crosses out): “by some sinister views of Col. Wayne.”
Lacey would first come into conflict with Wayne over the payment of several
citizens in Pennsylvania, who had been underpaid by Wayne for the regiment’s housing while en route to meet the army at New York. Lacey discovered that Wayne put
the blame for the dispute on Lacey himself, which sorely disappointed him: “this
gave me great pain as I then plainly saw the manner the Colonel had imposed upon
me, without being able to help myself, and that I had nothing favourable to expect
from him whom I had placed my whole dependence upon.” Lacey would return to
Pennsylvania to settle the dispute, but upon his return found that Wayne had sent
his company to Albany in support of the Canadian invasion. Early on, Lacey writes
of the difficulty of enforcing order among the young and unruly troops under his
command: “Twenty-eighth [March, 1776] arrived at New York almost wearied to
death in keeping my company in order. I find that an officer who has young recruits
to command might to act with prudence, and to be endowed with great fortitude.
It was through difficulty I got them better regulated here, than it was possible to
have them at Darby [Pennsylvania].” Lacey writes that he has heard reports that
many of the men in his company are deserting, unhappy that they had been ordered
to Canada without him. They had enlisted in order to serve with him, and he being
absent “had deserted because I was not with them....In those circumstances how
must a man feel, who has made it his only study to raise, discipline, and equip a
company of men; and after all have them torn to pieces by the humours of others,
such is my unhappy case.” Eventually Lacey appealed to his superiors, and Gen.
Nathanael Greene reviewed his case and ordered him to rejoin his company, rather
than wait for their return, as Wayne would have preferred.
Arriving in Albany in late April, Lacey found that his company had already
departed for Lake George, and he continued on in hopes of joining them. He
describes the country around Lake George, through which he travelled: “they say
in this lake is 365 islands representing the days of the year; the water is clear and
wholesome. It is surrounded on all sides with horrid mountains. We arrived at
the carrying place between Lake George & Lake Champlain in the dusk of the
evening, where we stayed all night.” Lacey finally joined his troops on April 30,
near Crown Point. Shortly thereafter he received a reprimand from Wayne for
disobeying his orders to remain near New York City. Lacey records the text of
Wayne’s message in this volume, and notes “here is a fresh proof, that Colo. Wayne
was determined to do me all the ill he could; never have I yet rec’d. one favour
from him but to the contrary, he has made it, by all appearances, his study to cross,
perplex & disappoint me in almost every way, and this is a glaring instance after
all the toil I had undergone to overtake a company I had spent so much care upon,
for him arbitrarily to force them by his order, before my eyes, under the command
of a fawning favourite, and a younger Captain, who had already drove eight or ten
brave soldiers from the company; and had never added the value of three farthings
to it. This is too much for mortals to bare [sic].” A few lines later Lacey writes
even more harshly of Wayne, words which he subsequently crossed out in the text.
Also described is Lacey’s assignment to deliver messages to Benedict Arnold at
Montreal, as he was ordered to do so by General John Sullivan. He briefly describes
the arduous journey to Montreal, and records on June 6:
...dined with General Arnold in Montreal and about four o’clock this afternoon
with five men whom General Arnold had ordered to go with me, set off with
express from him to General Sullivan. At the Sorrell, we got in a large canoe,
on which we hoisted a blanket for a sail had a fair and easy wind til we came
opposite Lapararee when the wind raising to such a degree that we had to steer
for shore as fast as we could, which with difficulty we made, but had hardly
time to get clear of the canoe before she sunk. We found a battau laying on
the shore which we landed [?] and with great difficulty got her under way; the
waves running like little mountains. Had it not been for the urgency of the
Express I would never of trusted myself amongst them, in such a leaky and
tottering vessel. Proceeded all this night down the Saint Lawrence which has
but very little current, and contains a great many islands.
Lacey goes on to describe some of the military skirmishes of the summer of 1776,
the defeats suffered by the American troops, their retreat from the advancing British, and the actions of their commanders. By mid-June they had retreated to Ile
aux Noix, near Lake Champlain, and Lacey writes on the nineteenth that “this day
the whole army arrived on this island. Eleven of our soldiers died this day, and
two officers; had for their coffins only dirty blankets.”
Two days later, as the army began to depart Ile aux Noix, Lacey writes:
...our men die here very fast every day. The whole army is infected with the
smallpox, fluxes, fevers, and almost eat up with lice. On this island is a shocking
scene, such as my eyes never til now beheld; and I pray may never again. Poor
mortals laying on the ground covered with the smallpox, lice and maggots by
thousands creeping over them, some a blanket to lay on, some none....Almost
all the doctors out of medicines so, that little relief is to be expected for them,
from that quarter. We were this day alarmed by the fire of some guns at a
Canadian’s house opposite the lower end of this island toward St. John’s: where
a party of the sixth Pens. Batt. officers was drinking some spruce beer, with
the inhabitant were surprised by a party of Indians, who had been lurking in
the woods, they took six of them prisoners, left four killed whom they had
inhumanely scalped and barbarously tomahawked. Two only made their escape.
In mid-July, 1776, Lacey was ordered to lead some 150 men to Fort Ticonderoga,
where many units of the Continental Army were gathering. He describes the scene:
“On the 15th returned with the 6th Regiment to Ticonderoga. The New Jersey,
New York, and New England troops encamped on the east side, and high point of
land opposite the old fort of Ticonderoga, which they called Rattlesnake Hill, on
account of the great number of that venomous serpent found there, on clearing the
ground where they began to fortify and where they had pitched their tents. On
the troops first taking possession, it was covered with thick underwood and timber
growing on it. The Pennsyl. troops, composed of the first, second, fourth & sixth
regiments, lay on a level piece of ground, on the back or north of the Fort, and
large house, where Gen. Gates had his headquarters.” Lacey goes on to relate the
work undertaken to refortify Ticonderoga, as breastworks that had been last utilized
during the French & Indian War were rebuilt, and he also describes the daily drills
undertaken by the troops, in preparation for an anticipated British attack.
Lacey also gives an account of the sorry state of supplies and food for the army:
The meal of flour was hardly ground – it was what at my father’s mill in
Bucks County we called chopped....The pork had chiefly been taken from the
neighborhood of Albany. The barrels in which it was packed became leaky by
handling, had long lost the pickle and such of the pork that did not stink was
so rusty it could not be eaten. The way it was cooked as I saw it, and had it
done for my own eating – was, first to fry it in an iron pan, or vessel, so as to
get all the fat or grease out of the meat, then throw it away, making the meal
into a kind of batter, pouring it into the grease, after holding it over the fire
a short time we had a very rich and eatable cake which served both for meat
and bread. We had chocolate, tea, & some coffee, we sweetened with maple
sugar. This would have done very well if we could but procure enough of it,
for we seldom drew more than half the ration, and often times not a third. As
to fresh meat, I don’t recollect seeing any.
Interestingly, Lacey also records the reception of the recent news of the Continental Congress’s Declaration of Independence: “Col. Johnston brought with him the
Declaration of Congress of the Independence of America. It made a little buzz,
but was soon forgotten. No particular notice was taken of it.” By mid-July Lacey’s
frustrations with Wayne’s seemingly capricious decisions had led him to decide to
resign his commission, only to be rebuffed by other commanders. The text concludes
with further descriptions of the poor relations between Lacey and Wayne, particularly with Lacey’s recounting of his detainment by Wayne after comments about
Wayne were overheard while several men drank in Lacey’s tent. Lacey closed the
1776 campaign at Fort Ticonderoga and was sent back to Pennsylvania by Wayne
in order to recruit more soldiers into the 4th Pennsylvania. Lacey ultimately used
this as an opportunity to resign his commission. He would fight as a volunteer in
the Battle of Germantown before re-enlisting and being commissioned Brigadier
General in January 1778 where he was instrumental in the protection of Washington’s depleted troops at Valley Forge.
A remarkably rich narrative by a major Revolutionary War figure, describing his
pre-war Quaker mission to the Delaware Indians, his thrilling experiences taking
part in the Canadian Campaign of 1776, and his very contentious relationship with
$75,000.
Anthony Wayne. Important Atlas of the Revolution
82. Le Rouge, Georges Louis: ATLAS AMERIQUAIN SEPTENTRION-
AL CONTENANT LES DETAILS DES DIFFERENTES PROVINCES, DE CE VASTE CONTINENT. TRADUIT DES CARTES
LEVÉES PAR ORDRE DU GOUVERNEMENT BRITANNIQUE.
PAR LE MAJOR HOLLAND, EVANS, SCULL, MOUZON, ROSS,
COOK, LANE, GILBERT, GARDNER, HILLOCK, &c. &c. Paris:
Chez Le Rouge, 1778. Engraved frontispiece depicting William Penn meeting
with the Indians after Benjamin West; engraved title incorporating table of
contents; seventeen engraved maps (nine double-page, eight folding; fourteen
with period hand-coloring in outline). The maps numbered in contemporary
manuscript. Folio. Expertly bound to style in 18th-century russia over contemporary marbled paper covered boards, flat spine in seven compartments
divided by gilt rules, brown morocco lettering piece in the second compartment. Provenance: unidentified European ink stamp on title with Royal arms;
Leander van Ess (1772-1847, bookplate on verso of title).
The atlas was issued soon after France’s entry into the war of the American Revolution and it served French commanders in the land campaigns. Le Rouge used
the best large-scale general survey maps that were available including the famous
John Mitchell map of North America in eight sheets. Other cornerstone American multi-sheet maps here are: the Braddock Mead map of New England, the
Montresor New York, Scull’s Pennsylvania, the Fry and Jefferson map of Virginia
and Maryland, Mouzon’s of the Carolinas, De Brahm’s Georgia (with large scale
insets of Sauthier’s map of the Hudson River and Lake Champlain), and Jefferys’
Louisiana and East and West Florida. Remarkably complete in its geographical
coverage of the Thirteen Colonies, the Atlas Ameriquain drew upon the available
British sources, as published by Jefferys, Faden, Sayer and Bennett, to which Le
Rouge added his own work. It became the basic source for French strategic planning and pursuit of the war.
The maps comprise:
1) “L’Amerique Suivant le R.P. Charlevoix jte. Mr. De La Condamine et plusiers
autres nouvle. observations.” 1777. Double-page. 19½ x 25½ inches. Handcolored
in outline. With a Le Rouge overslip covering the imprint in the cartouche.
2) “Theatre de la Guerre en Amerique.” 1777. Double-page. 24 5/8 x 20 inches.
Handcolored in outline. McCORKLE 777.14. SELLERS & VAN EE 154.
3) John Mitchell: “Amerique Septentrionale avec les Routes, Distances en miles,
Villages et Etablissements François et Anglois par le Docteur Mitchel...Corrigee en 1776 par M. Hawkins.” 1777. 8 sheets joined as 4. Approximately 59 x
79 inches. Handcolored in outline. McCORKLE 777.15. RISTOW, p.112. TOOLEY.
p,124. MORELAND & BANNISTER, pp.171-72.
4) Jonathan Carver: “Nouvelle Carte de la Province de Quebec...par le Capitaine
Carver et autres.” 1777. Double-page. 20 x 26¾ inches. Handcolored in outline.
5) Thomas Jefferys: “Nouvelle Ecosse ou Partie Orientale du Canada. Traduitte
de l’Anglois de la Carte de Jefferys publiée a Londres en May 1755.” [1777].
Double-page. 20 x 24¼ inches.
6) Braddock Mead: “A Map of the most Inhabited part of New England containing
the Provinces of Massachusets Bay and New Hampshire with the Colonies of
Connecticut and Rhode Island...La Nouvelle Angleterre en 4 Feuilles.” 1777. 4
sheets joined as 2. Approximately 38½ x 40¼ inches. Handcolored in outline.
McCORKLE 755.19. SELLERS & VAN EE 802. Crone, “John Green. Notes on a neglected
Eighteenth Century Geographer and Cartographer” in IMAGO MUNDI VI (1950), pp.89-91.
Crone, “Further Notes on Braddock Mead, alias John Green” in IMAGO MUNDI VIII (1951),
p.69. CUMMING, BRITISH MAPS OF COLONIAL AMERICA, pp.45-47.
7) Captain John Montresor: “Province de New York en 4 feuilles par Montresor.”
1777. 4 sheets joined as 2. Approximately 56 x 36½ inches. Handcolored in
outline. McCORKLE 777.16. SELLERS & VAN EE 1068.
8) Claude Joseph Sauthier and Bernard Ratzer: “Carte des Troubles de l’Amerique
levee par ordre de Chevalier Tryon Capitaine Generale et Gouverneur de la Province de New-York ensemble le Province de New-Jersey par Sauthier et Ratzer.”
1778. Double-page. 28¼ x 21 inches. Handcolored in outline. McCORKLE 778.18.
9) William Scull: “A Map of Pennsylvania exhibiting not only the improved parts
of that Province but also its extensive Frontiers...La Pensilvanie en 3 Feuilles.”
[1778]. 3 sheets joined. 27¼ x 52½ inches. Handcolored in outline. SELLERS &
VAN EE 1297. PHILLIPS, p.675.
10) Joshua Fisher: “Baye de la Delaware avec les Ports, Sondes, Dangers, Bancs &c.
depuis les Cape jusqu’a Philadelphie.” 1777. Double-page. 19¾ x 25½ inches.
SELLERS & VAN EE 1357. PHILLIPS, p.262.
11) Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson: “Virginie, Maryland en 2 feuilles par Fry et Jefferson.” 1777. 2 sheets joined. 27 x 39½ inches. Handcolored in outline. CUMMING,
SOUTHEAST IN EARLY MAPS 281. DEGREES OF LATITUDE 30. PHILLIPS, p.982.
12) Henry Mouzon: “An Accurate Map of North and South Carolina with their
Indian Frontiers...Caroline Septentrionale et Meridionale en 4 feuilles.” 1777.
4 sheets joined as 2. Approximately 40 x 54 inches. Handcolored in outline.
SELLERS & VAN EE 1395. PHILLIPS, p.615. CUMMING 450.
13) William Gerard De Brahm: “Caroline Meridionale et Partie de la Georgie.” 1777.
4 sheets joined as 2. Approximately 52 x 41 inches. Handcolored in outline.
With a large inset of the course of the Hudson River after Sauthier. CUMMING
310 (ref ). DEGREES OF LATITUDE 57 (ref ). PHILLIPS, p.820.
14) Nathaniel Pocock: “Nouvelle Carte des Cotes des Caroline Septentrionales et
Meridionales du Cap Fear a Sud Edisto Levees et Sondees par N. Pocock en
1770.” 1777. Double-page. 16½ x 22 inches. SELLERS & VAN EE 1398.
15) Thomas Jefferys: “Carte de la Floride Occidentale et Louisian...La Peninsule
et Golfe de la Floride ou Canal de Bahama avec les Iles de Bahama.” 1777. 2
sheets joined. 19½ x 47½ inches. Handcolored in outline.
16) Le Rouge: “La Martinique une des Antilles Françoises de l’Amerique.” 1753 [but
1777]. Double-page. 20¼ x 25½ inches. Handcolored in outline.
17) Le Rouge: “La Guadeloupe.” 1753 [but 1777]. Double-page. 19 x 21½ inches.
Handcolored in outline.
PHILLIPS ATLASES 1212. HOWES J81. SABIN 35954. SCHWARTZ & EHRENBERG, p.202.
$95,000.
Scarce Account of Revolutionary Politics in South Carolina
by “the greatest Rascall among the King’s Friends”
83. [Leigh, Sir Egerton, 1st Baronet of South Carolina]: CONSIDER-
ATIONS ON CERTAIN POLITICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE
PROVINCE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. London: T. Cadell, 1774. [4],
83pp. Modern three-quarter calf and marbled boards. Period manuscript annotations. Text clean. Very good.
Leigh was the attorney-general of South Carolina just prior to the Revolution,
and an able and capable servant of the Crown. Proclaiming himself “a downright
Placeman,” Leigh used his position and influence to make a fortune and be granted
a baronetcy for his services. As the Revolution gathered he came into direct conflict with the wealthiest South Carolina citizen, Henry Laurens, soon to be one
of the leaders of the Revolution, and with Thomas Lynch, a delegate to the First
Continental Congress at the time this pamphlet was issued, who proclaimed Leigh
“the greatest Rascall among the King’s Friends.” In this pamphlet Leigh attacks
his patriot enemies. “This shrewd and dispassionate examination of the internal
disputes of the colony of South Carolina, contains a detail of curious and interesting
transactions” – Sabin. This pamphlet, which has also been attributed to William
H. Drayton, elicited a response by Arthur Lee, in which Leigh is identified as the
author. Shortly after publication Leigh was forced to flee to England. Quite rare,
accorded a “b” by Howes.
HOWES L239. SABIN 39923. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 74-47.
$3500.
Releasing Loyalists at the End of the Revolution
84. Lincoln, Benjamin: [AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM
BENJAMIN LINCOLN TO GOVERNOR WILLIAM LIVINGSTON, REGARDING THE RELEASE OF PRISONERS OF WAR].
Philadelphia. June 28, 1782. [2]pp. plus integral address leaf. Folio. Old fold
lines. Some separation between leaves. Very minor foxing and toning. Very
good. In a blue half morocco and cloth clamshell case, spine gilt.
Secretary of War General Benjamin Lincoln writes to New Jersey Governor William
Livingston regarding the release of prisoners of war into New York state.
Benjamin Lincoln served as a major general in the Continental Army, noted
for being the commanding officer at the surrender of Charleston (May 1780) and
for accepting Lord Cornwallis’ sword at the time of his surrender at Yorktown. He
subsequently served as Secretary of War and Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor.
In this letter he writes to Governor Livingston informing him that many prisoners of war (likely Loyalists) in New York have expressed a wish to return to their
employment, and he has been petitioned for their release.
Dear Sir, Mr. Stewart informs me that there are a number of inhabitants of
your state now in gaol as prisoners of war who went from you some time since
and joined the enemy. As many of them are good forge men and colliers &
wish to return to their former employment, he has requested that I would
permit it. I do not think myself authorised to turn such men into your state
without your permission. Should you think proper to have them liberated, a
line from you to the commissary of prisoners at Lancaster expressing your wish
will be sufficient for I will direct him to relegate all such of your inhabitants
as you shall name.
Given Livingston’s strong anti-Loyalist sentiments, it may be doubtful that he had
the men released, no matter what their occupation and abilities.
A reluctant politician, William Livingston nevertheless rose to prominence in
colonial New York and New Jersey, in part due to his wealth and family connections.
He was the first governor of the state of New Jersey, holding that office from 1776
until his death in 1790. Livingston was extremely popular with his constituents,
and was fiercely anti-Loyalist. During this time, Livingston was constantly on the
move to avoid assassination, bringing him into close contact with his constituents.
This sensitized him to their needs in a way few others in his station would know,
additionally fuelling his desire for reforms, including the abolition of slavery.
$1350.
85. [Lind, John]: REMARKS ON THE PRINCIPAL ACTS OF THE
THIRTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF GREAT BRITAIN. London.
1775. xvi,[4],500pp. 19th-century three-quarter calf and marbled boards, rebacked, corners renewed. Modern bookplate on front pastedown. Ink stamp on
titlepage. Light wear to titlepage, negligible foxing in text. About very good.
A defense of the stand taken by Parliament over the situation with the American
colonies, though Lind does offer a plan for resolution. The Acts passed by the
Parliament in question include the Intolerable Acts, which are discussed in this
volume. Lind proposes an American Bill of Rights, which would more clearly define the relationship between the colonies and the mother country, would outline
American protections, and would assert the supremacy of the British Parliament
over the colonies. Contains much information on the political upheavals surrounding the start of the American Revolution. Though the titlepage lists this as “Vol.
I,” no more were published.
ESTC T77304. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 75-84. HOWES L352.
$1500.
Important Boston Massacre Oration
86. Lovell, James: AN ORATION DELIVERED APRIL 2d, 1771. AT
THE REQUEST OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE TOWN OF
BOSTON; TO COMMEMORATE THE BLOODY TRAGEDY OF
THE FIF TH OF MARCH, 1770. Boston: Printed by Edes and Gill,
by Order of the Town of Boston, 1771. 19pp. Titlepage with double black
border. Quarto. Modern three-quarter red calf and cloth, gilt leather label.
Extremities rubbed. Old institutional ink stamp on half title. Minor soiling
and foxing. Very good.
An important oration delivered in the wake of the Boston Massacre. This was the
first such oration, and their annual delivery became a patriotic staple. “This oration,
asserting the rights of the colonists to ‘full English liberty’ is one of the classics of
the revolutionary period. It is the first Boston Massacre oration” – Streeter.
EVANS 12099. CHURCH 1086. AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 85. STREETER
SALE 742. SABIN 42374.
$2500.
Important Rebuttal of Tarleton’s History
87. Mackenzie, Roderick: STRICTURES ON LT. COL. TARLETON’S
HISTORY “OF THE CAMPAIGNS OF 1780 AND 1781, IN
THE “SOUTHERN PROVINCES OF NORTH AMERICA”...TO
WHICH IS ADDED, A DETAIL OF THE SIEGE OF NINETY
SIX, AND THE RE-CAP TURE OF THE ISLAND OF NEWPROVIDENCE. London: Printed for the Author, 1787. [2],vi,186pp., plus
a portrait of Tarleton bound in as a frontispiece. Modern three quarter calf
and marbled boards, spine gilt, raised bands, gilt leather spine label. New
endpapers. A bit of light, scattered foxing. A very good copy.
This is the first and only edition, called “Scarce” by Sabin. Mackenzie defends
Lord Cornwallis, and is severely critical of Tarleton’s History..., claiming that in
that work “some facts have been withheld, and some mutilated, while others are
raised to a pitch of importance, to which, if historical justice had been the author’s
object, they are by no means entitled.” Tarleton commanded a Tory cavalry unit,
the British Legion, during the American Revolution, and was infamous for his
brutal tactics. Mackenzie was a lieutenant in the 7th Regiment. Sabin attributes
the account of the siege of Ninety-Six to Lieut. Hatton. This copy is enhanced by
a portrait of a very youthful looking Banastre Tarleton, published in the March,
1782 issue of the London Magazine, which has been bound in as a frontispiece. A
very useful history of the Revolutionary War.
HOWES M138. SABIN 43431.
$3000.
88. [Macpherson, James]: THE RIGHTS OF GREAT BRITAIN AS-
SERTED AGAINST THE CLAIMS OF AMERICA: BEING AN
ANSWER TO THE DECLARATION OF THE GENERAL CONGRESS. London. 1776. [4],92pp. Half title. Modern paper boards, printed
paper label. Minor soiling and foxing. Very good. In a blue half morocco and
cloth folder.
Second edition, after the first edition of the same year, of this important political
tract, replying to the American Congress’ “Declaration...setting forth the causes
and necessity of their taking up arms,” which is printed in the rear of the pamphlet.
Authorship of this work is in doubt, Adams crediting James Macpherson, who was
retained by Lord North as a political writer, and Howes crediting Sir John Dalrymple. The pamphlet, which was widely disseminated, sets forth the ministerial
position on the situation in America. This is the second of over twenty editions.
HOWES D37. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 75-95b. SABIN 18347. ESTC
T53757.$1000.
The Best Work on the French and Indian War
89. Mante, Thomas: THE HISTORY OF THE LATE WAR IN NORTH-
AMERICA, AND THE ISLANDS OF THE WEST-INDIES, INCLUDING THE CAMPAIGNS OF MDCCLXIII AND MDCCLXIV AGAINST HIS MAJESTY ’S ENEMIES. London: Printed for W.
Strahan and T. Cadell, 1772. [4],viii,542pp. plus errata and eighteen folding
engraved maps. Large quarto. Expertly bound to style in half 18th-century
russia and period marbled boards, spine gilt with raised bands in six compartments, morocco label. Very good.
The best contemporary account of the French and Indian War, justly celebrated
for its cartography and textual content, and one of the great rarities of colonial
Americana, complete with all maps and the elusive errata leaf.
Virtually all of Mante’s account relates to the war in North America, with
detailed narratives of Braddock’s campaign and the other frontier and Canadian
campaigns of the conflict. The work is particularly desirable for its contemporary
descriptions of Pontiac’s War, a campaign in which the author participated as major
of brigade to Colonel Dudley Bradstreet. In addition, the introduction includes an
interesting account of young George Washington’s escape in 1753 from assassination
by an Indian who acted as his interpreter and guide. Mante evidently took great
care to gather information that was both historically and cartographically accurate
for the present work.
The maps are praised by all bibliographers as being by far the best relating to
the war, and include several seminal maps which are the most accurate produced
to that time. They comprise:
1) “Fort Beau Sejour, & the adjacent Country Taken Possession of by Colonel
Monckton”
2) “Lake Ontario to the Mouth of the River St. Lawrence”
3) [Map of Lake George and vicinity]
4) “A Plan of Fort Edward & Its Environs on Hudsons River”
5) “Communication Between Albany & Oswego”
6) “Attack on Louisbourg” [by Amherst & Boscawen]
7) “The Attack of Ticonderoga” [by Major General Abercromby]
8) “Plan of Fort Pitt or Pittsbourg”
9) “Guadaloupe”
10) “Attack on Quebec” [by Wolfe & Saunders]
11) “A Sketch of the Cherokee Country”
12) “The River Saint Lawrence from Lake Ontario to the Island of Montreal”
13) “A Plan of the Attack upon Fort Levi”
14) “River St. Lawrence from Montreal to the Island of St. Barnaby...& the Islands
of Jeremy”
15) “A View of the Coast of Martinico Taken by Desire of Rear Adml Rodney”
16) “Part, of the West Coast, of the Island of Saint Lucia”
17) “Plan of the Retaking Newfoundland” [by Colville & Amherst]
18) “Attack of the Havanna” [by Albemarle & Pococke]
Sabin writes of this great rarity: “Copies with all the maps are scarce. It is probable that but few were printed, though the large and beautiful plans and military
maps (which gave it so great a value), must have made its production a work of
much expense.”
CHURCH 1092. HOWES M267, “c.” STREETER SALE 1031. FIELD 1003. SABIN
44396.$75,000.
90. Marshall, John: THE LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON, COM-
MANDER IN CHIEF OF THE AMERICAN FORCES, DURING
THE WAR WHICH ESTABLISHED THE INDEPENDENCE OF
HIS COUNTRY, AND FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES...TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, AN INTRODUCTION,
CONTAINING A COMPENDIOUS VIEW OF THE COLONIES
.... Philadelphia. 1804-1807. Five volumes and separate atlas volume of 22pp.
and ten maps (most double-page). Text volumes: Portrait. Thick octavo. Modern three-quarter calf and marbled boards, gilt leather labels. Contemporary
ownership signature to each title page. Very light, occasional foxing; mostly
a very clean copy. Some small, marginal paper repairs in the atlas volume.
Lacking a small portion (perhaps the upper fifth) of Plate IX in the atlas
volume. Overall, very good.
First issue of the text with the first edition quarto atlas. The classic biography of
Washington. “After the able, accurate and comprehensive work of Chief Justice
Marshall, it would be presumptuous to attempt a historical biography of Washington”
– Jared Sparks. Later American editions omitted the history of the colonies, which
is the subject of the first volume. The atlas volume contains ten maps relating to
the Revolution and 22pp. of subscriber’s names.
HOWES M317 “aa”. SABIN 44788. LARNED 1561.
$5000.
Massachusetts Attempts to Control Currency in 1779
91. [Massachusetts]: STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS-BAY. IN COUN-
CIL. JUNE 11, 1779. RESOLVED, THAT THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS BE PRINTED IN HAND-BILLS AND SENT TO THE
SEVERAL MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL IN THE TOWNS AND
PARISHES WITHIN THIS STATE...[caption title]. [Boston: Edes &
Gill], 1779. Broadside, 18 x 13½ inches. Printed in four columns. Some minor
loss. Backed with heavier paper. Very good. Matted.
Proclamation made by the Massachusetts state congress concerning the economic
impact of the Revolutionary War upon the currency, and noting France’s alliance
with the States. By 1779 the colonies were embroiled in a financial crisis. The
Continental dollar was depreciating rapidly, and it was becoming increasingly difficult for the state and national governments to supply the army. The broadside
blames not the dollar but the “artifices of men” for price-gouging and monopolizing
goods. Likewise, the Congress indicates that more money is needed to defray the
cost of the war:
Your governments being now established, and your ability to contend with
your invaders ascertained, we have on the most mature deliberation judged it
indispensably necessary to call upon you for forty five millions of dollars, in
addition to the fifteen millions required by a resolution of Congress of the 2d
of January last, to be paid to the Continental treasury before the 1st day of
January next....
The text continues, announcing the alliance with France and exhorting the people
to repulse their enemies and hold fast to the cause. On March 18, 1780 the Continental Congress passed a law withdrawing the older, inflation-ridden currency. The
law called for each state to collect its share of outdated currency. Massachusetts’
share amounted to over £5 million.
ESTC locates only five copies, at the American Antiquarian Society, Boston Public
Library, Massachusetts Historical Society, Rosenbach Library, and Yale University.
EVANS 16637. FORD 2191. CUSHING 1073. ESTC W34194.
$6000.
The Final Accepted Version of the Seminal Massachusetts Constitution
92. [Massachusetts]: A CONSTITUTION OR FRAME OF GOVERN-
MENT, AGREED UPON BY THE DELEGATES OF THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS-BAY, IN CONVENTION, BEGUN AND HELD AT CAMBRIDGE ON THE FIRST
OF SEP TEMBER, 1779, AND CONTINUED BY ADJOURNMENTS TO THE SECOND OF MARCH, 1780. (REVISED AND
CORRECTED.). Boston: Printed by Benjamin Edes & Sons, 1780. [3]43pp. Lacks the half title. 19th-century brown half morocco and embossed
cloth, spine gilt. Spine lightly rubbed. Bookplate on front pastedown. Discreet
ex-lib. markings of the John Carter Brown Library. Light foxing. Very good.
Final version of the first Massachusetts state constitution, a document of capital
importance in the framing of subsequent state constitutions and the United States
Constitution as well. A slightly more radical constitution was proposed in 1778
which, for example, granted suffrage to all males except Blacks, Indians, and mulattoes, but it was rejected by the people. A new version was printed in early 1780
for approval, and then printed in this, the final accepted format. It begins with a
long declaration of the rights of Massachusetts citizens (including freedom of the
press and protection from unreasonable searches), and then spells out the roles and
powers of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. “In some respects the
constitution of 1780 remedied the defects of its predecessor of 1778. A bill of rights
assured to each citizen ‘the security of his person and property’ as an unassailable
condition to the social contract. A strong executive with extensive veto powers,
an independent judiciary appointed for good behavior, and a senate representing
property effectively restrained the house of representatives, the only popular branch
of government” – Handlin. There is also a section continuing the special privileges
of Harvard College, and another encouraging the appreciation of literature in the
commonwealth. The Handlins note that John Adams’ role was pre-eminent in
the crafting of the 1780 constitution. It is a constitution that served as a guide
for other states and for the Constitutional Convention of 1787. See the Handlins’
Commonwealth for an extended discussion of the creation and importance of the
Massachusetts constitution.
“Despite the title, Massachusetts is declared to be a free and independent
Commonwealth (not State), and its people are referred to repeatedly as ‘subjects.’
Freedom of religion is guaranteed to all Protestants, except that Catholics are barred
from holding office. (However, there is nothing to keep them from coming to New
York to run for office.) Enfranchisement is based solely on property” – Eberstadt.
A state constitution of great influence.
EVANS 16845. EBERSTADT, AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONS (166) 71 (ref ). Oscar
& Mary Handlin, Commonwealth (Cambridge, 1969), esp. pp.24-31.
$3000.
Ratifying the Constitution in Massachusetts
93. [Massachusetts]: DEBATES, RESOLUTIONS AND OTHER PRO-
CEEDINGS, OF THE CONVENTION OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, CONVENED AT BOSTON,
ON THE 9th OF JANUARY 1788, AND CONTINUED UNTIL
THE 7th OF FEBRUARY FOLLOWING, FOR THE PURPOSE
OF ASSENTING TO AND RATIFYING THE CONSTITUTION
RECOMMENDED BY THE GRAND FEDERAL CONVENTION.
TOGETHER WITH THE YEAS AND NAYS ON THE DECISION
OF THE GRAND QUESTION. TO WHICH THE FEDERAL
CONSTITUTION IS PREFIXED. Boston: Printed and sold by Adams
and Nourse, Benjamin Russell...and Edmund Freeman..., 1788. 219pp. Contemporary tree calf, spine gilt, leather label. Extremities rubbed. Contemporary
ownership inscription on front fly leaf. Lightly foxed. Very good.
“These Debates were recorded by printers representing the Massachusetts Centinel
and Independent Chronicle in Boston and were reprinted from them. A later edition
(1856) included the official journal and notes on the debates kept by Theophilus
Parsons, a delegate to the state convention and later chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court.
“The ratification process in Massachusetts was viewed with anxiety by supporters
of the Constitution throughout the nation. Massachusetts was a key state, and it was
thought that actions there might determine the ultimate fate of the Constitution.
The struggle was hard, bitter, and characterized by wild rumor and allegations of
corrupt behavior...The Federalist strategy was to ratify the Constitution first and
then consider amendments to it...On February 6 the Constitution was endorsed by
the narrow vote of 187 to 168. Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify...Massachusetts was the first state to propose amendments along with ratification, setting
a pattern for the states that followed. All except Maryland and Rhode Island were
to ratify and simultaneously propose amendments” – Liberty’s Legacy. The debates
of other states were also extensively published. That of Virginia, where many of
the leaders of the Revolution were delegates, appeared in two volumes in 1788.
LIBERTY’S LEGACY USC-25. EVANS 21242. SABIN 45702.
$4250.
“It would take more time than I have so far been able to give
to guess whether or not it is fiction” – Streeter
94. Milfort, Louis: MÉMOIRE OU COU-D’OEIL RAPIDE SUR MES
DIFÉRENS VOYAGES ET MON SÉJOUR DANS LA NATION
CRËCK. Paris: de l’imprimerie de Giguet et Michaud, 1802. [4],331,[1]pp.
Half title. Original boards, expertly rebacked to style, morocco label. Bookplate
on front pastedown. Occasional marginal dampstaining, light scattered foxing;
small, darker, stain in margin of first few leaves. Signed by Milfort on the
verso of the title (as usual with this book). Very good.
Signed by Milfort on a statement of authenticity on the verso of the titlepage, as
in all copies. A remarkable account of a
Frenchman’s travels and adventures among
the Creek Indians in the Mississippi Valley
in the late 1770s and early 1780s. Some of
the details in this narrative are sufficiently
extraordinary that various commentators
have questioned Milfort’s veracity. “There
are, however, corroborative circumstances
which confirm his statements, and induce
us to give a fair degree of credence to his
narrative. At the time of his arrival among
the Creeks, a half-breed named McGillivray,
had obtained so great an influence over
them by his talent for organization, that he
had actually acquired the rank of head chief.
Milfort was received with great cordiality;
married his Indian sister, and in a short time
was made commander of the warriors of
the nation. He led them against both the
Spaniards and the Americans, and by his
aid the Indians defeated the forces of each
in several skirmishes” – Field. “The truth is that Milfort was a hopeless liar; and as
a result his book is one of the most interesting and curious books of French travel
in America in the eighteenth century...His book is often hostile to the colonists.
Certain descriptions of life among the Indians and frontiersmen are interesting. But
what confidence can be placed in a man who was capable of describing how he, in
command of six thousand Indians, had defeated George Rogers Clark and an army
of ten thousand regulars!” – Monaghan. “It would take more time than I have so
far been able to give to guess whether or not it is fiction” – Streeter. This book is
dedicated to Napoleon; Milfort signs himself: “Tastanégy ou grand Chef de guerre
de la nation Crëck.” The Siebert copy in 1999 was the first to have appeared at
auction since the Streeter sale in 1967.
HOWES M599, “b.” SABIN 48949. FIELD 1065. SERVIES 761. ECHEVERRIA
& WILKIE 802/37. GRAFF 2792. STREETER SALE 1529. SIEBERT SALE 606.
MONAGHAN 1073.
$6000.
95. Mitchell, John: Le Rouge, Georges Louis: AMERIQUE SEPTEN-
TRIONALE AVEC LES ROUTES, DISTANCES EN MILES, VILLAGES ET ETABLISSEMENTS FRANÇOIS ET ANGLOIS. PAR
LE DOCTEUR MITCHEL TRADUIT DE L’ANGLOIS...CORIGEE EN 1776 PAR M. HAWKINS.... Paris: Le Rouge, 1777. Engraved
map, handcolored in outline, on 8 sheets (individual sheets: 27 ¼ x 21 inches,
if joined would form a single large sheet 59 x 79 inches), with large allegorical
cartouche and inset map of Hudson Bay and Labrador. Small repaired tear.
Good condition. In a red morocco backed box.
A fine example of a French edition of Mitchell’s monumental mapping of Colonial
America, a scarce issue published during the American Revolution.
“John Mitchell was not a mapmaker by profession, rather he was a medical doctor,
natural philosopher, and botanist of considerable merit. Yet his sole cartographic
endeavor...was perhaps the greatest produced in the history of America” – Degrees
of Latitude.
Mitchell’s Map of the British and French Dominions in North America is widely
regarded as the most important map in American History. Prepared on the eve of
the French and Indian War, it was the second large format map of North America
printed by the British and included the best up to date information on the region.
Over the next century, it would play a key role in the resolution of every significant
boundary dispute involving the northern border of the then British Colonies and later
the United States. It was also the map-of-record at the birth of the United States
and continued in this role through several decades in the early life of the country.
John Mitchell, a respected British physician, botanist, chemist, biologist, and
surveyor, lived for a time in Virginia, but returned to England in 1746, where he
remained. Mitchell initially conceived of his map of North America as the best
method of presenting to the British public, in a single large format image of all the
colonies, the extent of the French threat to the British claims in North America.
Mitchell completed his first draft of the map in 1750. However, because he was
limited to publicly available sources of information, this initial effort was rather
crude (even in Mitchell’s own opinion). But word of Mitchell’s work spread, and
the Board of Trade and Plantations retained Mitchell to make a new map, using
the official manuscript and printed maps and reports in the Board’s possession,
including maps by Fry and Jefferson, Christopher Gist, George Washington, John
Barnwell, and others. The Board also instructed all the colonial governors to send
detailed maps and boundary information for Mitchell’s use.
Mitchell’s map was first published by Andrew Millar in 1755, the year before war
broke out with the French. The map is decidedly pro-English in its interpretation of
the various boundaries and geographical information depicted on the map, as would
be expected for what amounted to thinly veiled pre-war propaganda. In addition
to the geographical detail shown on the map, Mitchell included many annotations
describing the extent of British and French settlements. He also submitted a report
to the Board in 1752, listing the French encroachments and his ideas of ways to
encourage British settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains, as a means of
combating French influence in the region.
Mitchell’s map shows the British Colonial claims of Virginia, both Carolinas,
and Georgia extending beyond the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. In the West,
Mitchell’s treatment of the lower Missouri is a vast improvement over earlier maps.
Regarding the source of the Missouri, Mitchell noted that the Missouri river was
reckoned to run westward to the Mountains of New Mexico, as far as the Ohio does
eastward, reflecting his belief in symmetrical geography. Mitchell correctly shows
the northern branch of the Missouri to be the main branch of the river, although
his estimate of the latitude of the river’s source is inaccurate. Nonetheless, the
information Mitchell’s map provided led Meriwether Lewis to explore the Marias
River to determine the northern reaches of the Missouri River basin.
The present French edition appeared in 1777 within Le Rouge’s Atlas Ameriquain
Septentrional. Le Rouge had first published an edition of the Mitchell map in 1756.
The speed with which Le Rouge produced a full-size copy of Mitchell’s original is
an indication of how important the 1755 map was considered at the time. War in
the region meant that consistent, reliable cartographic intelligence was vital. Both
the English and French versions went through a number of subsequent editions well
into the 1770s. Mitchell’s map went on to become the primary political treaty map
in American history. Regarded by many authorities as the most important map in
the history of American cartography, twenty-one variant states and editions of the
map appeared between 1755 and 1781.
McCORKLE 777.15. RISTOW, A LA CARTE, p.112. TOOLEY, p.124. MORELAND
& BANNISTER, pp.171-72. E. & D.S. Berkeley, Dr. John Mitchell, the Man Who Made the
Map (Chapel Hill, 1974), chapters 12 and 13. Richard W. Stephenson, “Table for identifying
variant editions and impressions of John Mitchell’s map,” p.110 in A la Carte, Selected Papers
on Maps and Atlases (Washington, 1972).
$27,500.
James Monroe Arranges to Keep Informed
While an American Diplomat in Europe, 1794
96. Monroe, James: [AU TOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM
JAMES MONROE TO SENATOR JOHN LANGDON OF NEW
HAMPSHIRE]. Baltimore. June 19, 1794. [1]p., docketed on verso. Single
quarto sheet. Old fold lines. Light wear and soiling, two older tape repairs on
verso. Staining on right edge. Good plus.
Letter written by James Monroe to New Hampshire Senator John Langdon, immediately before Monroe’s departure to take up his position as U.S. Minster to
France. Monroe resigned his Virginia seat in the Senate to accept the diplomatic
position to France. In this letter, he writes to Langdon asking to remain informed
about affairs in the Senate.
Dear sir, I cannot take my departure without dropping you a line to request
that you will occasionally write & give me such information as you know I
expect to possess, where I am going. I sail in a few hours upon a mission which
was little thought of when you left Philadelphia. Present our best respects to
Mrs. Langdon & yr. daughter & be assured of the esteem & regard with I am
sincerely yours, Jas. Monroe.
John Langdon (1741-1819) was a New Hampshire merchant and politician who
was one of New Hampshire’s first senators, served as president pro tempore of the
Senate, and later held the office of the governor of the state. Though he started
out as a Federalist, Langdon switched his views and allegiances to the Jeffersonian
Republicans around 1794. He and Monroe served in the Senate together before
Monroe left to begin his diplomatic career across the Atlantic, and the two men
were close enough that Monroe herein asks Langdon to keep him apprised of political doings back home. Further evidence of their continued friendship is indicated
by President Monroe’s visit to Langdon while he was in New Hampshire in 1817.
James Monroe (1758-1831) was serving as a Senator from Virginia when he was
appointed U.S. Minister to France, where he served from 1794 to 1796. Monroe
was, in the end, considered too friendly to the French cause and replaced by Charles
Cotesworth Pinckney. He was subsequently twice governor of Virginia, Minister to
Britain, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State before being elected to the office
of the Presidency in 1817. $7500.
Washington’s Journal: The Streeter Copy
97. [Moreau, Jacob N., compiler]: A MEMORIAL CONTAINING A
SUMMARY VIEW OF FACTS, WITH THEIR AUTHORITIES. IN
ANSWER TO THE OBSERVATIONS SENT BY THE ENGLISH
MINISTRY TO THE COURTS OF EUROPE. New York: Printed and
Sold by Hugh Gaine, 1757. iv,190pp. 20th-century half morocco and marbled
boards, spine gilt. Bookplate on front and rear pastedown. Titlepage silked,
minor wear and soiling, a few minute losses, not affecting text. Minor foxing
and toning to text. Very good.
The Thomas W. Streeter copy. One of two 1757 American printings of Moreau’s
Memoire..., originally published in French in 1756. The Hugh Gaine edition is
actually one of three imprints that appeared in the American colonies in 1757, two
in New York and one in Philadelphia. The two New York printings (the other
was issued by Parker & Weyman) contain the same pagination, implying that the
two share the same printing of the text, with different titlepages. Neither Evans
nor anyone else has ascribed priority to any of these first American printings. All
are very rare.
The text contains the first American printing of George Washington’s journal
of his first, disastrous military expedition to confront the French on the Ohio
in 1753-54. Upon their victory over Washington’s troops at Fort Necessity, the
French seized Washington’s journal of the expedition, Braddock’s instructions
to Washington, and the former’s letters to the British Ministry. These papers
were sent to France without delay. They were printed and sent to every court in
Europe, offering evidence to support the French claim that Washington was on
a deliberately provocative mission. Also included are a number of papers relating
to the mounting Anglo-French tension in North America in the decade following
the peace settlement of 1745 which led to the confrontation in the Ohio country.
The memoir also contains a survey of the alleged French rights to the region west
of the Alleghenies. Washington is severely criticized for his conduct, especially in
causing the death of the French commander, Jumonville.
The work is an essential one for understanding the causes of the French and
Indian War. Streeter quotes Lawrence Wroth, in his JCB Library Report of 1945-46,
as calling this memoir “One of the most important documents in American colonial
history.” The Brinley copy of this printing brought $20, a goodly sum in 1878.
SABIN 47512. HOWES M787, “b.” EVANS 7896. NAIP w038531. WROTH AMERICAN BOOKSHELF, pp.22, 40 (refs). BRINLEY SALE 242 (“rare”). STREETER SALE
1020 (this copy).
$10,000.
98. Murray, James: AN IMPARTIAL HISTORY OF THE WAR IN
AMERICA; FROM ITS FIRST COMMENCEMENT, TO THE
PRESENT TIME; TOGETHER WITH THE CHARTERS OF
THE SEVERAL COLONIES, AND OTHER AUTHENTIC INFORMATION.... Newcastle upon Tyne: Printed for T. Robson..., [1779].
Two volumes. 573; 576pp. plus twenty-three portraits and a folding plan.
Lacks pp.305-312 in second volume. [with]: ...VOL. III. 48 (of 332)pp. plus
frontispiece portrait. Contemporary calf. Corners bumped and lightly worn,
spines lightly worn. Minor toning, but internally clean. Very good.
First uniform edition, having been issued in parts as three volumes in 1778-80. An
important contemporary history of the Revolution, notable for the portraits of key
figures. Sabin notes: “The author’s political principles were democratic in sentiment,
and it is a little doubtful whether his history IS ‘impartial.’ The...portraits are of
much interest....” This includes the first forty-eight pages of the third volume,
which was issued in parts; the third volume is quite rare.
HOWES M916. SABIN 51507. ESTC N7791, N24585. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY
78-73f (3rd vol.).
$2750.
The Superlatively Rare Carolina Constitutional Convention
Proceedings, Failing to Ratify the Constitution
99. [North Carolina]: [United States Constitution]: PROCEEDINGS
AND DEBATES OF THE CONVENTION OF NORTH-CAROLINA, CONVENED AT HILLSBOROUGH, ON MONDAY THE
21st DAY OF JULY, 1788, FOR THE PURPOSE OF DELIBERATING AND DETERMINING ON THE CONSTITUTION AT
PHILADELPHIA, THE 17th DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 1787. Edenton, N.C.: Hodge & Willis, 1789. 280pp., with pp.3-6 and 273-280 in facsimile. Original calf, neatly rebacked in gilt calf, leather label. Title-leaf and
pp.7-16 remargined, not affecting the text. Old ownership marks on verso of
titlepage. Still, a good copy of a great rarity.
One of the rarest of works relating to the debates over the Federal Constitution, the
journal of the debates held by North Carolina regarding its ratification. It publishes
the proceedings of North Carolina’s inconclusive first ratification convention, which
took place in Hillsborough from July 21 to Aug. 2, 1788.
The U.S. Constitution was published on Sept. 17, 1787 and passed along to
the states for ratification. The Constitutional Convention had ruled that, despite
the wish for ratification to be unanimous, only nine of the thirteen states were
required in order to pass the new constitution into law. North Carolina dragged
its heels over the matter from the beginning, and was the last of the states to call
for a ratifying convention, on December 6, 1787. By the time the state convention
met the next July, eleven states had already ratified the Federal document (New
Hampshire on June 21, Virginia on June 25, and New York on July 26.) Nonetheless,
many considered ratification a necessary step before the state could join the Union.
North Carolina was split between the pro-Federalists, mainly low country planters and merchants, and anti-Federalists, mostly poorer farmers from the Piedmont.
Despite the eloquent arguments of James Iredell of Edenton, leader of the Federalist
group, the convention foundered over concern for the protection of individual rights.
On August 2, they agreed “neither to ratify nor reject the Constitution proposed
for the government of the United States.” They did pass a Declaration of Rights,
listing twenty basic liberties, and a proposed list of twenty-six amendments to the
Federal Constitution. Most of these concerns ended up being addressed by the Bill
of Rights. North Carolina was thus left in a strange limbo, generally treated as a
State, but not seating delegates to the first session of the first Federal Congress in
the spring of 1789.
When a new convention was scheduled for Nov. 17, 1789, in Fayetteville, Iredell and other Federalists paid to have the proceedings of the previous convention
published and distributed, believing it supported their cause. This volume appeared
on June 18, 1789. The second convention, no doubt buoyed by the passage of the
Bill of Rights by the U.S. Congress, swiftly ratified the Constitution on Nov. 21,
becoming the twelfth state to do so. It then underscored the importance of the
Bill of Rights in its decision by becoming the third state to ratify it, on Dec. 22.
This work is one of the rarest of the State constitutional debates. We have
handled one complete copy in the past.
EVANS 22037. NAIP w036269. McMURTRIE (NORTH CAROLINA) 144. SABIN
55667.$3750.
The “Enlarged Version” of Common Sense:
“the Free and Independent States of America”
100. Paine, Thomas: COMMON SENSE; ADDRESSED TO THE INHABITANTS OF AMERICA...A NEW EDITION, WITH SEVERAL ADDITIONS IN THE BODY OF THE WORK. TO WHICH
IS ADDED AN APPENDIX; TOGETHER WITH AN ADDRESS
TO THE PEOPLE CALLED QUAKERS. Philadelphia: Printed and sold
by W. and T. Bradford, [but possibly M. Mills, Dublin,] 1776. 99pp. [bound
with:] [Chalmers, James]: PLAIN TRUTH: ADDRESSED TO THE
INHABITANTS OF AMERICA. CONTAINING REMARKS ON A
LATE PAMPHLET, INTITLED COMMON SENSE.... Philadelphia
printed, Dublin, reprinted: M. Mills, 1776. [4],44pp. Modern three-quarter
calf and marbled boards. Contemporary ownership inscription (“Ambrose
Smith”) on each titlepage. Very good.
This is a most important edition of Common Sense..., one of the early issues of the
“Enlarged Version” of its text, first issued by printers William and Thomas Bradford
about five weeks after the appearance of the first edition
from the press of Robert Bell, issued on Feb. 14, 1776.
The present edition can lay claim to being equal to the
first edition in importance, since it contains considerable
additional material by Paine which did not appear in the
first three printings by Bell.
Common Sense first appeared on Jan. 9, 1776. Its importance was immediately realized and its contents hotly
debated. At the same time, Paine’s relationship with his
publisher, Bell, also became heated, as the author asked for a
share in the profits of his bestseller and Bell denied a profit
had been realized. Paine then asked Bell to wait before
doing a second edition so that he could add more material.
On Jan. 20, however, Bell advertised a “new edition” which
reprinted the original, without Paine’s additions. Infuriated,
Paine went to the Bradfords and proposed to give them his
new material to publish with the original text, comprising an
appendix and “An Address to the People Called Quakers,”
increasing “the Work upwards of one Third.” This is the
first ninety-nine-page edition of the enlarged text.
It is probable that this edition of Common Sense, despite
the imprint, was actually printed in Dublin. The similarity in typography to the Dublin edition of the Chalmers
pamphlet, here bound with it, reinforces that possibility. If
so, it could not help but inflame sentiment in England’s
other dissatisfied colony.
This copy is bound with a Dublin edition of a vigorous attack on Tom Paine
and Common Sense, written under the pseudonym of “Candidus.” Thomas Adams
identifies the author as James Chalmers. This is the first Irish edition of a pamphlet
originally published in Philadelphia and later reprinted in London.
On the importance of Common Sense it is unnecessary to comment. The political
rhetoric of Paine inflamed the desire for independence, attacking British misgovernment and calling for colonial independence in clear and unmistakable words.
The editors of the Grolier One Hundred remark: “It is not too much to say that the
Declaration of Independence...was due more to Paine’s Common Sense than to any
other single piece of writing.”
A most important edition of America’s greatest political tract.
GROLIER AMERICAN 100, 14. GIMBEL CS-14. HOWES P17. AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 222g. BRISTOL B4310. SHIPTON & MOONEY 43121.
$25,000.
Paine’s Famous Call for American Independence
101. Paine, Thomas: COMMON SENSE; ADDRESSED TO THE IN-
HABITANTS OF AMERICA, ON THE FOLLOWING INTERESTING SUBJECTS.... London: J. Almon, 1776. [4],54pp. Antique-style
three-quarter calf and marbled boards. Very good.
The first British edition, first issue, of Paine’s monumentally important pamphlet.
The work was of such general interest that this London edition was issued before
the Declaration of Independence, with notices of it appearing in periodicals in June
1776. Gimbel identifies four separate issues of this first London printing, and this
copy conforms to the first issue, with the hiatuses (blanks) completed in manuscript. The hiatuses replaced words in Paine’s original text that cast aspersions on
the British crown and government. Usually the blank spaces simply replace words,
but sometimes they remove entire phrases or sentences. See Gimbel for a complete
description of the various issues.
GIMBEL CS-24. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 76-108a. HOWES P17. SABIN
58214.$15,000.
102. [Paine, Thomas]: THE AMERICAN CRISIS. NUMBER II. BY THE
AUTHOR OF Common Sense. Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by Styner
and Cist, [1777]. pp.[9]-24. Dbd. Light stains on title and last leaf. Good.
The very rare second part of the series
by Paine which eventually stretched to
thirteen numbers, written to boost the
morale of American troops. Dated “Philadelphia, January 13, 1777” on page 24.
Only the first five parts were separately
printed as pamphlets, the rest being given directly to newspapers. This second
part of The American Crisis is directly
addressed to Lord William Howe, the
British commander in North America
who though he had the upper hand militarily, had allowed Washington to evacuate New York, and had suffered recent
defeats to the Americans at Trenton and
Princeton. Paine mocks Howe and his
demands on the American populace to
cease their rebellion. Paine writes: “By
what means, may I ask, do you expect
to conquer America? If you could not
effect it in the summer when our army
was less than yours, nor in the winter
when we had none, how are you to do it? In point of generalship you have been
outwitted, and in point of fortitude outdone.”
The separate pamphlet editions of The American Crisis, all of which are rare, were
printed in various cities and towns. The older references, such as Evans and Howes,
describe the Philadelphia printings of Parts I-III, but later findings by Edwin Wolf
II and R.W.G. Vail have uncovered other early editions of this historical American political work. See especially Wolf ’s explanation of the various Philadelphia
editions of the first three parts of The American Crisis printed by Styner and Cist
(“Evidence Indicating the Need for Some Bibliographical Analysis of AmericanPrinted Historical Works” in PBSA 63 [1969], pp.266-68).
GIMBEL 19. SHIPTON & MOONEY 15494. HOWES P16. SABIN 58206. EVANS
154943. NAIP w031716 HILDEBURN 3595.
$25,000.
From a Key Revolutionary Figure
103. Pendleton, Edmund: [AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM
EDMUND PENDLETON TO FRANCIS WALKER, REGARDING AN OLD BUSINESS TRANSACTION]. [N.p.] Feb. 20, 1791.
[1]p., addressed on verso. Light toning, old fold lines. Later pencil notations.
Very good.
Brief note written by Edmund Pendleton, Virginia lawyer and Revolutionary patriot,
to one Francis Walker. Edmund Pendleton served as a representative to the First
Continental Congress, was president of both of Virginia’s revolutionary conventions in 1775, and was also president of the powerful Committee of Safety for the
state. Only an injury sustained in a fall from a horse (to which he refers in this
letter) kept him from being in the Second Congress and a signer of the Declaration.
He was elected president of the Virginia convention again in 1776, and under his
direction, Virginia’s delegates to the Continental Congress put forth a motion for
independence from Britain. Following Independence, he helped revise Virginia’s
own Constitution, and worked tirelessly on behalf of the judicial system, serving
as a chief justice in Virginia’s courts. Finally, he presided as president of Virginia’s
Ratifying Convention for the Constitution in 1788. William Preston was a political
and military leader on the Virginia frontier. During the Revolution he organized
Virginia’s frontier defenses, and personally organized and led a group of militiamen
who fought at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina.
He writes:
My wife having this morning found my memo. book, there is an entry in May
1777, corresponding with that of my nephew respecting Mr. Jones’s money
received of your father and a subsequent entry a few lines from that is “June
2d Richard Jones Dr. Cash to his bror. Thomas £58.15.2.” I suppose receiving
it as a friend and giving it to his bror. so soon was the reason I did not post it
into the ledger. I send this that you may let Mr. Jones know that the money
if not pd. his father is due from the estate of his uncle. I am yr. mo. obt.servt.
Edm. Pendleton.
Pendleton letters or signatures are very rare in the marketplace. $1500.
Acts of the Assembly Up to the Revolution
104. [Pennsylvania]: THE ACTS OF ASSEMBLY OF THE PROVINCE
OF PENNSYLVANIA...TOGETHER WITH THE ROYAL, PROPRIETARY, CITY AND BOROUGH CHARTERS.... Philadelphia:
Printed and sold by Hall and Sellers, 1775. xxi,536,22,[12],3pp. Folio. Modern
calf, tooled in blind and gilt, leather label. Lightly foxed. Contemporary ink
stain to pp.390-391. Nearly very good.
An important and useful one-volume digest of the colonial laws of Pennsylvania,
collecting all of the acts of the Pennsylvania assembly still in force, beginning in
1700 and running through September 1775. This major law book effectively became
the basis for all provincial law as it translated to the new state. Also given are the
short titles of expired laws. Edited by the Pennsylvania Assembly member and
eventual Loyalist, Joseph Galloway. The twenty-two-page appendix has a separate
titlepage. This copy with the 3pp. addendum at the end, which is not always present.
TOWER COLLECTION 754. SABIN 59820. HILDEBURN 3147. EVANS 14364.
NAIP w006509.
$1500.
Thomas Paine’s Real Job While Writing Common Sense,
with Highly Important Plates and Maps of the American Revolution:
The Copy of a Famous Revolutionary Printer
105. [Pennsylvania Magazine]: [Paine, Thomas, editor]: THE PENNSYL-
VANIA MAGAZINE: OR, AMERICAN MONTHLY MUSEUM.
MDCCLXXV. VOLUME 1 [ JANUARY 1775 TO DECEMBER
1775]. Philadelphia: Robert Aitken, [1775]. Twelve issues and one supplement, a complete run of the first year. 625,[5]pp., including title signature
and the supplement, plus fifteen plates (plate of Charlestown lacking half ).
Without a leaf numbered 285-286, but the text uninterrupted and evidently
complete (apparently a mis-pagination at the time of printing). Contemporary
calf; rebacked preserving part of the original spine. Boards rubbed, neatly
repaired at corners, stamped in blind on each board “F. Bailey”. With the
inscription, in a neat contemporary hand “Ready money for clean Linen Rags
By the Printer hereof.” on the front flyleaf. Bookplate of the Library Company
of Philadelphia, with early discard stamp, on front pastedown. Light foxing,
soiling, and tanning to text. Half of the plan of Charlestown lacking. Overall,
almost very good.
A run of the first twelve issues and the 1775 supplement of The Pennsylvania Magazine..., the only magazine issued in the American colonies for most of the crucial
year of 1775. This copy belonged to the Revolutionary-era printer Francis Bailey
of Philadelphia and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In the latter location Bailey was the
printer of the first edition of the Articles of Confederation. The Pennsylvania
Magazine is among the most important American Revolutionary-era publications
for two primary reasons. First, it was edited from February 1775 until May 1776
(all but the first and the last two numbers) by the famous radical, Thomas Paine,
and his regular occupation, at the time he wrote Common Sense, was as its editor.
Secondly, it contains some of the most significant maps produced in America during
the Revolution, including battle plans that became prototypes for oft-reproduced
illustrations. Only a small handful of similar maps were produced in America
during the Revolution. Ristow describes three of the maps and plans (numbers
8, 9, and 10, below) as “the earliest revolutionary war maps printed in America.”
The present collection contains the first twelve of the total nineteen issues of The
Pennsylvania Magazine, a complete run for the year 1775.
The Pennsylvania Magazine was conceived and founded by the Revolutionary
printer, Robert Aitken, best known for his work as a printer for the Continental
Congress. Aitken launched the periodical himself, but soon found it too much work
and hired Paine as editor at £50 a year. Paine had only arrived in America a few
months before, in December 1774. He quickly became the major contributor as
well as editor, sometimes writing under the initials “A.B.,” and sometimes with no
by-line. “These initials he affixed to descriptions of mechanical devices, anecdotes,
Addisonian essays, argumentative papers, and poems in some variety...the most
imaginative and literary of the pieces have never been reprinted....
“Published on the eve of the American Revolution, and edited by one of the
leading Revolutionary publicists, The Pennsylvania Magazine is, of course, of paramount political interest...in December the magazine published ‘Reflections on the
Duty of Princes,’ in which sovereigns are sharply warned against the exercise of
arbitrary power. This is signed ‘A.’ and is followed by an oratorical passage ‘On
Liberty’ signed ‘Philo-Libertas.’ Both are in the accents of Paine....” – Mott. Mott
also particularly mentions Paine’s famous “Liberty Tree” article in July 1775, Phillis
Wheatley’s verses to Washington of April 1776, and Paine’s article on the abuse
of texts in the supplementary number for 1775. Paine also contributed much that
was not political, and there are many articles on current events in that fast-moving
period which may or may not come from his pen; however, writing for this magazine
(often, it was said, under the influence of drink) was Paine’s primary work during
this period, and all told a substantial part of each issue sprang from his genius,
until his break with Aitken in May 1776. The magazine chronicles, month by
month, Paine’s sentiments before writing Common Sense, which was published in
mid-January 1776.
Many of the important maps and illustrations in The Pennsylvania Magazine
were engraved by the publisher, Robert Aitken. The plates in the present volume
are as follow:
1) “A New Electrical Machine” in the January 1775 issue. A detailed illustration of
a European-invented device for studying electricity.
2) “Doctor Goldsmith” in the January 1775 issue. A portrait of Oliver Goldsmith.
3) “A New Threshing Instrument” in the February, 1775 issue.
4) “General Wolfe. A new Song Engraved for the Pennsylvania Magazine” in the
March 1775 issue. A folding plate of sheet music, with lyrics, on the death of
General Wolfe in the French and Indian War.
5) “A New Invented Machine for Spinning of Wool or Cotton” in the April 1775
issue. A quite detailed illustration, drawn and engraved by C. Tully, the inventor
of the machine. The plate is torn in the lower margin with a small bit of loss.
6) “Front View of a Frame House resembling Brick” in the April 1775 issue. A fine
early American architectural illustration.
7) “[Description of a new invented Machine, for deepning [sic] and cleansing Docks,
&c.]” in the May 1775 issue. This folding plate itself has no caption, but is
thus described in the text. An early Philadelphia invention of a dredger. The
plate is torn in the upper right corner, with loss of about one-sixth of the image,
supplied in expert facsimile.
8) “A New Plan of Boston Harbour from an Actual Survey” in the June 1775 issue.
A fine detailed folding map of Boston harbor, showing Boston, Dorchester,
Charlestown, Roxbury, and other towns, fortifications, and the several islands
that dotted the harbor. WHEAT & BRUN 239. PHILLIPS MAPS, p.166. JOLLY, MAPS
OF AMERICA IN PERIODICALS BEFORE 1800, 266.
9) “A New and Correct Plan of the Town of Boston and Provincial Camp” in the July
1775 issue. A fine and important folding plan showing the British battery on
Boston Common, and the fortification of Boston neck. Many streets are named
and wharves identified. NEBENZAHL 2. WHEAT & BRUN 238. PHILLIPS MAPS,
p.149. JOLLY, MAPS OF AMERICA IN PERIODICALS BEFORE 1800, 267. RISTOW, p.41.
10) “Exact Plan of General Gage’s Lines on Boston Neck in America” in the August
1775 issue. This folding map is another important American-engraved battle
plan. The accompanying text states that by using the map “it will be easy to
form a perfect idea of the manner in which the General hath blockaded the
entrances into [Boston].” Guardhouses, fortifications, batteries, and more, are
shown. NEBENZAHL 5. WHEAT & BRUN 237. RISTOW, p.41. PHILLIPS MAPS, p.149.
JOLLY, MAPS OF AMERICA IN PERIODICALS BEFORE 1800, 268.
11) “A Correct View of the Late Battle at Charlestown June 17th 1775” in the September 1775 issue. A view of the Battle of Bunker’s Hill, showing action on
land and at sea, and part of Boston in flames. Only the right half of the plate is
present in this copy. RISTOW, p.41. DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 143.
12) “A Map of the Present Seat of War on the Borders of Canada” in the October
1775 issue. Folding map showing the area from the St. Lawrence River and
Montreal in the north, down the length of Lake Champlain, to Crown Point in
the south. WHEAT & BRUN 89. PHILLIPS MAPS, p.193. JOLLY, MAPS OF AMERICA
IN PERIODICALS BEFORE 1800, 269.
13) “Plan of the Town & Fortifications of Montreal or Ville Marie in Canada” in
the November 1775 issue. A very detailed map of Montreal, showing buildings,
streets, squares, gardens, etc. This folding plan has a fine inset: “View of the
Town &c. of Montreal.” WHEAT & BRUN 91. PHILLIPS MAPS, p.451. JOLLY, MAPS
OF AMERICA IN PERIODICALS BEFORE 1800, 270.
14) “[Description of a New Machine for enabling Persons to escape from the Windows
of Houses on Fire]” in the December 1775 issue. The plate has no caption, but the
description is taken from the text. An ingenious device, involving a large basket
and pulley system, designed to help people escape from tall, burning buildings.
15) “A Plan of Quebec, Metropolis of Canada in North America” in the December,
1775 issue. This detailed map is keyed to a table identifying seventeen important buildings, citadels, and batteries in the town. WHEAT & BRUN 90. PHILLIPS
MAPS, p.735. JOLLY, MAPS OF AMERICA IN PERIODICALS BEFORE 1800, 271.
The provenance of this copy is of particular interest. The volume is blindstamped
on the front and back boards: “F. Bailey’s.” This is Francis Bailey, who operated as
a printer in Philadelphia until 1777 and then moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
In the chaos that ensued after the English seized Philadelphia in the fall of 1777
and the Continental Congress retreated to York, Pennsylvania, Bailey became for a
time the official printer to both the Congress and the government of Pennsylvania.
As such, he printed the first edition of the Articles of Confederation in Lancaster
in November 1777, and a number of important Revolutionary decrees.
A lengthy run of The Pennsylvania Magazine, especially with the scarce illustrations and plans, are virtually unknown in the marketplace. A major Thomas Paine
piece, and of great importance for his work and the American situation on the eve
of the Revolution, as well as for the graphics and maps bound in.
MOTT, AMERICAN MAGAZINES I, pp.87-91. EVANS 14380. DEÁK, PICTURING
AMERICA 143. FOWBLE, PRINTS AT WINTERTHUR 108.
$45,000.
A Connecticut Tory
106. [Peters, Samuel A.]: A GENERAL HISTORY OF CONNECTI-
CU T, FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT UNDER GEORGE
FENWICK, ESQ. TO ITS LATEST PERIOD OF AMITY WITH
GREAT BRITAIN; INCLUDING A DESCRIP TION OF THE
COUNTRY, AND MANY CURIOUS AND INTERESTING ANECDOTES. London: Printed for the Author, 1782. x,2,436pp. Modern half
calf and marbled boards, spine gilt, leather label. Small paper repair to verso of
titlepage, minutely affecting one letter of text. Some light foxing and soiling
to first and last few leaves. Minor toning and foxing to rest of text. Very good.
Second edition, after the first of the previous year, consisting of the first edition
sheets with a cancel title. The author was a native of Hebron, Connecticut, and
later rector of the Episcopal church there. “Mobbed in Connecticut for his Tory
activities, Peters fled to England and, in retaliation, wrote this false and vicious
misrepresentation of that commonwealth. Included were the Blue Laws of the New
Haven Colony, manufactured by his animosity, but still swallowed as true by many
people” – Howes. “The first edition is very rare” – Sabin. Indeed, ESTC locates
only a handful of copies of this second edition, as well – which is essentially a fiction, being simply the original sheets with a new title, a common ploy to make a
book look current and popular. Scarce.
HOWES P262, “aa.” SABIN 61209. ESTC N2349. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY
81-54b. CHURCH 1183 (1st ed).
$1250.
Primary Cartographic Work of the Revolutionary Era
107. Pownall, Thomas: A TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIP TION OF
SUCH PARTS OF NORTH AMERICA AS ARE CONTAINED
IN THE (ANNEXED) MAP OF THE MIDDLE BRITISH COLO-
NIES, &c. IN NORTH AMERICA. London: J. Almon, 1776. [6],46,
[16]pp. plus engraved folding map. Folio. Expertly bound to style in 18thcentury half russia and contemporary marbled boards, spine gilt, red morocco
label. Very good.
One of the most important cartographical works issued at the time of the American
Revolution, here complete with the rare map partially-printed from the same plate
as the famed 1755 Lewis Evans’ map printed by Benjamin Franklin.
In 1753, Thomas Pownall came to America as the private secretary to Sir Danvers
Osborn, the newly appointed colonial governor of New York. Shortly after arriving,
however, Osborn died, leaving Pownall without a post. Curious about the colonies,
however, Pownall remained in America, travelling widely in the region. Evidently
of great enthusiasm and intelligence, Pownall met many of the most influential
men in America at that time, including Benjamin Franklin. From this relationship, he was able to attend the 1754 Albany Conference and became involved in
Indian affairs in the colony. Through that work and his relationship with Franklin,
Pownall met surveyor Lewis Evans and in 1755, Evans published his famed Map
of the Middle British Colonies, printed by Franklin and dedicated to Pownall. The
map, the most accurate of the region at the time, was enormously influential, with
multiple piracies being issued in London, and famously used by General Braddock
during the French and Indian War.
“A great change came over the fortunes of Evans’ map in 1776. In that year
Thomas Pownall, who had spent much time in America as Governor of Massachusetts Bay and South Carolina, and Lieut. Governor of New Jersey, published a
folio volume entitled, A Topographical Description of Such Parts of North America....
Pownall, after his return from America continued to take the greatest interest in
the welfare of the Colonies ...The increasing public interest taken in the affairs of
the Colonies at the outbreak of the Revolution, doubtless prompted the publication
of the Topographical Description. That work may be described as a new and much
enlarged edition of both Evans’ Map and his ‘Analysis’ [the text accompanying the
Evans’ map] of 1755. As to the map, Pownall appears to have been in possession
of the original Evans plate engraved by Jas. Turner in Philadelphia, and he uses it
as the basis of his improved map...” – Stevens.
Indeed, much of the cartography of the western parts of Evans’s original map
remained unchanged in the 1776 Pownall edition, save for the significant addition
of the routes of Christopher Gist and Harry Gordon. This addition is augmented
by the publication in the appendix of Gist’s journal of his 1750-51 journey through
a portion of present day Ohio, Kentucky and on through North Carolina – the first
publication of that important inland exploration.
The most significant addition to Evans original map is east of Philadelphia,
where Pownall has extended the plate to encompass all of New England, with the
coast as far north as Nova Scotia. The cartography of this portion is derived from
a number of sources, but includes Pownall’s own explorations into the interior of
Vermont and Maine, as well as the surveys conducted on behalf of Massachusetts
Colonial Governor Sir Francis Bernard.
Pownall’s Topographical Description and its important map gives the best picture
of the interior of North America as it was understood in the year of American
independence.
HOWES P543, “b.” STREETER SALE 826. BUCK 28a. BELL P470. SABIN 64835.
VAIL 651.
$32,500.
A Key Tract of the Revolution
108. Price, Richard: OBSERVATIONS ON THE NATURE OF CIVIL
LIBERTY, THE PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE
JUSTICE AND POLICY OF THE WAR WITH AMERICA....
London: T. Cadell, 1776. [8],128pp. Contemporary blue wrappers, stitched.
Wrappers lightly worn with small tears at edges. Internally clean and fresh.
Untrimmed. Near fine. In a cloth clamshell case.
An essential pro-American British tract, published as the debate over the Colonies
reached its crisis in 1776. It was reprinted many times in the year of its first appearance in London, including editions issued in New York, Boston and Philadelphia.
The prescient Price states that “[this] body of powerful states, likely soon to become
superior to the parent state...is a case which is new in the history of mankind; and it
is extremely improper to judge of it by the rules of any narrow and partial policy...
The dispute probably must be settled another way; and the sword alone, I am afraid,
is now to determine what the rights of Britain and America are....”
AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 76-118a. HOWES P586. SABIN 65452.
$2500.
109. Quincy, Josiah, Jr.: OBSERVATIONS ON THE ACT OF PARLIA-
MENT COMMONLY CALLED THE BOSTON PORT-BILL;
WITH THOUGHTS ON CIVIL SOCIETY AND STANDING
ARMIES. Philadelphia. 1774. 60pp. Modern red half morocco and cloth,
spine gilt. Light, even toning to text. Minor wear, contemporary notation to
final page. About very good.
Philadelphia edition, after the original edition published in Boston the same year,
printing the author’s case against the first of the Intolerable Acts, which established
the blockade of the Boston harbor. The Bill was passed in March 1774, in the
wake of the Boston Tea Party in December 1773. The closing of Boston harbor,
and the other Intolerable Acts, did more to bring together public opinion in the
colonies, and led directly to calling of the First Continental Congress; this edition
was no doubt printed to provide members of the Congress with copies of Quincy’s
arguments. Quincy was a leading figure in Massachusetts patriotic circles. In this
work he excoriates Parliament for punishment of a whole community in response
to the acts of private persons, likewise attacking standing armies as “armed monsters,” “fatal to religion, morals, and social happiness,” as well as liberty. A major
political argument against the Crown’s unjust actions, and a critical work on the
road to Revolution.
HOWES Q18. AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 132b. EVANS 13562. SABIN
67192.$6750.
110. Ramsay, David: THE LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON, COM-
MANDER IN CHIEF OF THE ARMIES OF THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA, THROUGHOUT THE WAR WHICH
ESTABLISHED THEIR INDEPENDENCE; AND FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. New York. 1807. viii,376pp. plus
portrait. Contemporary paper boards, rebacked with paper, paper label. Boards
stained and edgeworn. Leaves G1 and P2 with long closed tears, affecting only
a few letters of text. Scattered foxing. Very good.
Laudatory biography by the renowned Revolutionary historian. One of the standard early Washington biographies. The stipple engraved frontispiece portrait was
engraved by William S. Leney of New York after the portrait by Gilbert Stuart.
HOWES R38. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 13461. BAKER, ENGRAVED PORTRAITS
OF WASHINGTON 274. HART, ENGRAVED PORTRAITS OF WASHINGTON
410.$1000.
111. Ramsay, David: THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, FROM
ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT IN 1670, TO THE YEAR 1808. Charleston. 1809. Two volumes. xii,478; iv,602pp. plus two folding maps (one with
contemporary outlining). Late 19th-century three-quarter morocco and marbled boards, spine gilt. Extremities rubbed. Lightly foxed. Very good. Untrimmed.
A standard work, by the prolific historian and native son. The general map in the
first volume shows the state, with the map of Charleston in the second volume.
The better part of the book is devoted to the southern campaigns of the Revolution and to biographies of prominent early Carolinians. The Streeter sale catalogue
notes that the second volume “as a survey of life in contemporary South Carolina
is of great value.”
HOWES R34, “aa.” SABIN 67686. STREETER SALE 1139.
$3500.
The Patriot Printer Uses an Earlier New England Revolution
to Justify the New One, 1773
112. [Rawson, Edward, and Samuel Sewall]: THE REVOLUTION IN
NEW-ENGLAND JUSTIFIED, AND THE PEOPLE THERE VINDICATED FROM THE ASPERSIONS CAST UPON THEM BY
MR. JOHN PALMER, IN HIS PRETENDED ANSWER TO THE
DECLARATION PUBLISHED BY THE INHABITANTS OF BOSTON, AND THE COUNTRY ADJACENT, ON THE DAY WHEN
THEY SECURED THEIR LATE OPPRESSORS, WHO ACTED
BY AN ILLEGAL AND ARBITRARY COMMISSION FROM THE
LATE KING JAMES. TO WHICH IS ADDED, A NARRATIVE
OF PROCEEDINGS OF SIR EDMOND ANDROSSE AND HIS
ACCOMPLICES, WHO ALSO ACTED BY AN ILLEGAL AND
ARBITRARY COMMISSION FROM THE LATE KING JAMES,
DURING HIS GOVERNMENT IN NEW ENGLAND. Printed in
the Year 1691. Boston: Re-printed and sold by Isaiah Thomas, 1773. 59pp.
Antique-style three-quarter speckled calf and marbled boards, spine gilt extra,
leather label. Very good.
The second printing, following the extremely rare 1691 Boston edition, which is
rated a “d” in Howes. The present edition is itself rated a “b” in terms of rarity by
Howes. The great patriot printer, Isaiah Thomas, was no doubt asking his fellow
New Englanders to draw inevitable comparisons between the oppressive administration of 17th-century Massachusetts governor, Edmund Andros and their own day.
Andros outraged the Puritans of Massachusetts by enforcing unpopular British laws,
restricting town meetings, promoting the Church of England, and other seemingly
intolerable acts. Thomas published this edition in the wake of the Boston Tea Party,
and the significance and timeliness of this pamphlet would be self-evident to any
American of patriotic leanings. Authorship has been ascribed to Increase Mather,
but the “To the Reader” is signed with the initials “E.R.” and “S.S.” Edward Rawson was the longtime Massachusetts colonial secretary, and Samuel Sewall was a
prominent Boston merchant, jurist, publisher, and diarist.
HOWES R79, “b.” SABIN 46732. EVANS 12973. ESTC W21974 .
$9500.
113. [Rhode Island]: STATE OF RHODE-ISLAND AND PROVI-
DENCE PLANTATIONS. IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY, JULY SESSION, 1780. AN ACT FOR ASSESSING AND APPORTIONING
A RATE OR TAX OF FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS
LAWFUL MONEY UPON THE INHABITANTS OF THIS STATE
[caption title]. Providence: John Carter, [1780]. Broadside, 15 x 10 inches.
Old folds. Lightly dampstained. Docketed on verso. Still, very good.
A scarce Rhode Island broadside announcing the passage of a Revolutionary-era
tax to be raised and collected from that state’s inhabitants for the purpose of filling
the state treasury. During the Revolution, each state levied its own taxes in order
to contribute to the funding of the war effort. This broadside includes a list of the
apportionment for each town. Providence itself is to be taxed £28,392, by far the
most of any of the towns listed. NAIP and ESTC locate only three copies – Yale,
Rhode Island State Library, and the Society of the Cincinnati. Scarce.
BRISTOL B5171. SHIPTON & MOONEY 43880. ALDEN 834. ESTC W7865.
$900.
One of the Most Beautiful Portraits of a Native American
114. Romney, George, artist: Smith, John Raphael, engraver: JOSEPH TA-
YADANEEGA CALLED THE BRANT, THE GREAT CAPTAIN
OF THE SIX NATIONS. ENGRAVED FROM AN ORIGINAL
PAINTING OF G. ROMNEY IN THE COLLECTION OF THE
RIGHT HON.BLE THE EARL OF WARWICK BY J. R. SMITH.
London. Feb. 10, 1779. Mezzotint engraved by Smith after Romney. Engraved
area (with lettering): 20 x 14 inches. Sheet size: 20¼ x 14½ inches. Very good.
Framed. See front cover of this catalogue for illustration.
Thayendenegea, or Joseph Brant, was a Mohawk leader and the primary chief of
the Iroquois Confederacy of Six Nations. After being educated at Moor’s Charity School for Indians in Connecticut, where he learned English, he began a close
friendship with the British Indian agent William Johnson, whose personal secretary and interpreter he later became. Brant was a devout member of the Anglican
Church, and over several years, he diligently translated the bible into his native
language. Also widely reputed as a skilled and formidable warrior, he fought in
numerous battles, including the French and Indian War (1754-63), the Battle of
Oriskany (1777), and the Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794). During the American
Revolutionary War (1775-83) he rallied support for the British among several tribes
in the Iroquois Confederacy, which became divided between U.S. and British allies.
In his lifetime, Brant made several visits to England, where he impressed society
and royalty alike. After the war, he settled in Canada, where he became an officer
in the British Army.
Brant’s visit to England in 1776 was a momentous one, fruitful in service to the
British cause on the frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania. He had not only led
his warriors in fearsome border battles, but successfully opposed the efforts of Red
Jacket, chief of the Seneca, to induce the Iroquois to make a separate peace with
the Americans. He had arrived in England in December 1775, with an AngloAmerican companion, Captain Tice.
In his Life of Joseph Brant (New York, 1838) William L. Stone writes of the
English visit:
It has always been said...that he was not only well received, but that his society
was courted by gentlemen of rank and station....Although he was dressed in the
European habit, he was not unprovided with a splendid costume after the manner of his own nation, in which he appeared at Court, and upon visits of state
and ceremony. James Boswell was at that period in his glory, and an intimacy
appears to have been contracted between him and the Mohawk chief, since
the latter sat for his picture at the request of this most interesting of egotists.
He also sat, during the same visit, for Romney, one of the most distinguished
artists of his day, for the Earl of Warwick. He was, of course, painted in his
native dress, and the picture was greatly prized.
Romney’s diary records his meetings with Brant to paint his portrait; the March
29, 1776 entry notes, “The Indian at 9”; and that of April 4, “The Indian Chief
at 9.” This image of Brant is the height of American Indian delegation portraits,
depicting the great Mohawk chief in a three-quarter pose, wearing a combination of western and native dress. An Indian blanket drapes his left shoulder and
arm, while the right sleeve of his ruffled blouse includes a silver arm band and a
decorative metal chain. In his right hand, Brant holds a pipe tomahawk close to
his body. A silver gorget with a pendant cross engraved with a royal coat of arms
hangs from his neck and he wears a feathered headpiece. Although commissioned
(or originally purchased) by the Earl of Warwick, the original painting now resides
in the National Gallery, Canada, attesting to its importance.
About three years after Brant’s London visit, the Romney portrait was published
in mezzotint by John Raphael Smith, one of the leading English 18th-century
engravers, who, writes John Chaloner Smith, “was most successful in his renderings of the paintings of Gainsborough, Reynolds, and Romney” (British Mezzotinto
Portraits). Chaloner Smith adds that J.R. Smith’s prints of the Brant period may
“be ranked amongst the most admirable productions of the art.”
BRITISH MEZZOTINTO PORTRAITS III:1242. HORNE 118.II. D’OENCH 130.
CHALONER SMITH 162. RUSSELL 162.II. FRANKAU 346. ALLAN 2013 no. 230, fig.
3.$45,000.
A Superb Contemporary Portrait of Alexander Hamilton
115. [Sharples, James]: [PORTRAIT OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON].
[Philadelphia. ca. 1796]. Pastel portrait, 9¼ x 7¼ inches. In a period frame.
Fine.
An outstanding pastel portrait of Alexander Hamilton by the famous portrait painter,
James Sharples. Of the constellation of Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton is
the one for whom the least number of contemporary portraits survive. Hamilton
is superseded in this regard by Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison, all of whom had a greater number of life portraits made of them. Art dealer
and antiquarian Harry MacNeill Bland recorded only eight known life portraits
of Hamilton (and two of these may have been posthumous), and mentioned three
other portraits that were “lost.” In our opinion this Sharples portrait ranks only
behind John Trumbull’s more than life-size portrait of Hamilton for artistic quality
and historical significance.
The portrait shows Hamilton in the period shortly after he left the office of
Secretary of the Treasury. It is a profile portrait, with Hamilton looking to the
viewer’s left. He is dressed in a fine black coat and vest. The portrait accentuates
his pointed chin, slightly irregular nose, and receding hairline. It is an image of a
confident and prepossessing man, seemingly unaffected by the era’s political turmoil,
in which he was so intimately involved. “[Hamilton’s] strong, well-defined features,
especially the sharply assertive nose and chin, made for a distinctive profile. Indeed,
his family thought a profile – not a portrait – done by James Sharples the best likeness of him ever done....Sharples captured an alert man with keenly observant eyes
and an amused air of high spirits” – Chernow.
James Sharples, Sr. (1751-1811) was born in England and first exhibited at the
Royal Academy in 1779. Twice widowed, Sharples married again in 1787, taking as
his third wife Ellen Wallace, who had been his pupil. The Sharples family ( James
had sons by each of his three wives, as well as a daughter by Ellen) came to the
United States in 1794 and worked in Philadelphia and New York until 1801. Upon
their arrival in the United States Sharples advertised his willingness to produce
profile portraits of men of national and local significance. Sharples often used
a physiognotrace device to record an exact profile which he retained as an aid in
the production of the initial portrait as well as copies. James did pastel portraits,
which he is said to have executed in about two hours. Sharples typically charged
$15 per profile and $20 for a full-face view. Ellen Sharples is thought to have
mainly worked as a copier of her husband’s work, but in practice it is often quite
difficult to distinguish between their styles and collaborations. Working in pastel
or tempera, they frequently produced copies of their portraits as demand required.
George Washington was the Sharples most popular subject, and dozens of their
portraits of the first President survive. Though we find no direct correspondence
between Alexander Hamilton and James Sharples, the author James Walter asserts
that their relationship was quite close, and that Hamilton’s encouragement and
promotion was instrumental in advancing Sharples’ career in the United States.
Sharples or members of his family are known to have created as many as eight
portraits of Hamilton.
The Sharples family returned to England in 1801, where James and Ellen continued their work, but they returned once again to New York in 1809. James died
there in 1811, whereupon Ellen and the children returned to England for the last
time. Ellen Sharples and the four Sharples children were accomplished artists and
were part of the family enterprise. The present portrait of Alexander Hamilton
shows the precision and technique associated with James Sharples’s work, and was
undoubtedly done by him personally.
The National Portrait Gallery owns a copy of James Sharples’s portrait of Alexander Hamilton, which is smaller in size than the present example. There are also
copies of the Hamilton portrait at the Museum of the City of New York, and at the
Bristol City Museum and Gallery (Ellen Sharples retired to Bristol, England late
in life). There is also a Sharples portrait of Alexander Hamilton at Philipse Manor
Hall in Yonkers, New York, but it is not known whether it was done by James or
Ellen Sharples. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a copy of the portrait, which
appears to have been made by Ellen Sharples (the rendering appears inferior to our
copy and the National Portrait Gallery copy), and the Walters Art Museum has a
miniature portrait of Hamilton on ivory by Ellen Sharples. The New-York Historical Society owns a smaller, less accomplished, version of the Hamilton portrait,
which is attributed to Sharples’ son, Felix.
The present portrait of Alexander Hamilton was acquired by Dr. and Mrs. John
Kretzschmar from noted antique dealer Jess Pavey. The Kretzschmars actively collected important Americana in the 1950s and 1960s. This portrait was exhibited
at the Detroit Institute of Arts and at the Henry Ford Museum at Greenfield
Village. The Kretzschmars’ collection was eventually sold to Philip Caldwell, the
first non-Ford CEO of the Ford Motor Company (d. 2013), though they retained
this portrait of Hamilton.
There are only a handful of life portraits of Alexander Hamilton, and this profile
by James Sharples ranks among the finest. A rare opportunity to obtain an outstanding portrait of one of the most influential and significant of American statesmen.
Katharine McCook Knox, The Sharples. Their Portraits of George Washington and His Contemporaries (New Haven, 1930). Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton (New York, 2004), pp.187,
482-83. Neil Jeffares, “James Sharples” in Dictionary of Pastellists Before 1800 (www.pastellists.
com). Charles Henry Hart, “Life Portraits of Alexander Hamilton” in McClure’s Magazine
(April, 1897), pp.507-13. Harry MacNeill Bland & Virginia W. Northcott, “The Life Portraits
of Alexander Hamilton” in William & Mary Quarterly (April, 1955), pp.187-98. James Walter,
Memorials of Washington and of Mary, His Mother, and Martha, His Wife, from Letters and Papers
of Robert Cary and James Sharples (New York, 1887).
$185,000.
Insurrection in Massachusetts
116. [Shays’ Rebellion]: AN ADDRESS FROM THE GENERAL
COURT, TO THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF
MASSACHUSETTS. Boston: Printed by Adams and Nourse, Printers to
the Honourable General Court, 1786. 40,[1]pp. Modern half morocco and
cloth. Ink number stamp on verso of title-leaf, titlepage foxed, some scattered
foxing elsewhere. Bottom of leaves trimmed, with loss of catchword on one
leaf but no loss of text. Very good.
This report by a committee of the General Court is a response to the grievances
that sparked Shays’ Rebellion in the winter of 1786-87. Specifically it treats the
issue of debts which weighed so heavily on Massachusetts farmers, and the alarming
threats and looming violence which culminated in December, when Daniel Shays
led twelve hundred men, armed mostly with pitchforks, towards the Springfield
arsenal. Although the rebellion was put down without incident, it was important
in convincing many of the need for a stronger federal government.
EVANS 19781. SABIN 45580. NAIP w036754.
$1250.
117. [Shebbeare, John]: REASONS HUMBLY OFFERED TO PROVE
THAT THE LET TER PRINTED AT THE END OF THE
FRENCH MEMORIAL OF JUSTIFICATION IS A FORGERY,
AND FALSELY ASCRIBED TO HIS R—L H——SS. London: Printed for M. Collyer, 1756. [2], 61pp. 20th-century three-quarter brown leather
over marbled boards, spine gilt. Bookplate to rear pastedown. Contemporary
ink notation to titlepage, a handful of pages with ink bracketing in the outer
margin, last two leaves with expert repairs. A handsome copy in very good
condition.
A rare Americana item concerning the outbreak of the French and Indian War.
Authorship is ascribed to John Shebbeare (1709-88), a Tory satirist whose writings
were thought well of by the likes of Horace Walpole and James Boswell. The letter
referred to in the title is “Lettre de M. Robert Napier, écrite à M. Braddock par
ordre de M. le duc de Cumberland.” It was published in Jacob Nicolas Moreau’s
famous 1756 collection of documents concerning the French position on the early
skirmishes of the French and Indian War entitled, “Mémoire contenant le précis
des faits, avec leurs piéces justificatives, pour servir de réponse aux Observations
envoyées par les Ministres d’Angleterre dans les Cours de l’Europe.”
“Relates to the Ohio expedition” – Sabin. “The letter concerning General
Braddock’s expedition to Crown Point and falsely ascribed to the Duke of Cumberland” – ESTC.
SABIN 68283. HOWES R101, “aa.” ESTC T95589.
$1500.
118. Shipley, Jonathan: A SPEECH INTENEDD [sic] TO HAVE BEEN
SPOKEN IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS, ON THE BILL FOR ALTERING THE CHARTER OF THE COLONY OF MASSACHUSETT’S-BAY. Salem, N.E.: Printed and sold by E. Russell, 1774. 16pp.
Half title. Antique-style half calf. Early ownership signature on titlepage of
Richard Dexter. Quite tanned, scattered foxing. Good.
A rare American printing of Shipley’s popular defence of colonial rights. Originally
published in London in 1774, it went through a number of American editions that
same year. When Parliament wanted to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea
Party, Shipley published this ringing defense of American liberty. Shipley was the
Bishop of St. Asaph and his pro-American speech became immediately popular
in the colonies. “It was considered a masterpiece at the time” – DNB. While it is
unclear why Shipley never delivered his speech, the printed version was a tremendous
success, prompting Franklin to write to him, “The cause of liberty and America has
been greatly obliged to you.” Of this Salem printing, ESTC locates only the copy
at the American Antiquarian Society, and Adams adds only one other copy, at the
Massachusetts Historical Society.
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 141h. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 74-74A (note).
SABIN 80518. EVANS 13622. ESTC W26811. HOWES S420. DNB (online). $2500.
A Major Revolutionary War Rarity:
A Copy Belonging to One of the Author’s Comrades in Arms
119. Simcoe, John Graves, Lieut. Col.: A JOURNAL OF THE OPERA-
TIONS OF THE QUEEN’S RANGERS FROM THE END OF THE
YEAR 1777, TO THE CONCLUSION OF THE LATE AMERICAN
WAR. Exeter, England: Printed for the author, [1787]. [8],184,[48]pp. plus
ten folding maps highlighted in contemporary color. Quarto. Contemporary
marbled boards with contemporary calf corners, attractively rebacked with
later calf, spine richly gilt, raised bands. A bit of scuffing and stripping to
the marbled paper, corner leather darkened and scuffed. Very fresh and neat
internally. A handsome copy. In a cloth slipcase.
One of the legendary rarities of Revolutionary War books. Simcoe arrived in
America as a young British Army officer in 1775. In the fall of 1777 he was promoted to major and given command of an American Tory cavalry regiment, the
Queen’s Rangers. This book describes the actions the regiment was involved in,
first around Philadelphia in 1777 and 1778, until the withdrawal of Howe to New
York, then around New York in Long Island, Westchester County, and New Jersey
until the end of 1780. On Dec. 11, 1780 the regiment embarked for Virginia as
part of Benedict Arnold’s campaign there, serving in all of the dramatic actions in
Virginia throughout 1781, and finally ending up trapped at Yorktown with Cornwallis.
Simcoe then returned to England, where he wrote this book, privately printing it in
an elaborate fashion, with ten folding maps of different actions. Simcoe later went
on to a distinguished parliamentary and military career, and is most remembered
today as the first governor of Upper Canada, and for the lake that bears his name.
This copy bears the ownership signature on the titlepage of “T. Dundas” and the
bookplate on the front pastedown of the “Dundas of Fingask” family. The signature
is almost certainly that of Major-General Thomas Dundas (1750-1794), a British
officer and governor of Guadeloupe (where he died of yellow fever). Born into an
old Scottish gentry family, Thomas Dundas joined the army in 1766, served in the
dragoons in Scotland and Ireland, and was sent to the American colonies in April,
1776 in the first group of reinforcements for the beleaguered British army. In 1778
he was appointed a lieutenant colonel in the 80th Foot, Royal Edinburgh volunteers. “He embarked with the 80th in May 1779 and joined the army at New York
in August; he and his regiment were with Clinton at the capture of Charlestown,
South Carolina, in May 1780; and he himself was with Cornwallis’s army in the
southern campaigns of 1780–81. He was one of the commissioners who arranged
the surrender at Yorktown in October 1781” – DNB. In January, 1781, Dundas
served with Benedict Arnold in the raid against Richmond. He was involved in
many of the actions described in Simcoe’s account.
This book was never published, and must have been done in a very small edition. As long ago as the Brayton Ives sale in 1891 a copy realized $152.50, and was
recognized as one of the most important Revolutionary rarities. The Laird Park
copy sold for $64,000 in 2000, and then brought $115,900 when it reappeared at
auction in 2010. A copy of this work that we handled in the 1990s had a similar
association with an officer of Cornwallis, and it is likely that Simcoe distributed
many of the copies of this rare book to associates in the campaign. Simcoe’s book
remains one of the black tulips of early Americana.
HOWES S461, “d.” SABIN 81134. GEPHART 14434. STREETER SALE 808.
CHURCH 1223. CLARK I:311. For Thomas Dundas, see his entry in DNB.$140,000.
With the Famous Plates by Benjamin West
120. [Smith, William]: AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE EX-
PEDITION AGAINST THE OHIO INDIANS, IN THE YEAR
MDCCLXIV. UNDER THE COMMAND OF HENRY BOUQUET,
ESQ....INCLUDING HIS TRANSACTIONS WITH THE INDIANS, RELATIVE TO THE DELIVERY OF THEIR PRISONERS...
WITH AN INTRODUCTORY ACCOUNT OF THE PRECEDING
CAMPAIGN.... Philadelphia, Printed; London, Re-printed for T. Jefferies
[sic], Geographer to his Majesty..., 1766. [2],xiii,71pp. plus folding engraved
map, two engraved plates by Grignion and Canot after Benjamin West, and
two engraved plans. Quarto. Contemporary calf, neatly rebacked to style. Corners bumped and rubbed. Modern bookplate on rear pastedown. Very minor
foxing and soiling. Very good.
The principal account of the Bouquet Expedition: a lovely copy of the first British
edition containing the famous plates by Benjamin West not found in the American
first edition.
Bouquet’s expedition to relieve Fort Pitt displayed British strength in the Ohio
Country in the wake of the conclusion of the French and Indian War, and brought
an end to the Pontiac War and the beginning of settlement in the region. The
Indians were soundly defeated at the battle of Bushy-Run and treated for peace,
releasing captives taken during previous years. Smith describes the campaign, gives
an account of the country, tells of Indian warfare, and offers recommendations for
repelling the natives.
“Originally ascribed to Thomas Hutchins, who accompanied this expedition
and executed the 2 plans; but that the book was prepared by Smith, from Bouquet’s
notes, has been established. This campaign gave Pontiac’s conspiracy its death-blow”
(Howes). The important map by Thomas Hutchins within the work is titled “A Map
of [the] Country on the Ohio & Muskingum Rivers Shewing the Situation of the
Indian Towns with respect to the Army under the Command of Colonel Bouquet,”
and includes an inset showing “A Survey of that part of the Indian Country through
which Colonel Bouquet Marched in 1764.” The map, re-engraved for this edition,
is the most detailed depiction of the Ohio Valley up to that time.
The present first British edition contains two famous plates by Benjamin West
that did not appear in the first edition published in Philadelphia the previous year
(“The Indians giving a Talk to Colonel Bouquet in a Conference at a Council Fire,
near his Camp on the Banks of Muskingum in North America, in Octr. 1764” and
“The Indians delivering up the English Captives to Colonel Bouquet, near his Camp
at the Forks of Muskingum in North America in Novr. 1764”). In addition, this
edition contains an appendix not found in the first edition.
SABIN 84617. FIELD 1442. THOMSON 1066. HOWES S693, “c.” VAIL 572.
SIEBERT SALE 279.
$35,000.
121. Soulés, François: HISTOIRE DES TROUBLES DE L’AMÉRIQUE
ANGLAISE, ECRITE SUR LES MÉMOIRES LES PLUS AUTHENTIQUES.... Paris. 1787. Four volumes. [8],379,[3]-6; [4],365; [4],
420; [4],272,43pp., plus three folding maps (one partially colored, two printed
on blue paper). Contemporary Spanish tree calf binding, spines gilt, leather
labels. Sympathetically rebacked, retaining original labels. A handsome set,
very good.
Second and best edition, enlarged with the help of Thomas Jefferson. “In its
completed form the best French history of this war; Rochambeau aided in its
preparation” – Howes. An excellent work covering the history of the colonies from
1768 through 1783, with an emphasis on French and Spanish participation, and
the signing of the treaty at Paris; all experts agree with Howes that this is the best
French history of the Revolution. The large map is a handsome rendering of the
eastern and southern United States north through a good part of Canada. The
“Plan d’York en Virginie, avec les attaques et les Campemens de l’Armee combinee
de France et d’Amerique” has a number of those locations colored by hand, as does
the map of Long Island, and Delaware and Chesapeake bays; both are on blue paper.
SABIN 87290. HOWES S770, “aa.” GEPHART 1031.
$3500.
122. Sprengel, Matthias: GESCHICHTE DER REVOLUTION VON
NORD-AMERICA. Frankenthal. 1785. [10],272pp. plus folding handcolored map. Contemporary drab paper boards, gilt leather label, paper label
at foot of spine. Title-leaf neatly repaired in gutter. Internally clean and fresh.
Very good. In a folding paper box.
The second edition of Sprengel’s history of the American Revolution, first published
under a differing title in 1783. This edition has a larger map, but omits the plates
found in that edition. The book was avidly read by the Rhinelanders as Hessian
mercenaries returned from the War. Sprengel includes a list of his sources, which
comprises a good contemporary bibliography, primarily of English books, on the War.
HOWES S846. SABIN 89758.
$1000.
Exceptionally Rare and Important First Printing
of the 1765 Stamp Act:
“The enormous engine fabricated by the British Parliament
for battering down all the rights and liberties of America,
I mean the Stamp Act...” – John Adams
123. [Stamp Act]: ANNO REGNI GEORGII III...AN ACT FOR
GRANTING AND APPLYING CERTAIN STAMP DUTIES, AND
OTHER DUTIES, IN THE BRITISH COLONIES AND PLANTATIONS IN AMERICA, TOWARDS FURTHER DEFRAYING THE
EXPENCES OF DEFENDING, PROTECTING, AND SECURING THE SAME...[caption title]. London: Printed by Mark Baskett,
Printer to the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, 1765. [2],279-310pp. [bound
with:] ANNO REGNI GEORGII III...AN ACT TO REPEAL AN
ACT MADE IN THE LAST SESSION OF PARLIAMENT, INTITULED, AN ACT FOR GRANTING AND APPLYING CERTAIN
STAMP DUTIES, AND OTHER DUTIES, IN THE BRITISH
COLONIES.... London. 1766. [2],243-244pp. Folio. Antique-style threequarter calf and contemporary marbled boards. A fine copy.
The official British folio printing of the Stamp Act, the passage of which was one
of the signal events in the history of the United States. It is here bound with the
repealing act passed the next year. After its successful effort in the French and Indian
War, the British government was saddled with a massive debt. Added to this was
the cost of administering its new lands in Canada, and the necessity of protecting
colonists on the American frontier from Indian attacks. In order to raise funds for
border defenses, the British Parliament decided to levy a tax directly on the colonists, rather than relying on colonial legislatures to raise the funds themselves (the
colonies having a notoriously spotty track record in such efforts). Over the protests
of colonial agents in London, including Benjamin Franklin from Pennsylvania and
Jared Ingersoll of Connecticut, a tax
was levied on all legal and commercial papers, pamphlets, newspapers,
almanacs, cards, and dice. Nine pages
in the present act are taken up with
descriptions of what type of printed
materials would be subject to the tax.
A Stamp Office was created in Britain, and Stamp Inspectors were to
be assigned to each colonial district.
Colonists wishing to purchase or use
any of the materials covered in the
Act would be required to buy a stamp.
The outrage in the colonies at this
form of taxation was immediate and
overwhelming, and the Stamp Act
was repealed in 1766. The bitterness engendered by the Act lingered
on and, coupled with subsequent
British laws including the Intolerable Acts and the Townshend Acts,
became some of the many grievances
enunciated in the Declaration of Independence.
“This is the original folio edition of the famous (or infamous) Stamp Act, by
which the American colonies were taxed in and on their business papers” – Church.
“The importance of this act to our history needs no comment” – Streeter. Sabin
and Howes note an octavo edition of sixty-six pages, also printed by Baskett in
London in 1765. This momentous law was reprinted several times in the American
colonies in 1765, in editions in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Annapolis, New
London, and Woodbridge, New Jersey.
This copy is offered together with the repeal of the Act, issued in 1766. The
bitterness engendered by the Act lingered on in its wake, however, and the seeds
of revolution were irrevocably planted. An exceptionally important document in
American history, quite rare on the market.
HOWES A285, “b.” CHURCH 1054. SABIN 1606. STREETER SALE 737 (another
ed). STEVENS 6. SWEET & MAXWELL II:176.
$25,000.
124. [Stamp Act]: THE NECESSITY OF REPEALING THE AMERI-
CAN STAMP-ACT DEMONSTRATED: OR, A PROOF THAT
GREAT-BRITAIN MUST BE INJURED BY THAT ACT. IN A
LETTER TO A MEMBER OF THE BRITISH HOUSE OF COMMONS. London: Printed for J. Almon, 1766 [i.e. 1765]. 46,[1]pp. Modern
marbled paper wrappers, laid in. Very good.
An important political pamphlet in which the author urges the overturning of the
Stamp Act due to the increasingly bitter colonial response. Assuring his readers
that the colonists bring no immediate threat of military force, “they are neither
able nor desirous to contend with their mother country,” he instead warns of the
effects on British trade with the colonies. Because of the great expense, he argues,
the colonists might either refuse or be unable to continue to support the trade and
thusly bring about economic ruin. A British citizen who resided in the colonies
for several years, the author cautions, on behalf of the Americans, “they will never
consent to enrich us, while they think we oppress them; they will never treat us with
the respect due to parent, while they think we treat them as slaves; nor will they
carry on a friendly and profitable trade with us, while they think we treat them as
aliens, and load them with chains.”
Adams notes the date of publication as 1765, though the titlepage reads 1766.
The pamphlet was reprinted in Boston the next year.
HOWES N31, “aa.” SABIN 52213. AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 38a. AMERICAN
CONTROVERSY 65-17.
$1500.
Wiping the Slate on the Stamp Act
125. [Stamp Act]: ANNO REGNI GEORGII III...AN ACT FOR IN-
DEMNIFYING PERSONS WHO HAVE INCURRED CERTAIN
PENALTIES INFLICTED BY AN ACT OF THE LAST SESSION
OF PARLIAMENT, FOR GRANTING CERTAIN STAMP DUTIES IN THE BRITISH COLONIES AND PLANTATIONS IN
AMERICA.... London. 1766. [2],823-826pp. Folio. Dbd. Crisp and clean.
Near fine.
An official British Act passed after the repeal of the Stamp Act, in which those
persons who had incurred penalties from non-compliance with the Stamp Act are
cleared of charges against them. Because of the attacks on Stamp Act collectors,
many persons had been unable to obtain the official stamped paper for various legal
transactions. The Stamp Act, which caused such public outcry in the colonies, was
repealed the year after it was passed. This nullified any remaining Stamp Act issues. Only three copies in ESTC, at the Lincoln’s Inn Library, the Newberry, and
the University of North Carolina.
ESTC N56936.
$2250.
126. [Stamp Act]: POLITICAL DEBATES. [bound with:] CORRECT
COPIES OF THE TWO PROTESTS AGAINST THE BILL TO
REPEAL THE AMERICAN STAMP ACT, OF LAST SESSION.
WITH LISTS OF THE SPEAKERS AND VOTERS. [bound with:]
A LIST OF THE MINORITY IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS,
WHO VOTED AGAINST THE BILL TO REPEAL THE AMERICAN STAMP ACT. Paris [i.e. London]. 1766. 18; 24; 8pp. Modern half calf
and marbled boards, spine gilt. Internally clean, some minor toning. Near fine.
A sammelband of three pamphlets relating to the repeal of the Stamp Act. The
first title contains extracts from William Pitt’s speeches regarding the Stamp Act,
and is an important text in the debate. The second title prints the arguments made
by those members of the House of Lords who opposed a repeal of the Stamp Act.
The main reason seems to be not that the tax is just, but that repealing it would set
a bad precedent. This pamphlet also lists the Lords who spoke and voted against
the repeal. Their votes would prove to be in vain, however, as the bill passed both
houses and received royal assent on March 18, one week after the Lords’ vote. Also
bound here is an eight-page list of the minority in the House of Commons who
voted against the bill to repeal the Stamp Act, noted by Adams but absent from
most copies of the Two Protests....
AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 66-14b, 66-27, 66-26. GOLDSMITHS 10220. SABIN
63761, 16839, 41453. ESTC T43956, T34189, N11577.
$1000.
With a Woodcut Map of the New York Area in 1776
127. Stearns, Samuel: THE NORTH AMERICAN’S ALMANACK, FOR
THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1777. Worcester: Printed by Stearns and
Bigelow, [1776]. [24]pp. 12mo. Dbd. Minor toning and foxing. Very good.
The first state of this Revolutionary-era almanac by Samuel Stearns, featuring a
map of the forts at New York on the front page. In this earlier state, the legend
accompanying the map on the title page (of the defences of New York) has the
reference: “See p. 3d.” In the second state this has been corrected to read: “See p.
4th.” Additionally, the seasonal verses at heads of calendar pages in the earlier state
have been replaced in the later state with verses from Hale’s “The sum of religion.”
While this almanac is remarkably similar in general content to the North American’s
Almanack of the same year by Isaac Warren, also published by Stearns (Evans calls
it “essentially the same”), the calendar is entirely different from that of Warren.
EVANS 15096. DRAKE 3268.
$2500.
One of the Most Important British Accounts of the Revolution
128. Stedman, Charles: THE HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN, PROGRESS,
AND TERMINATION OF THE AMERICAN WAR. London: Printed
for the Author, sold by J. Murray, J. Debrett and J. Kerby, 1794. Two volumes.
xv,399; xv,449,[13]pp., plus fifteen engraved maps and plans (eleven folding).
Half titles. Quarto. 18th-century speckled calf, gilt; expertly rebacked to style,
spines elaborately gilt, morocco labels, marbled endpapers. An occasional light
fox mark. Very good.
First edition of a work that is fundamental to any collection of books relating to the
American Revolution. This work is “generally considered the best contemporary
account of the Revolution written from the British side” (Sabin). Stedman was
a native of Philadelphia, a Loyalist who served as an officer under Howe, Clin-
ton, and Cornwallis, and later became an examiner of
Loyalist claims for the British government. He had
firsthand knowledge of many of the campaigns and
persons involved in the effort. He is critical of Howe,
and describes all the major theatres of war, as well as
individual battles from Bunker Hill to Yorktown.
The beautifully engraved maps (the largest of which
is approximately 20 x 30 inches) constitute the finest
collection of plans assembled by an eyewitness. They
depict the sieges of Savannah and Charlestown, plus
the battles of Saratoga, Camden, Guilford, Hobkirk’s
Hill, and Yorktown.
HOWES S914, “b.” JCB II:372. LOWNDES V, p.2504.
SABIN 91057. WINSOR VI, p.518.
$15,000.
Rare Work on American Constitutions
129. [Stevens, John]: EXAMEN DU GOUVERNEMENT D’ANGLE-
TERRE, COMPARÉ AUX CONSTITUTIONS DES ÉTATS-UNIS.
OU L’ON REFUTE QUELQUES ASSERTIONS CONTENUES
DANS L’OUVRAGE DE M. ADAMS, INTITULÉ: APOLOGIE
DES CONSTITUTIONS DES ÉTATS-UNIS D’AMÉRIQUE, &
DANS CELUI DE M. DELOLME, INTITULÉ: DE LA CONSTITUTION D’ANGLETERRE. PAR UNE CULTIVATEUR DE
NEW-JERSEY. Paris. 1789. viii,291pp. Contemporary speckled calf, spine
gilt. Extremities worn, leather spine label lacking. Contemporary bookplate
on front pastedown, partially removed. Contemporary notation on titlepage.
Negligible foxing, generally quite clean. About very good. In a half morocco
and cloth slipcase.
First French edition of this rare early work on the Constitution, after the first
American edition of 1787. This is by far the more important edition of this work,
which had little impact in the United States, but a great influence on the French
Revolution. According to Joyce Appleby, “Stevens’ Observations on Government,
ignored at home, became a smashing hit in France. DuPont, Condorcet, and Mazzei
turned the 56-page pamphlet into a 291-page book complete with 174 pages of notes,
a translation of the new U.S. Constitution, and notes from the Virginia ratifying
convention.” Arguably, it brought the initial French revolutionaries in line with
an American vision of government, since it was issued at a point when debate over
a new federal constitution was the topic of the day.
HOWES S968. SABIN 41646. COHEN 2777.
$1250.
Large Mezzotint of Banastre Tarleton,
British Cavalry Leader of the Revolution
130. [Tarleton, Banastre]: LT. COL. TARLETON. London: J.R. Smith, 1782.
Handcolored mezzotint, 25½ x 16¼ inches. Moderate foxing, with a couple
circular dampstains to the image area (in the clouds). A few small pieces of
tape remnants on verso. Good.
A famous portrait, engraved by John Raphael Smith after the oil painting by
Sir Joshua Reynolds which now hangs in the National Gallery in London. The
swashbuckling Tarleton was the leader of Cornwallis’ cavalry, earning a reputation
for ferocity through his many exploits in America. He arrived in New York in the
spring of 1776, served in the campaigns in New York and New Jersey in 1776 and
1777, and raided out of New York in 1778. In 1780 he went south to Charleston,
and fought bitterly in the Carolinas throughout the year before moving to Virginia
in 1781, where he surrendered with Cornwallis. Reynolds painted him shortly after
his return from six years in America, dressed in a bearskin helmet and leaning on
a cannon, every inch a dramatic leader.
Lord Ronald Sutherland Gower writes glowingly of Reynolds painting, and this
subsequent mezzotint, in his book Sir Joshua Reynolds: His Life and Art:
Young Colonel Tarleton had distinguished himself in the American war by his
splendid dash and gallantry; with the strength of a young Hercules he combined
the beauty of a Greek. He was beloved by his men, and Tarleton’s Legion was
long remembered in the South American States. He posed at the beginning
of that year [1782] for his full-length portrait for his mother. Sir Joshua’s
portrait of Tarleton was a strikingly original work; he has in a most ingenious
manner conquered the difficulty of what would have been stiff and wooden in
effect, owing to the ungainly uniform he wears, had he placed his model differently, but Reynolds has avoided any stiffness by recalling that his model was
wounded by a shot in the thigh, and by an inspiration of true genius, he has
represented the young officer binding up his wounded limb, which he rests on
a dismounted gun. The attitude is as fine as the pose of some Grecian warrior
or athlete by Phidias or Myron. Young Tarleton is said to have been as vain
as he was brave, and one can imagine that his vanity was not lessened by this
portrait. It was engraved in mezzotint in 1782 by J. R. Smith; the mezzotint
is as fine as the portrait itself.
Unfortunately, Gower is wrong in one respect. The pose does not show Tarleton
binding a wound, but is designed to conceal his left hand, which had only three
fingers, the other two having been lopped off in a saber fight. But he is quite correct that it is an extraordinary portrait – all visitors to the National Gallery should
see the original.
CHALONER SMITH III:161. D’OENCH 202. HAMILTON III, p.67.
$1500.
Key Revolutionary Work
131. Tarleton, Banastre, Lieut.-Col.: A HISTORY OF THE CAM-
PAIGNS OF 1780 AND 1781, IN THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES
OF NORTH AMERICA. London. 1787. vii,[1],518pp. (including errata)
plus one folding map with routes marked by hand in color, and four folding
plans, with positions and troop movements marked by hand in colors. Quarto.
Contemporary tree calf, recased with original gilt spine and board leather
laid down, leather label. Some edge wear. Contemporary bookplate on front
pastedown, modern bookplate on rear pastedown. Light dampstain to bottom
corner and outer margin of some leaves. Very good.
A standard work concerning the southern campaigns of the American Revolution.
Tarleton, the commander of a Tory cavalry unit, the British Legion, served in
America from May 1776 through the siege of Yorktown. He was infamous for his
brutal tactics and hard-riding attacks. His narrative is one of the principal British
accounts of the Revolution, notable for his use of original documents, a number of
which are included as notes following the relevant chapters. The handsome maps
and plans include “The Marches of Lord Cornwallis in the Southern Provinces...”
showing the Carolinas, Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware (with routes traced by
hand in color); and plans of the siege of Charlestown, the battles of Camden and
Guildford, and the siege of Yorktown.
HOWES T37, “b.” CHURCH 1224. CLARK I:317. SABIN 94397.
$8500.
The Ohio Country in the French and Indian War
132. [Thomson, Charles]: AN ENQUIRY INTO THE CAUSES OF
THE ALIENATION OF THE DELAWARE AND SHAWANESE
INDIANS FROM THE BRITISH INTEREST, AND INTO THE
MEASURES TAKEN FOR RECOVERING THEIR FRIENDSHIP...
TOGETHER WITH THE REMARKABLE JOURNAL OF CHRISTIAN FREDERIC POST...WITH NOTES BY THE EDITOR
EXPLAINING SUNDRY INDIAN CUSTOMS, &c. WRITTEN
IN PENNSYLVANIA. London: Printed for J. Wilkie, 1759. 184pp. plus
folding map. 19th-century straight-grain morocco, gilt, spine gilt, gilt inner
dentelles. Rear hinge somewhat rubbed. Toned, some light pencil marginalia.
Map mounted on linen. Very good.
The Frank Deering copy, with his bookplate. A work of the greatest importance
for the history of the French and Indian War. Thomson argues that the arrogance
and greed of the colonial government of Pennsylvania caused the rupture between
the Pennsylvania Indians and the British, and temporarily forced the natives to
the French side of the fight in the Ohio country. “Apparently printed at Benjamin
Franklin’s expense as part of his campaign to discredit the Proprietary government
of Pennsylvania” – Streeter. “It was one of the most important works on relations
with the Indians that had been published up to that time” – Graff. Christian Post,
a Moravian missionary, travelled to the Ohio country in 1758 to negotiate with the
Indians, and won them back to the British side. His journal of that trip makes up
the second part of this book. The map shows Pennsylvania, with various important
western points located.
HOWES T210, “b.” GRAFF 4139. CHURCH 1029. FIELD 1548. VAIL 535. JONES
498. STREETER SALE 966. SABIN 95562. THOMSON 1145.
$14,000.
133. Thomson, Charles: [AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT, SIGNED BY
CHARLES THOMSON AS SECRETARY OF CONGRESS, REGARDING THE CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH]. [Philadelphia]. Jan.
29, 1779. [1]p., docketed on verso. Folio. Old fold lines. Minor wear and light
soiling, several small reinforcements on verso. About very good.
Autograph extract from the minutes of the Continental Congress, signed by Charles
Thomson who served as Secretary to the Continental Congress during its existence
(1774-89). In the document, which is an extract from the minutes of Congress,
Congress reacts to the capture of Savannah by the British. Upon learning that
Savannah had been occupied by the British on Dec. 29, 1778, and that the new
capital of Augusta was being attacked by a combined force of British regulars and
American Loyalists, Congress ordered an immediate consultation with General
Washington. “Ordered, That the intelligence received from Georgia and South
Carolina be referred to the committee appointed to confer with commander in chief;
that they immediately confer thereon with the general and report such resolutions
as they may think necessary to be passed for the defence of those states.” To this
order, Thomson has appended the following note: “The papers are at the board
of war having been referred to them yesterday for certain purposes.” Ironically,
Augusta would fall to the British the very day this order was adopted. Savannah
$1850.
was occupied by the British until July 1782. 134. Thomson, Charles: [DOCUMENT, SIGNED BY CHARLES
THOMSON, REQUISITIONING SUPPLIES FOR THE CONTINENTAL ARMY]. [Philadelphia. Nov. 4, 1780]. [3]pp., docketed on verso.
Folio. Repaired at central horizontal and vertical folds with tissue, some small
tissue repairs at edges. Silked. Good.
List of requisitions for specific supplies, as issued by the Continental Congress on
Nov. 4, 1780, extracted and signed by Charles Thomson as the Secretary of that
body. This copy has been docketed on the fourth page, “Delaware,” indicating its
intended destination. At this time, General Nathanael Greene was about to be appointed to relieve Horatio Gates. After departing from West Point, Greene made
numerous stops on his way to Hillsboro, North Carolina, requesting men, uniforms,
weapons, and food. Congress, under the Articles of Confederation, could likewise
only request, not order, such provender. This portion of the minutes begins with
supplies of beef, pork, flour, rum, and salt, due from Pennsylvania, likewise listing
supplies needed from Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. It closes
with the detailed resolutions concerning substitutions of pork for beef, of continental
rum for the West Indian variety, of Indian meal for flour, and concerning methods
of adjustment for any state that supplies more than its due proportion. $4500.
135. Timberlake, Henry: VOYAGES DU LIEUTENANT HENRI TIM-
BERLAKE, QUI FUT CHARGÉ, DANS L’ANNÉE 1760, DE CONDUIRE EN ANGLETERRE TROIS SAUVAGES, DE LA TRIBA
DES CHEROKEES.... Paris. L’an V [i.e. 1797]. [2],viii,187,[1]pp. plus
frontispiece. 12mo. Contemporary calf, spine gilt, leather label. Minor chipping to spine, corners lightly worn. Minor foxing. Very good.
Scarce French translation of Henry Timberlake’s Memoirs..., originally published
in London in 1765. This edition does not contain a map, though the frontispiece
plate depicts a Native American couple. Timberlake was a British officer who spent
considerable time with the Cherokees in Georgia and eastern Tennessee in the early
1760s, during the turbulent period of frontier strife at the end of the French and
Indian War. He later accompanied a delegation of Cherokees to London. His account, here in the French translation, is one of the best of the period, and one of the
few accounts of the war with the Cherokees in the southern colonies. “Represents
the earliest and one of the historically significant works relative to the Cherokee
Indians and their activities” – Allen.
ALLEN, SOME TENNESSEE RARITIES 1 (1st ed). HOWES T271. CLARK I:319.
SABIN 95836.
$2000.
136. [Tooke, John Horne]: THE TRIAL OF JOHN HORNE, ESQ; UPON
AN INFORMATION FILED EX OFFICIO BY HIS MAJESTY ’S
ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR A LIBEL.... London: S. Bladon, 1767
[i.e. 1777]. 46pp. Folio. Modern paper boards with buckram spine. Boards
slightly bent, spine lightly rubbed. Modern bookplate on front pastedown.
Minor foxing. Very good.
Trial of English radical John Horne Tooke, charged with libel for writing that the
British troops murdered colonists at Lexington and Concord. “Following a clash
between the colonists and British troops at Lexington and Concord in April 1775,
the Constitutional Society, at Horne’s suggestion, raised a subscription for the
Americans concerned. Horne was to convey the money to Benjamin Franklin, and
the society’s resolutions were drawn up by Horne and published in the newspapers
to announce that the subscription was for ‘our beloved American fellow-subjects,
who...preferring death to slavery, were...inhumanly murdered by the King’s troops’....
Horne found himself charged with libel for the advertisement he prepared, and on 4
July 1777 was tried before Lord Mansfield. He defended himself with characteristic
forcefulness and audacity but was found guilty and sentenced to one year in prison,
to pay a fine of £200, and to find sureties for three years of £400 from himself and
£200 from two others” – DNB. Only ten copies listed in ESTC.
ESTC T201343. SABIN 96176.
$4000.
The Preliminary Articles of Peace of the French and Indian War
137. [Treaties – Great Britain]: PRELIMINARY ARTICLES OF PEACE,
BETWEEN HIS BRITANNICK MAJESTY, THE MOST CHRISTIAN KING, AND THE CATHOLICK KING. SIGNED AT FONTAINEBLEAU, THE 3d DAY OF NOVEMBER, 1762. London. 1762.
23pp. printed in double-column format in parallel French and English. Quarto.
Recent half morocco and marbled boards. Titlepage lightly soiled. Very good.
The first publication of one of the most far-reaching and significant peace treaties
to deal with North America. By terms of this treaty, printed here for final ratification and made official in 1763, major shifts in the American balance of power
take place. The French are almost entirely expelled from North America, as their
Canadian possessions and all lands east of the Mississippi are ceded to the British.
The remainder of Louisiana goes to the Spanish. The Spanish give up claims in
Florida to the British, who also receive the Grenadines and Dominica. All the
French get is the return of Martinique, Guadeloupe, and several smaller Caribbean
islands. The new balance of power set the stage for the American Revolution and
the rise of the power of the United States.
HOWES P569. SABIN 65044. SERVIES 423. DAVENPORT 148.
$4500.
The Roots of English Constitutional Opposition
138. Trenchard, John: ESSAYS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, by the
late John Trenchard. Never before published. London: Printed for A.
Millar, 1755. [4],107pp. Contemporary marbled boards, neatly rebacked and
recornered in modern calf in matching style. Small 19th-century private library
ticket on front pastedown. Contemporary ownership inscription on titlepage
crossed out. Minor foxing. Very good.
Printed by William Bowyer, whose records show an edition of 1000 copies. The
book contains seven posthumous essays on various topics including Miracles, Treaties, Elections, Controverted Elections, Offices and Corruption, Practicable Men,
and Frugality. John Trenchard (1662-1723) was a political writer who wrote a series
of weekly essays under the name of “Cato,” railing against governmental corruption and advocated the rights of the common man. He also authored two works
arguing against a standing army in England, An Argument, Shewing that a Standing
Army is Inconsistent with a Free Government (1697) and A Short History of Standing
Armies in England (1698). His essays are often considered one of the bases of the
“Country Whig” position in British politics, the origin of many of the ideas which
informed the position of the American thinkers of the Revolution.
ESTC T128631.
$2500.
First Magazine Printing of the Constitution
139. [United States Constitution]: THE COLUMBIAN MAGAZINE
FOR SEPTEMBER, 1787. Philadelphia: Printed for Seddon, Spotswood,
Cist, and Trenchard, 1787. pp.615-674 plus two plates (one folding). Original
blue pictorial wrappers, with later stitching. Wrappers soiled and worn, spine
perished. Text tanned and a bit soiled, some light foxing. Withal, in very good,
unsophisticated condition (save for the later stitching). Untrimmed. In a half
morocco and marbled boards clamshell case, spine gilt, gilt leather labels.
The first periodical printing of the United States Constitution, probably issued within
a week of its issuance as a broadside. The Constitutional Convention ratified its
final draft on Monday, September 17, 1787. The following day, September 18, the
broadside version, issued for members of the Convention, was printed by Dunlap
and Claypoole, the official printers. On September 19 the same printers issued
the first public printing of the Constitution in their newspaper, The Pennsylvania
Packet. The present magazine was probably printed late in the week, and the final
signature, containing the Constitution and recent news, was probably printed on
Saturday, September 22. This is the last internal date, on the last page, and actually
refers to an event that took place on the 17th as “Monday last.” From a survey of
Mott’s History of American Magazines in
the period, it seems that it was common
practice to issue monthly publications
by the last week of every month. This
issue would seem to have been out and in
general circulation by Monday the 24th,
one week after the end of the Convention. Its version of the Constitution was
executed, most likely, on the 22nd, four
days after the official broadside and three
days after the first public, newspaper,
appearance. This issue also contains the
text of John Quincy Adams’s Harvard
commencement address (he finished second in a class of fifty-one), which was
given in Cambridge on July 18, 1787. It
is his first published writing.
The Columbian Magazine was a distinguished publication of the period.
Mott calls it one of the best 18th-century
American magazines. It began in September, 1786, and was well established,
with Matthew Carey’s American Museum,
as one of the two major periodicals then being issued in Philadelphia, or for that
matter the country, at the time. Since the magazine probably had wider circulation
than the newspapers issued in Philadelphia, it is likely that this printing was one
of the chief means of disseminating the Constitution immediately after its first
publication. The front wrapper contains a striking engraving of an eagle perched
atop a globe.
An exceptionally early and important printing of the Constitution.
MOTT, HISTORY OF AMERICAN MAGAZINES I, pp.94-9. EVANS 20280. Wilbur
T. Roberts: “They Printed the Declaration and the Constitution” in The Mentor, July 1928,
pp.52-54. Leonard A. Rapport, “Printing the Constitution” in Prologue: The Journal of the
National Archives, Fall 1970, pp.69-89.
$8500.
The First American Army Regulations
140. [United States Continental Congress]: RULES AND ARTICLES
FOR THE BETTER GOVERNMENT OF THE TROOPS RAISED,
OR TO BE RAISED AND KEPT IN PAY BY AND AT THE EXPENCE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Philadelphia:
Printed by John Dunlap, 1776. 36pp. Original plain paper wrappers, stitched.
Spine worn, light wear and slight soiling. Discreet ink stamp inside rear cover.
Near fine, untrimmed. In a blue half morocco and cloth slipcase.
The first edition of one of the first and
most important acts of Congress after the
Declaration of Independence. On June
14, 1776 a committee was formed composed of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson,
John Rutledge, James Wilson, and Robert
R. Livingston. These committee members revised the 1775 code, which had
been published for “the Twelve United
English Colonies of North America.”
The present revised code was recast so as
to more closely resemble the British Articles of War. The Continental Congress
approved the revised Articles of War on
September 20, 1776, and they remained
in force, with one major revision, until
1806. This document is the foundation
of American military law. At the end is
printed a resolution of Congress, dated
August 21, 1776, and signed in print by
John Hancock as president, stating: “That
all persons...found lurking as Spies in or
about the fortifications or encampments
of the Armies of the United States...shall
suffer Death according to the law and usage of nations, by sentence of a CourtMartial....” It was under this ruling that Major André was executed for treason
in 1780.
EVANS 15187. NAIP w022042. HILDEBURN 3466. SABIN 74058. DNB VII, pp.58384.$25,000.
The Official Printing of the First American Treaty with Any Power,
with All the Official French Government Acts for 1778
141. [United States-France Treaty]: [France – Government Regulations]:
TRAITE D’AMITIE ET DE COMMERCE, CONLU ENTRE LE
ROI ET LES ETATS-UNIS DE L’AMERIQUE SEP TENTRIONALE, LE 6 FEVRIER, 1778. [Contained in a SAMMELBAND OF
MORE THAN 200 OFFICIAL FRENCH ACTS FOR THE YEAR
1778]. Paris: de l’Imprimerie Royale, 1778. 23pp. Various paginations for
the remainder of the volume. Thick quarto. Contemporary mottled French
calf, spine heavily gilt, gilt leather label. Minor wear to binding. Very minor
scattered soiling or foxing. Near fine.
The official French printing of the first FrenchAmerican treaty, the first treaty between the United
States and any other country, and a decisive moment
in the American Revolution. Having struggled to
find allies in their fight against England, the fledgling
United States achieved recognition from France when
news of Burgoyne’s defeat reached Paris. In February
1778 the American commissioners, Benjamin Franklin, Arthur Lee, and Silas Deane, negotiated both the
treaty of amity and commerce, published herein, and
a treaty of military alliance. Because France wished
to consult with its ally, Spain, the alliance treaty was
not immediately published in France, and probably
first appeared in print in Philadelphia; the amity
and commerce treaty was published immediately,
however, first appearing in this Paris edition. France
and the United States grant each other most-favorednation trade status and agree to protect each others’
commercial vessels. Both parties also agree to abstain from fishing in each others’
waters, with the United States especially agreeing to refrain from fishing on the
banks of Newfoundland. Howes records two Paris editions of 1778: this official
twenty-three-page printing, and another of eight pages.
This important treaty is contained in a sammelband with more than two hundred
other acts for 1778, touching on law and justice, currency, the press and publishing,
religion, provinces, royal and princely estate, hospitals and support, salt, traffic,
grain, wine trade, maintenance of roads, ports, etc. Some parts concern the navy,
France’s colonies, and relations with the United States. These were issued individually, but are bound here with a volume titlepage, as well as an analytic index and an
index by date. A veritable treasure trove of French laws and acts, in a handsome
contemporary binding.
BRUNET I:12. MALLOY, p.468. SABIN 96565. HOWES T328. ECHEVERRIA &
WILKIE 778/36. STREETER SALE 791.
$35,000.
Laws of the First Congress
142. [United States Laws]: ACTS PASSED AT A CONGRESS OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BEGUN AND HELD AT THE
CITY OF NEW-YORK, ON WEDNESDAY THE FOURTH OF
MARCH, IN THE YEAR M,DCC,LXXXIX: AND OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES, THE THIRTEENTH.
Published by Authority. Philadelphia: Printed by Francis Childs and John
Swaine, Printers to the United States, [1791]. xiv,[15]-93,[1],[1]pp. with leaf
F1 (pp.21-22) repeated. Folio. Stitched as issued. Titlepage and final two
leaves slightly soiled, particularly at edges. Contemporary annotation in margin
of titlepage. Slight age-toning and occasional minor soiling internally. Lower
third of final printed page (with brief errata) torn at bottom (no loss of text).
A very good copy.
The extremely rare 1791 Philadelphia printing of the acts of the first Congress of
the United States, originally published in its official edition by Childs and Swaine
in New York in 1789. The Acts contain much of the legislation fundamental to
the establishment of the government under the Constitution. The first Congress
met in New York on March 4, 1789 and continued until the end of September. It
officially ratified the Constitution (included here on pp.[v]-xii) and Washington’s
election as first U.S. president, and passed much of the most basic legislation for the
functioning of the new nation, regulating such departments as Customs, Judiciary,
Post Office, and the Mint. Much time was spent on the Bill of Rights, reprinted
in this edition on pages 92-93 and still including twelve amendments (the first two,
relating to the numbers in a congressional district and congressional salaries, were
later omitted). An extremely rare edition of a foundation work in the history of
American government. NAIP records only copies at LC and AAS, the latter copy
with titlepage mutilated, lacking pages 23-24, and with pages 21-22 repeated.
EVANS 23842. NAIP w014333.
$9500.
The First American Treaty with a Power Other than France:
Philadelphia Broadside Printing of the First U.S.-Netherlands Treaty
143. [United States-Netherlands Treaty]: BY THE UNITED STATES
IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED: A PROCLAMATION...A TREATY OF AMITY AND COMMERCE, BETWEEN THEIR HIGH
MIGHTINESSES, THE STATES GENERAL OF THE UNITED
NETHERLANDS, AND THE UNITED-STATES OF AMERICA...
[caption title]. [Philadelphia. 1783]. Broadside, 20 x 17 inches. Printed in
six columns. Docketed on the verso in a contemporary hand: “Proclamation
of Congress 1783.” A few minor tears along old fold marks, several words
affected in first and sixth columns of text. Gently tanned. Overall good.
A large broadside printing of the first treaty between the United States and the
Netherlands, signed at the Hague on Oct. 8, 1782 and ratified by Congress on Jan.
3, 1783. This is only the second treaty made by the United States with a power
other than France, and by it the Netherlands became the second nation to officially
recognize the United States. John Adams had concluded the treaty at the Hague
as plenipotentiary for the United States. Most of the twenty-nine articles of the
treaty concern trade, shipping, merchant ships, and the like. The text of an additional convention between the two powers relating to prize vessels is also printed
herein. Elias Boudinot’s name is printed at the end of the document as president
of Congress. A rare broadside printing of a treaty that marked the beginning of
the long friendship between the United States and the Netherlands.
This may be a unique example of this printing of the treaty. Shipton & Mooney
notes a broadside printing of this treaty at the New-York Historical Society, but
it is dated 1782 and may not include the notice that the treaty was approved by
Congress in January 1783. It is likely that this version was printed immediately
after ratification.
MALLOY, p.1233. SHIPTON & MOONEY 44280 (ref ).
$8500.
144. [United States Senate]: JOURNAL OF THE SECOND SESSION
OF THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
BEGUN AND HELD AT THE CITY OF NEW-YORK, JANUARY
4th, 1790; AND IN THE FOURTEENTH YEAR OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE SAID STATES. New York: John Fenno, 1790.
224pp., pp.222-224 misnumbered 122-124. Folio. Contemporary three-quarter
calf and marbled boards. Boards lightly stained and worn. Light, even toning.
Very good.
This copy has a distinguished provenance, bearing the ownership signature on the
front free endpaper and again on a front fly leaf of Benjamin Huntington. Huntington (1736-1800) graduated
Yale in 1761, became a lawyer, and was a member of the
Connecticut state House of Representatives for much
of the 1770s, serving as Speaker in 1778-79. He was a
member of the Second Continental Congress and was
elected to the first Congress of the United States as a
pro-administration candidate in 1788. Huntington was
also an ancestor of the noted book collector, Henry E.
Huntington.
The Senate journal of the second session of the first
Congress. Many important issues were settled in the discussions recorded herein, and many significant moments
in the nation’s history are treated in depth. Included are
the first State of the Union Message, discussions of state
surrender of western lands, notices of ratification of the
Bill of Rights, and discussions concerning the seat of
government and Hamilton’s fiscal proposals. There are
two issues of this Senate journal: the earlier issue (as in
the case here) has the final three pages misnumbered; in
the latter issue the pagination error has been corrected,
and an errata added.
A highly important journal describing some of the
founding legislation of the United States, with the provenance of a member of the
first United States Congress.
EVANS 22982. ESTC W20579.
$8500.
145. [United States Senate]: JOURNAL OF THE THIRD SESSION
OF THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
BEGUN AND HELD AT THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, DECEMBER 6th, 1790. Philadelphia: John Fenno, 1791. 203pp. Folio. Modern
three-quarter calf and marbled boards, spine gilt with leather labels. Lightly
foxed. Very good.
This copy bears the ownership signature of James Hillhouse (1754-1832), a New
Haven lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Congressman and later Senator.
The journal of the Senate recorded during the third session of the first Congress
and including its response to a State of the Union address by Washington detailing
issues with public credit and the northwest frontier; sundry acts authorizing the
President to discharge foreign debts; and “An Act Declaring the Consent of Congress, that a New State be Formed within the Jurisdiction of the Commonwealth
of Virginia, and Admitted into this Union by the name of the State of Kentucky.”
In all, many important issues were settled in the discussions recorded here, and
many significant events in the nation’s history are treated in depth.
NAIP w020589. EVANS 23901.
$4500.
Vermont and New York, and Waging the Revolution
from Albany in 1780
146. Varick, Richard: [AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM RICH-
ARD VARICK TO DIRCK ROMEYN, CONCERNING THE
BUSINESS OF THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE]. Albany. March 28, 1780. [3]pp., docketed on verso. Folio. Old fold lines. Light
soiling. Silked. Good.
Colonel Richard Varick writes to his friend, Rev. Dirck Romeyn, discussing news of
the New York State Legislature in Albany. Varick (1753-1831) was studying law at
the outbreak of the Revolution and subsequently served in the Continental Army.
At this point in his career, Varick’s commission as one of General Schuyler’s officers
had not been renewed and he had just left his father’s house in Hackensack where
he was pondering the renewal of his law career. He visited Albany to observe the
legislature before taking the post of inspector general at West Point. Dick Romeyn
(1744-1804), minister of the Reformed Church in Hackensack and later founder
of Union College, was staying at the home of Varick’s father, where he had just
endured a British attack, barely escaping by hiding himself and others in the attic.
Varick writes, in part:
As the person I write by is to go off this morning, I shall barely take time to
give you a little sketch of the business done by our legislature this session,
which will break up to now. Soon after my learning how many of the numbers
of the Upper House had got it in their noodles that they had a right & it was
exped[ient] to declare Vermont an independent state (as Congress had not
obliged on the subject) & to settle a line of jurisdiction between us.
The Governor, however, intervened, pointing out that such a resolution was the
business of the Congress and if they proceeded he would “prorogue the House. The
message was received with a degree of chagrin by some & pleasure by others....”
Varick also reports that the legislature has passed a law to raise two regiments,
among other laws. He closes by informing his friend that he plans to leave in May:
I cannot afford to live here nor can I get land money to defray the enormous
expenses of 4 dollars per meal for myself and horse....I can get books. I shall
go to Kingston in May. Of this I have some small hopes yet. I have no idea
of remaining in Albany at a monstrous expense....I hope in five days to write
you further. In the mean time let me congratulate you on your escape from
the hands of your enemies a few weeks since & for the signal interposition of
heaven in disappointing the miscreant wretches in the base designs.
Later in 1780, Varick became the chief aide to Benedict Arnold at West Point. As
such he came under considerable suspicion when Arnold’s treason was discovered
in September 1780. He was completely exonerated, and went on to be an aide to
Washington and a prominent New York politico, including a stint as Mayor of New
$2000.
York which got a street named after him. The Story of a Double Agent in the Revolution
147. Varick, Richard: [TWO AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENTS, EACH
SIGNED BY RICHARD VARICK, CONCERNING JAMES SEAGROVE]. New York. Nov. 21, 1786. 4pp., on a single folded sheet. Folio.
Old fold lines. Second leaf inlaid in a frame of later paper. Some light wear
and soiling. Very good. In a thick red half morocco and cloth clamshell case,
spine gilt.
Two separate depositions on the same sheet, each written and signed by Richard
Varick as the New York State Recorder. This was at the beginning of Varick’s illustrious political career; he later served as New York State Attorney General (1788-89),
and was Mayor of New York City from 1789 to 1801. The depositions concern
the whereabouts and activities of one James Seagrove during the Revolutionary
War. They were given by Charles McEvers and William Constable, and are each
similar, though some details do differ. James Seagrove (1747-1812) engaged in
various business activities with Constable during the war, and developed a network
of mercantile and diplomatic contacts with the Spanish and the Indians along the
Georgia borders. He seems to have been a double agent. The state and federal
governments used his talents in various missions to the southern tribes early in the
war. Then, Seagrove resided within the British lines in New York during 177778. He moved to Philadelphia while it was occupied by the British and remained
there after the British evacuation in June 1778. According to McEvers’ account,
Seagrove remained in Philadelphia until 1780, when he became an aide-de-camp
to General Lincoln in the Continental Army. According to Constable’s account,
Seagrove joined the Comte d’Estaing’s squadron and went to Rhode Island. Both
accounts agree, however, that Seagrove was captured with General Lincoln by Sir
Henry Clinton in May 1780, at Charleston. Exchanged in 1781, Seagrove went
to Havana, and “...remained out of the power of the British troops during the remainder of the war...,” according to the deposition, but out of the Americans’ reach
as well. $1250.
148. [Washington, George]: WEATHERWISE’S TOWN AND COUN-
TRY, ALMANACK, FOR THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1784; BEING BESSEXTILE [sic] OR LEAP-YEAR: AND THE EIGHTH
OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.... Boston: Norman and White,
[1783]. [24]pp. Pictorial self-wrappers, stitched as issued. Rather chipped
and frayed along edges. Toned and bit soiled, slight foredge gnawing affecting
astrological chart on one leaf. Else good.
An early and rare post-Revolutionary almanac, notable for the primitive woodcut
containing an almost cartoon-like portrait of “Victorious General Washington,
survey’d in pleasing attitudes...while Britannia deplores her loss of America.” The
caption beneath the cut reads: “Washington – Victory doth thy Trumpets sound, Who
are with Laurels, cover’d round.” NAIP attributes this almanac to Daniel George,
and says that Evans is incorrect in assigning it to David Rittenhouse. Another
issue, identical save for the titlepage, was also published in 1783 with the Boston
imprint of Nathaniel Coverly. “The illustration was...a sort of lifetime memorial
that reflected Washington’s legendary status among his countrymen by the time
the Revolution was over” – Wick. NAIP locates only six copies.
EVANS 18164. DRAKE 3337. HAMILTON 100. WICK, GEORGE WASHINGTON
AN AMERICAN ICON 18. NAIP w036459.
$1250.
149. Washington, George Augustine: [AU TOGRAPH LET TER,
SIGNED, FROM MAJ. GEORGE AUGUSTINE WASHINGTON
TO TOBIAS LEAR]. Mount Vernon. April 1, 1792. [3]pp. Quarto, on a
folded folio sheet. Old fold lines. Paper loss from wax seal, affecting closing
signature. Minor soiling. Very good.
Major George Augustine Washington, nephew of President George Washington
and caretaker of Mount Vernon, writes to his friend, Tobias Lear. Lear, who
served as George Washington’s personal secretary from 1786 to 1793 and 1798 to
1799, was very close to the General and his family. He would serve as executor
of Washington’s estate when he died, and is reputed to have destroyed some of
Washington’s personal papers in an effort to preserve the flawless and idealistic
facade of the Founding Father.
Washington’s letter to Lear expresses regret at his laxity in correspondence and
prolonged silence. He writes:
I, however, flatter myself that you will from the regard I am confident you have
for me not suffer it to diminish your friendship for me, mine for you I can truly
say is as strong as ever. The business I have to attend to leaves me so little
leisure that I am frequently obliged to neglect writing my friends and tho’ it
is the greatest sacrifice, I often omit my best friends, because I am persuaded
they will most readily pardon it.
He expresses a wish to visit with Lear again in the near future, but laments that
likely that will not be the case, as each of them is very busy. He also writes briefly
of his illness (he had tuberculosis) describing his trouble to Lear. He then asks if
Lear will purchase a riding coat for him:
I am yet an invalid, tho’ not so much so as I have been. I have frequently a
spasm in my head and breast, the former is sometimes very excruciating. I
have had in the course of the last fortnight two or three attacks of it, but I still
flatter myself that I shall recover or at least get the better of my complaints....
The inclosed bill of 27/3 I discharged for Maj. Jackson in Alexandria, which
I believe escaped his recollection and I told him I would do it for him. I will
thank you to present it to him with my respects. I am wanting something
light for a summer riding coat, deep blue I prefer, I however leave it to your
choice, but will only observe that it is intended for an every day riding coat and
would not wish an expensive things as the weather may soon be expected to
be warm; wish it as soon as convenient. Fanny writes in sincerest good wishes
for yourself, Mrs. Lear and Master Benjamin.
George A. Washington died just a few months later, in February 1793. Tobias
Lear, whose wife died in July 1793, married Washington’s widow, Frances Bassett
Washington, in 1795 (his first of two marriages to one of George Washington’s
nieces) furthering his close connection to that family. $1250.
150. Wayne, Anthony: [AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM
GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE TO LEWIS COHN, INSTRUCTING HIM TO CONTINUE SUPPLYING THE CONTINENTAL
ARMY IN GEORGIA WITH RICE & BEEF, TO BE SENT BY
WATER TO SAVANNAH]. Savannah [Ga.]. Aug. 9, 1782. [1]p. autograph
letter, signed, on a folded folio sheet. Docketed on the fourth page. Old fold.
Slight wear in upper edge (not affecting text). Near fine.
A brief letter from noted commander Anthony Wayne in Georgia in 1782, instructing purveyor Lewis Cohn to continue supplying rice and beef to the Continental
Army in Georgia. Wayne directs Cohn to send the foodstuffs to Savannah by
water, noting that the water route “will be a great saving in land carriage.” The
British took Savannah after a battle in late December, 1778, a key early victory in
the “Southern Strategy” of Sir Henry Clinton. The British held the city for nearly
three years, until July 1782, when they withdrew.
Anthony Wayne (1745-96) was an officer in the Continental Army who rose to
the rank of Major General by the end of the war; his fiery temper and skill in battle
earned him the sobriquet “Mad Anthony.” Wayne was one of Washington’s key
commanders and a colorful and forceful leader. After participating in the victory at
Yorktown, Anthony Wayne went south, working to sever the British alliances with
Indian tribes. In the postwar years Wayne served as a politician, most notably as a
delegate to the Pennsylvania convention that ratified the federal Constitution, before
being appointed by President Washington to head the army on the frontier of the
Northwest Territory in 1791. Over the next two years Wayne created a tough, lean
fighting force, leading his troops to victory over the Indians at the Battle of Fallen
Timbers in August 1794. He proceeded to establish numerous fortified outposts
in the Territory, dictating the Treaty of Greenville to his vanquished native foes in
August 1795. That treaty would bring a lasting peace to the Ohio frontier, allowing
for further unmitigated westward expansion by the United States.
Wayne writes: “Sir You are to continue to supply the troops in Georgia with rice
& beef at the rate of about five thousand rations a week. The rice may now with
safety be conveyed by water to Savannah with will be a great saving in land carriage.
I shall rely upon your care punctuality & correctness in this essential business.”
A good letter from early in the career of Anthony Wayne, written from Savan$2000.
nah in the wake of the British evacuation of the city. Lawrence Washington’s Copy
151. Weems, Mason L., and P. Horry: THE LIFE OF GEN. FRANCIS
MARION, A CELEBRATED PARTIZAN OFFICER, IN THE
REVOLUTIONARY WAR, AGAINST THE BRITISH AND TORIES, IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. Baltimore: Published by the Rev. M.L. Weems. J. Hagerty, Printer, 1815. 257pp. 12mo. Contemporary calf, neatly rebacked, retaining original gilt spine and leather label.
Ownership inscription of Lawrence Washington on front flyleaf and in text.
Small wormhole through center of text block. Light to moderate foxing and
tanning. About good.
“Third edition improved.” “General Horry furnished the facts, Parson Weems the
rhetoric; so much of it that Horry became indignant and disclaimed all connection
with the book. Unabashed, Weems continued its publication through many editions” – Howes. Marion was a hero of the Revolution, and it was largely due to
his actions and strategy that the turning point came in the South. Horry was his
most trusted officer; his biography of Marion helped to establish the general as the
legendary “Swamp Fox.” Sabin does not note this edition. With the ownership
inscription of Lawrence Washington, nephew of the first President.
HOWES H650.
$3000.
152. Willett, Marinus. [AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED TWICE,
FROM MARINUS WILLETT, RELAYING THE EVENTS SURROUNDING PROMISED PAYMENT OF BLANKETS TO THE
ONEIDA INDIANS IN 1781]. [N.p.] Jan. 26, 1792. [1]p. on folio sheet.
Several folds, top and left edges trimmed close with partial loss of a few letters. Very good.
Marinus Willett (1740-1830) served in the French and Indian War as well as the
American Revolution. After several ups and downs in his commission and assignments, Willett found himself as a colonel in command of the New York militia
tasked with the defense of the Mohawk Valley. After the Revolution, Willett served
in the New York State Assembly, as Sheriff of New York County (twice), American
emissary to the Creek Indians (resulting in the Treaty of New York), and later as
Mayor of New York City. It was during his second stint as Sheriff of New York
County that this particular letter was written. In the letter, Willett relates the
circumstances around which he promised blankets to a party of Oneida Indians in
October of 1781, during the latter days of the Revolutionary conflict, and likely
during the Battle of Johnstown.
The letter reads, in full:
I do hereby certify that on a pursuit of the enemy in the County of Montgomery
the latter end of October in the year 1781. In order to stimulate a party of
the Oneida Indians then with me, I promised in case of exerting themselves
to overtake the enemy who were put to flight that they should each of them
have a blanket – That in consequence of this promise they began a vigorous
pursuit and in a short time overtook and killed a number of the enemy – That
at my return it was not in my power to comply with the promise I had made
in behalf of the public. Nor have I since been able to have that engagement
complied with. New York January 26th, 1792. M. Willett. Note there were
sixty Indians in the party. M. Willett.
A lengthy and interesting recounting of an incident involving Willett’s Revolutionary
command and Native Americans in New York, signed twice by the Revolutionary
leader. $1500.
United States Agent to the Creeks, 1790
153. Willett, Marinus: A NARRATIVE OF THE MILITARY ACTIONS
OF COLONEL MARINUS WILLETT, TAKEN CHIEFLY FROM
HIS OWN MANUSCRIPT. New York. 1831. 162pp. Antique-style threequarter calf and marbled boards. Lightly foxed throughout. Very good.
An important work, both for the author’s part in the Revolutionary War and his
mission to the Creek Indians in 1790 on behalf of President Washington. Willett served as a young man in the French and Indian War, at the battle of Crown
Point, and played an active role in the Revolution. He accompanied Montgomery
to Quebec, served on the New York frontier in 1777, fought at Monmouth, and
played a major role in the Mohawk campaigns of 1781 and 1782. In 1790, Washington appointed Willett to act as agent for the United States in treating with the
Creeks. Willett sailed to Charleston and departed for Georgia on horseback. His
daily diary of that expedition and conferences with the Creeks is printed in full in
the present volume. The negotiations resulted in one of the first Indian treaties
concluded by the United States. The text was edited by Willett’s son.
HOWES W438. FIELD 1659.
$1250.
The Man Who Wrote the Constitution:
A Primary Work of American Political Thought
154. [Wilson, James]: CONSIDERATIONS ON THE NATURE AND
THE EXTENT OF THE LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY OF THE
BRITISH PARLIAMENT. Philadelphia: Printed and Sold, by William
and Thomas Bradford..., 1774. iv,35pp. Modern three-quarter calf and contemporary marbled boards. Light foxing and toning. Very good.
James Wilson was destined to become
one of the most important figures in
early Federal politics, most notably for
his leading role in drafting the Constitution and working toward its passage,
ultimately becoming a signer of the
Declaration of Independence. “Born in
Scotland, Wilson emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1765 in the midst of the Stamp
Act disturbances. He became the head
of a committee of correspondence at
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and was a delegate to the First Continental Congress
in 1774. Upon arriving at the Congress
he distributed this pamphlet, which concluded that Parliament had no authority
over the colonies in any instance. Only
a few had taken such an advanced position even by 1774, but Wilson had come
to this conclusion four years before he
published this essay” – Wellsprings of a
Nation. Many historians have ranked
Wilson’s pamphlet with John Adams’
Thoughts on Government in influence
and significance.
A fundamentally important statement of Revolutionary political philosophy.
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 149. WELLSPRINGS OF NATION 122. EVANS
13775. NAIP w020076. HILDEBURN 3137. HOWES W526, “aa.” SABIN 104629.
$42,500.
155. Wynne, John Huddleston: A GENERAL HISTORY OF THE BRIT-
ISH EMPIRE IN AMERICA: CONTAINING AN HISTORICAL,
POLITICAL, AND COMMERCIAL VIEW OF THE ENGLISH
SETTLEMENTS; INCLUDING ALL THE COUNTRIES IN
NORTH-AMERICA, AND THE WEST-INDIES, CEDED BY
THE PEACE OF PARIS. London. 1770. Two volumes. [2],vi,[iii]-viii,520;
[2],vi,546pp., plus folding map. Contemporary calf, spine gilt, leather label.
Hinges rubbed but sound, some light wear to spines. Contemporary bookplate
of Sir Edward Blackett on front pastedowns. Map backed with linen. Minor
scattered foxing, but generally clean and fresh internally. Very good.
Second state of the first edition of this work, originally issued under a slightly different
title in 1769. That work, which drops the word “General” from the title, indicated
that it would be published in three volumes, though only the first volume appeared
in 1769, and in the end it consisted of only the two volumes, as in the present copy.
“A survey of the general history and development of the North American colonies,
with an interesting discussion of the state of the colonies, especially with regard to
agriculture and foreign trade” – Bell catalogue. The first volume includes an account of the French and Indian War. A few copies of this work were issued with
additional plans and maps, while some copies seem to have been issued without
any illustrations at all; we have once before handled a set with the map, as here.
This set has the bookplate of Sir Edward Blackett, who was a member of Parliament from Northumberland at the time the book was published.
HOWES W726, “aa.” AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 66-33b. BEINECKE LESSER
ANTILLES COLLECTION 280. RAGATZ 180. SABIN 105682A. CLARK I:329. BELL
W210. GEPHART 3029. SERVIES 489. ESTC T145445.
$1750.
F requently C ited R eferences
Abbey – Travel in Aquatint and Lithography 1770 – 1860... London. 1956-57. 2 vols.
Adams Herd – Adams, Ramon F.: The Rampaging Herd.... Norman. [1959].
Adams Six-Guns – Adams, Ramon F.: ...Six-Guns and Saddle Leather...New Edition... [Norman. 1969].
American Controversy – Adams, Thomas R: The American Controversy.... Providence/N.Y.
1980. 2 vols.
AII (State) – American Imprints Inventory. These were compiled for many early imprints by
state as a WPA program in the 1930s, and remain basic references.
American Independence – Adams, Thomas R.: American Independence.... New Haven: Reese
Co. 1980.
Bell – The James Ford Bell Library...Catalogue. Boston. 1981.
Borba de Moraes – Borba de Moraes, Rubens: Bibliographia Brasilian...1504 to 1900.... Rio
de Janeiro. 1983. 2 vols. Revised and enlarged edition.
Church – Church, Elijah D. A Catalogue of...a Part of the Library of E.D. Church. N.Y. 1907.
5 vols.
Clark – Clark, Thomas D.: Travels in the Old South.... Norman. [1956]. 3 vols.
Clark, New South – Clark, Thomas D.: Travels in the New South.... Norman. 1962. 2 vols.
Cowan – Cowan, Robert E. and Robert G.: A Bibliography of the History of California....
S.F. 1933. 2nd edition.
DAB – Dictionary of American Biography.... N.Y. 1928-37. 21 vols.
De Renne – Catalogue of the Wymberley Jones De Renne Georgia Library.... Wormsloe. 1931.
3 vols.
Decker – Peter Decker’s Catalogues of Americana...22 [- 50], 1944 [- 1963].... Austin. 1979. 3 vols.
DNB – Dictionary of National Biography.... London. 1908-12. 24 vols.
Eberstadt – The Annotated Eberstadt Catalogs of Americana.... N.Y. 1965. 4 vols.
European Americana – European Americana...1493 – 1750. N.Y. & New Canaan. 1980- . 6 vols.
Evans – Evans, Charles: American Bibliography...[American imprints before 1801]. Chicago.
1903-34/55. 14 vols.
Field – Field, Thomas W.: An Essay Towards an Indian Bibliography.... New Haven: Reese
Co., 1991.
Gephart – Gephart, Ronald M.: Revolutionary America.... Washington. 1984. 2 vols.
Graff – Storm, Colton: A Catalogue of the Everett D. Graff Collection.... Chicago. 1968.
Grolier American 100 – One Hundred Influential American Books.... N.Y. 1947.
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