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Catalogue 261 Early & Exotic Imprints |
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Section II: Canada to Louisiana |
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Papers
on Book Collecting by William S. Reese
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>> Canada Extensive Run of a Rare 29. [Canada]: [RUN OF EIGHTY-FOUR ISSUES OF THE Quebec Gazette PLUS THIRTEEN SUPPLEMENTS]. Quebec: Printed by Brown & Gilmore, May 29, 1766 – Dec. 24, 1767. Eighty-four issues, [4]pp. each, comprised of numbers 73-156 plus [2]pp. supplements for numbers 80, 81, 82, 87, 91, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 132, 142, and 143, printed in double-column format in English and French. Folio. Dbd. First issue in the set (No. 73) with mutilated caption title, closed scissor tear, obliterated ink stamp, with partial loss of caption title. Issue No. 156 with one advertisement neatly excised from final leaf. Uniform tanning. Remaining issues all very good. In a cloth case, leather label. A remarkable run of this very early Canadian publication, comprising a wonderful digest of events in British colonial America, and a gauge of commercial and social events during the early years of British controlled Quebec. The Quebec Gazette was established in June 1764 as a bilingual weekly newspaper, for the dissemination of "foreign affairs, political transactions...of the several powers of Europe, occurrences of the Mother Country, also events, debates, etc., of amusement and interest to people...[and] Material occurrences of the American Colonies and West-Indian Islands...." The extensive run offered here, comprised of eighty-four numbers and thirteen supplements, begins with number 73, in which the original publishers, Brown and Gilmore, resumed publication of the Quebec Gazette after a hiatus of some years. In that issue (May 29, 1766) the publishers reiterate their editorial policy:
In later years, however, during the American Revolution, the Quebec Gazette showed its Loyalist colors by becoming a sort of quasi-government publication, printing official proclamations and the like. The thirteen supplements contained in this offering served as a means to disseminate official proclamations governing the province of Quebec. A long run of this most important early Canadian newspaper, and a gold mine of events in British colonial America. TREMAINE, pp.629-39. $18,500. 30. [Canadian Laws]: ORDINANCES MADE AND PASSED BY THE GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC. AND NOW IN FORCE IN THE PROVINCE OF LOWER-CANADA. Quebec: William Vondenvelden, 1795. [4],214,[8]pp., in parallel English and French on facing pages. Quarto. Modern three-quarter morocco and older marbled boards. Very good. From an edition limited to 600 copies. An early compilation of ordinances for Lower Canada, the first revision of the provincial statutes since 1767. "This volume contains those laws enacted and revised from 1767 to the date of publication by the first parliament of Canada" – Lande. "This work is frequently found, and was apparently issued, as a part of A Collection of Acts...1800...It does not appear to have been reprinted for that publication (as some of the parts indubitably were). Most of the copies of Ordinances located are on paper with the date 1794 in the water mark" – Tremaine. TPL 641. LANDE 569. TREMAINE 942. DIONNE III:30. $1750. 31. [Quebec Act]: ANNO REGNI GEORGII III...DECIMO QUARTO...AN ACT FOR MAKING MORE EFFECTUAL PROVISION FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC IN NORTH AMERICA.... [bound with:] AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A FUND TOWARDS FURTHER DEFRAYING THE CHARGES OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE AND SUPPORT OF THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT WITHIN THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC IN AMERICA. [bound with:] AN ACT TO REPEAL CERTAIN PARTS OF AN ACT PASSED IN THE FOURTEENTH YEAR OF HIS MAJESTY’S REIGN INTITULED AN ACT FOR MAKING MORE EFFECTUAL PROVISION FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC.... Quebec: Printed by William Vondenvelden, 1797. Three parts bound in one volume, 59pp. of continuous pagination, with text in parallel English and French on opposite pages. Quarto. Modern half calf and cloth, leather label. Very good. The first printing thus of this foundation stone of Canadian government, containing the text of the Quebec Act of 1774, the Quebec Revenue Act of the same year, and the Constitutional Act of 1791. These acts comprise the British statutes fundamental to the establishment of a Canadian government. The Quebec Act was the first official act by the British government for the administration of Canada, and a bill viewed as one of the Intolerable Acts in the other American colonies. By this bill the province of Quebec was extended to the Ohio River on the south and the Mississippi River on the west, effectively putting under British military rule much of the hinterland claimed by various other colonies. To placate the French inhabitants, the bill allows free exercise of Catholicism and French civil law. "Colonial propagandists effectively used the Quebec Act to widen the breach between the mother country and the colonies by declaring the British government intended to use the ‘Popish slaves’ of Quebec to establish the doctrines of royal absolutism throughout the American colonies" – Dictionary of American History. For Canada, however, it was the first Parliamentary guarantee of rights to any of its citizens and the beginning of a system of government; and together with the Revenue Act of the same year and the Constitutional or Canada Act of 1791, it serves as the foundation for Canada’s government. The copy described by Lande was apparently a later printing, issued in a collection of documents, with paper watermarked 1818. The copy in hand is one of the original 1797 printing, printed on grayish laid paper, with paper watermarked 1794. See Tremaine for a discussion of the various printings. TREMAINE 1040. TPL 627. LANDE 349 (probably a later printing). DIONNE 46-47. DAH IV, p.388. Charles H. Metzger, The Quebec Act (New York, 1936). $2000. 32. Plessis, Joseph Octave: DISCOURS A L’OCCASION DE LA VICTOIRE REMPORTÉE PAR LES FORCES NAVALES DE SA MAJESTÉ BRITANNIQUE DANS LA MEDITERRANNÉE LE 1 ET 2 AOUT 1798, SUR LA FLOTTE FRANÇOISE. PRONONCÉ DANS L’EGLISE CATHEDRALE DE QUEBEC LE 10 JANVIER.... Quebec. [1799]. [6],24pp. Half title. Gathered signatures, stitched as issued. Some curling at foredges, outer leaves bit dusty, old library stamps on titlepage and half title. Else very good, untrimmed. An important goodwill discourse extolling British control, issued soon after the British conquest of Canada. Plessis cites the advantages of British rule, including freedom of religion, popular participation in government, smaller tax burden, better criminal code, and the retention of respect for Catholic institutions. "Plessis, born in Montreal, was educated there and at the Séminaire de Québec. He entered orders, was consecrated priest in 1786 and succeeded Rev. Auguste-David Hubert as curé of Quebec in 1792...Plessis became one of the most distinguished prelates and efficient administrators of the Catholic church in Canada...He was created the first archbishop and reorganized his vast diocese from Prince Edward Island to Upper Canada" – Tremaine. Sixteen copies are located by Tremaine. LANDE 2079. TREMAINE 1140. TPL 731. $1000. Very Rare Book of Canadian Songs 33. Durant, Laurens: CANTIQUES DE MARSEILLES ACCOMMODÉS À DES AIRS VULGAIRES, PAR M. LAURENT DURANT PRÊTRE DU DIOCESE DE TOULON.... Quebec: Imprimé a la Nouvelle Imprimerie, 1800. 422,[2]pp. Thick 12mo. Contemporary calf over boards. Binding heavily worn, front board and first several signatures detached. All leaves present, but many are soiled or have closed tears due to heavy use, and ten have some loss affecting text (five severely). A worn but intact copy. In a fine cloth chemise and slipcase, gilt morocco label. A very rare Canadian 18th-century imprint, publishing popular songs of France. This copy shows signs of heavy use, and virtually all copies must have been worn to pieces. Tremaine records only four copies, two of them imperfect. In addition to these, there are imperfect copies in the Lande collection at McGill and TPL. Thus, despite the problems of this copy, it is the best in existence after the one at Laval University and a copy recorded by Tremaine in a private collection. TREMAINE 1173. TPL 6681. LANDE 11746. $3750. 34. [Canadian Laws]: CAPITULATIONS AND EXTRACTS OF TREATIES RELATING TO CANADA; WITH HIS MAJESTY’S PROCLAMATION OF 1763, ESTABLISHING THE GOVERNMENT OF QUEBEC. CAPITULATIONS ET EXTRAITS DES TRAITÉS CONCERNANT LE CANADA; AVEC LA PROCLAMATION DE SA MAJESTÉ, DE 1763, QUI ÉTABLIT LE GOUVERNEMENT DE QUÉBEC. [Québec: P.E. Desbarats, 1800]. 41pp., with text in parallel English and French on facing pages. Quarto. Modern half calf and cloth, leather label. Very good. The first printing of this important legal compilation for Quebec. This genuine 1800 edition can be distinguished from numerous reprints by its coarse mesh wove paper containing the watermark: "COBBS Patent 1798." The work is comprised of the following: "Articles of capitulation demanded by Mr. de Ramsay (Sept. 18, 1759)"; "Articles of Capitulation between Major-General Amherst and the Marquis de Vaudreuil" (Sept. 8, 1760); "The Fourth article of the definitive treaty of peace between Great Britain and France...containing the Cession of Canada"; "By the King, a Proclamation Oct. 7, 1763"; and "Articles of the definitive treaty concluded at Paris, between his Britannic Majesty and the U.S.A., Sept. 3, 1783." TREMAINE 1174. TPL 742. LANDE 395. VLACH 356. $1500. 35. Ermatinger, Edward: LIFE OF COLONEL TALBOT AND THE TALBOT SETTLEMENT, ITS RISE AND PROGRESS, WITH SKETCHES OF THE PUBLIC CHARACTERS, AND CAREER OF SOME OF THE MOST CONSPICUOUS MEN IN UPPER CANADA, WHO WERE EITHER FRIENDS OR ACQUAINTANCES OF THE SUBJECT OF THESE MEMOIRS. St. Thomas: Printed at A. McLachlin’s Home Journal Office, 1859. [6],230pp. Errata slip. 12mo. Half morocco and marbled boards. Ex-lib., old stamp on titlepage and several other pages. Else a clean, very good copy. A presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free fly leaf. A scarce account of Talbot’s enterprise in Upper Canada, including his army experiences during 1790-94, and a historical sketch of his settlement established on the western peninsula of Upper Canada, beginning in 1803 until his death in 1853. Contains a chapter on the War of 1812. An unusual and obscure Canadian imprint. SABIN 22773. LANDE 211. TPL 3358. $500. Micmac Matthew 36. [Bible in Micmac]: PELA KESAGUNOODUMUMKAWA TAN TULA UKSAKUMAMENOO WESTOWOOKLW’ SASOOGOOLE CLISTAWIT COTENINK, MEGUMOWEESIMK. Chebootook: Megumagea’ Ledakun-Weekugukemkawa Moweome, 1871. 126pp. 12mo. Original cloth. Very good. Following the successful early efforts of the 1850s to translate Matthew, John, Luke, Genesis, Acts, and Psalms into Micmac, the 1860s were spent using the new tools and in learning from errors in the first efforts. The 1870s saw major efforts at revision: Matthew and John were the first to be revised. Printed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, they have a pronunciation guide printed on the verso of the titlepages. We are proud to offer "Matthew" in this new version, which Darlow and Moule state is a revised edition of No. 6781, published in 1853. PILLING, ALGONQUIAN, p.420. BANKS, p.95. EVANS 521. DARLOW & MOULE 6788. $750. Matthew and John Together, 37. [Bible in Micmac]: PELA KESAGUNOODUMUMKAWA TAN TULA UKSAKUMAMENOO WESTOWOOKLW’ SASOOGOOLE CLISTAWIT COTENINK, MEGUMOWEESIMK. Chebootook: Megumagea’ Ledakun-Weekugukemkawa Moweome, 1871. 126pp. [bound with:] WOOLEAGUNOODUMAKUN TAN TULA SANEKU. MEGUMOWEESIMK [sic]. Chebootook: Megumagea’ Ledakun-Weekugukemkawa Moweome, 1872. 103,[1 (blank)]pp. 12mo. Contemporary purple cloth in imitation pebbled morocco. Binding lightly rubbed, hinges starting. Overall an impressively good copy. Following the successful early efforts of the 1850s to translate Matthew, John, Luke, Genesis, Acts, and Psalms into Micmac, the 1860s were spent using the new tools and in learning from errors in the first efforts. The 1870s saw major efforts at revision: Matthew and John, the two gospels offered here, were the first to be revised. Printed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, they have a pronunciation guide printed on the verso of the titlepages. DARLOW & MOULE 6788, 6789. SIEBERT SALE 81. $1500. >> Georgia A Rare West Florida Land Grant 38. [Florida]: [WEST FLORIDA BRITISH LAND GRANT, SIGNED BY FLORIDA TERRITORIAL GOVERNOR PETER CHESTER]. [Savannah or Jamaica? ca. 1772]. Broadside, 7¼ x 9½ inches, completed in manuscript, tipped to card stock. Chipped at edges, closed tear along one fold, none affecting text. Good. A West Florida land grant signed by Peter Chester, British governor of the territory, deeding 1350 acres to Thomas Boyd, a captain in the British Army. The document is dated Sept. 1, 1772. This grant is undoubtedly the product of the Proclamation of 1763, which enabled liberal land grants to British officers who served in the French and Indian War. A group of similar land grants appeared in the Streeter sale accompanied by a note from Streeter asserting that, based on their curious watermarks, they were samples from the earliest Florida press. Servies, in the seminal A Bibliography of Florida, later wrote: "However, no evidence of a press in West Florida prior to 1821 has come to light. These and other administrative forms in use in the colony may have been printed in New York, Philadelphia, or Jamaica." That being said, a case for Savannah might also be made. When the British acquired Florida in the settlement of the French and Indian War in 1763, Savannah was the closest British press to the new land. Given that the grant was probably executed in Pensacola or Mobile, it is very possible the documents were printed in Savannah, perhaps even from the press of James Johnston, the first Georgia printer. A most interesting West Florida document. STREETER SALE 1187 (ref). SERVIES 543 (ref). $1500. 39. Holcombe, Henry: A SERMON, OCCASIONED BY THE DEATH OF LIEUTENANT-GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON, LATE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...FIRST DELIVERED IN THE BAPTIST CHURCH, SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, JANUARY 19th.... [Savannah]: Printed by Seymour & Woolhopter, on the Bay, [1800]. 16,[2]pp. Small quarto. Gathered signatures. Worming throughout, affecting a few words on each page. Good only. In a folding half morocco and cloth case. A very rare early Georgia imprint, regarded as the scarcest of printed Washington eulogies. Most of the books and pamphlets printed in Georgia previous to this work were government publications, broadsides, and other minor publications of an ephemeral nature. Henry Holcombe was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia in 1762. He enlisted in the Revolutionary army and obtained the rank of captain. Upon leaving the army, he began to preach, and in 1785 he was ordained pastor of a Baptist church in Pike Creek, South Carolina. He served as a delegate to the South Carolina constitutional convention. After several other pastorates, he accepted a call to Savannah, where he delivered this enthusiastic eulogy to the deceased president. A desirable Georgia imprint. DE RENNE, p.293. EVANS 37634. SABIN 32464. STILLWELL, WASHINGTON EULOGIES 105. $1250. >> New Hampshire 40. [New England]: KNOWN ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS.... [Massachusetts or New Hampshire. ca. 1760s]. Printed broadside, approximately 12¾ x 7¾ inches, completed in manuscript, signed and dated 1768. Remnants of wax seal at signatures. One horizontal and two vertical folds. Separation at a few folds, not exceeding 1½ inches and not affecting text. Minor foxing. Very good. A colonial-era blank form, presumably printed in Massachusetts or New Hampshire in the 1760s. The present copy is completed in manuscript and signed by Josiah Hook, Frances Hook, and Dyer Hook, dated Feb. 4, 1768, documenting a sale of land in northeastern Massachusetts by Josiah Hook to his father, Jacob Hook.
The manuscript text continues on to describe the area and locations of the land being sold. $350. Establishing the Militia 41. [New Hampshire]: IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND SEVENTY SIX. STATE OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. AN ACT FOR FORMING AND REGULATING THE MILITIA WITHIN THE STATE OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE IN NEW-ENGLAND, AND FOR REPEALING ALL THE LAWS HERETOFORE MADE FOR THAT PURPOSE. Exeter, N.H. 1776. pp.27-42. Folio. Gathered signatures, stab holes and some stitching present. Small tears and chips at edges. Large, horizontal closed tear in first leaf, affecting but causing no loss to text. Light scattered foxing. Good. One of the first acts of an independent New Hampshire, with strong Revolutionary War content. This is the first act in the continuously paginated series, printed and issued from 1776 to 1778, in which New Hampshire is referred to as a "state" rather than a colony. NAIP locates only three copies. Rare. SHIPTON & MOONEY 14900. WHITTEMORE 189. $1500. New Hampshire Grants 42. [New Hampshire]: IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND SEVENTY SIX. COLONY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. AN ACT FOR ENCOURAGING THE FIXING OUT OF ARMED VESSELS, TO DEFEND THE SEA COAST OF AMERICA, AND TO CRUIZE ON THE ENEMIES OF UNITED STATES COLONIES, AS ALSO FOR ERECTING A COURT, TO TRY AND CONDEMN ALL SHIPS...GOODS, WARES AND MERCHANDIZES, BELONGING TO ANY INHABITANT OR INHABITANTS OF GREAT BRITAIN, TAKEN ON THE HIGH SEAS. [Exeter, N.H.]. 1776. pp.19-25. Folio. Gathered signatures. Upper inner margin of signatures soiled and badly chipped, affecting but causing no loss to text. Some small tears in text block and edges. Light scattered foxing. A fair copy. The first military act passed by an independent New Hampshire, at the outset of the Revolutionary War, providing for granting letters of marque and maritime defense. NAIP locates only two copies, at the New Hampshire Historical Society and The New York Public Library. Rare. EVANS 14900. NAIP w015173. WHITTEMORE 189. $1500. New Hampshire Sets Price Controls 43. [New Hampshire]: STATE OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND SEVENTY SEVEN. AN ACT, IN ADDITION TO AN ACT, INTITLED, AN ACT, FOR THE REGULATING OF PRICES OF SUNDRY ARTICLES THEREIN ENUMERATED. Exeter, N.H. 1777. pp.55-58. Folio. Unbound signature. Chipping and mildew in upper inner margin of leaves, affecting but causing no loss to text. Soft creases, small marginal tears. Light scattered foxing and staining. Good. An early act of the state of New Hampshire, setting up early price controls to fight inflation. In 1777 the over-printing of colonial currency set inflationary spirals in effect in many states. NAIP locates only one copy, at Harvard. BRISTOL B4526. SHIPTON & MOONEY 43304. WHITTEMORE 206. $1500. >> Vermont 44. [Vermont]: STATUTES OF THE STATE OF VERMONT. PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURE IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH 1787. Winsor: Printed by George Hough and Alden Spooner, 1787. 171pp. Quarto. Contemporary calf, raised bands. Two small holes in titlepage, with loss of "t" in "vermont." Old tape repair near gutter of leaf L1. Tanned, first few leaves with some foxing and soiling. Bookplate and book label. Withal, a good, solid copy. Early Vermont laws and imprint. EVANS 20827. McCORISON 136. SABIN 99103. $1250. Authorizing a Convention 45. [Vermont]: ACTS AND LAWS PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF VERMONT, AT THEIR SESSION AT CASTLETON, THE SECOND THURSDAY OF OCTOBER, 1790. [Windsor, Vt.: Printed by Alden Spooner, 1790]. 11pp. Small quarto. Printed self-wrappers, stitched. Titlepage and some margins foxed, tanned throughout. Horizontal fold, with tear along fold in most leaves, affecting some text. ½ x 2½-inch tear in final leaf, with loss of about a dozen words. Early light stains. Early name ("Hon. Benj. Burt, Esq." and "Samuel Avery") and numerical ink inscriptions in margins of titlepage. A good copy, untrimmed. In a half morocco box. Early laws of the State of Vermont, passed shortly before its admittance to the Union as the fourteenth state, and containing two acts of great significance. "An Act to authorize the People of this State to meet in Convention, to deliberate upon and agree to the Constitution of the United States" (p.4) represented a final step in Vermont’s progress toward becoming the first state to enter the Union under the U.S. Constitution. "An Act directing the payment of thirty thousand Dollars to the state of Newyork, and declaring what shall be the Boundary line between the State of Vermont and State of Newyork..." (pp.9-10) settled the long-running and vicious land dispute between the two states and finally established their permanent border, making it possible to define Vermont as a new State. Other acts cover internal political boundaries, the post office, state printers, taxes, duties, and powers of the courts. An important and scarce document, with only ten copies located between NAIP, OCLC, and McCorison. McCORISON 186. EVANS 23013. SABIN 99108. $3500. >> South Carolina An Extraordinary Run 46. [South Carolina]: ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.... Charleston. 1787-1801. Sixteen issues: fourteen issues bound in two volumes, plus two separate, stitched. Bound volumes: 77,[2]; 34; [2],7,[1]; [3],4-59,[2],61-62,[2]; 18; 98,[4]; 60,[4]; 3-81; [2],31; 59,[3],88,[2]; [3],62-132,[2]; [3],104-172,[2]; 44,[2],46,[2]; 98,[2]pp. Some with irregular pagination. Separate issues: 86pp. with "81" repeated once; 80,[3]pp. Folio. Bound volumes in contemporary three-quarter calf and marbled boards, gilt red and green morocco labels. Slight wear to corners. Contemporary ownership signature on first leaf of most. Mild browning throughout. Some leaves trimmed close with slight loss. First bound volume with moderate to heavy worming in upper margin of first half. First issue lacks titlepage, with manuscript title-slip tipped to upper margin of first leaf. Eighth issue lacks last four pages. Separate issues each in gathered signatures, stitched, in a cloth clamshell case. Moderate dust soiling on edges of first separate issue, contemporary annotations throughout. Both internally clean. Overall very good. An impressive collection of South Carolina laws, covering 1787 to 1800. Any Charleston imprints from the Evans period are rare, and a complete run of this sort in contemporary bindings is extremely rare. The first separate issue with the collection is a complete printing of the December 1792 laws, which effectually replaces the bound variant which lacks the last four pages. The second separate issue, the December 1794 laws, does not appear in the bound volumes. A most important assemblage of imprints. EVANS 20715, 21468, 22152, 22153, 22895, 23871, 24084, 26182, 27719, 31219, 32856, 34573, 34576, 36336. GOULD & MORGAN 853, 877, 906, 914, 936, 949, 980, 1008, 1053, 1108, 1182, 1233, 1270, 1309. $12,500. >> North Carolina The Iredell Laws of North Carolina 47. [North Carolina]: LAWS OF THE STATE OF NORTH-CAROLINA. PUBLISHED, ACCORDING TO ACT OF ASSEMBLY, BY JAMES IREDELL, NOW ONE OF THE ASSOCIATE JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. Edenton, N.C.: Printed by Hodge & Wills, 1791. iv,[2],712,xxi pp. plus 3pp. subscribers list. Folio. Contemporary tooled sheep, raised bands, gilt morocco label. Boards a bit rubbed and scuffed, worn at edges and corners. Chipped at head of spine. Internally clean and fresh. A very good copy. The celebrated "Iredell edition" of the laws of the state of North Carolina was compiled and revised by the noted jurist, James Iredell, who was named a justice of the Supreme Court before he turned forty. Iredell collected in chronological order all the laws then in force in the state, dating back to the early 18th century, and also provided an extensive subject index. A crucial collection of the laws of North Carolina. McMURTRIE (NORTH CAROLINA) 170. EVANS 23641. SABIN 55637. $4750. Insurance Law for North Carolina, 1802 48. Evans, William David: ESSAYS ON THE ACTION FOR MONEY HAD AND RECEIVED, ON THE LAW OF INSURANCES, AND ON THE LAW OF BILLS OF EXCHANGE AND PROMISSORY NOTES. Newbern, N.C. 1802. [4],iii,[1],xi,[1],83,[1],94,151,[2]pp. plus 1p. of ads. Contemporary calf, morocco label, gilt. Calf scuffed, front hinge loosening. Tanned. Very good. Laid in is a seven-page contemporary manuscript of legal notes. Early Newbern printing of this British work on insurance law. Shaw & Shoemaker note only three locations. THORNTON 4056. COHEN 2409. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 2199. $1500. 49. [North Carolina]: Swaim, Benjamin [ed]: THE MAN OF BUSINESS [VOLUME 1]. [New Salem, N.C.]. July 1833 – July 1834. 440pp. 12mo. Modern three-quarter polished calf and marbled boards, leather labels. Tanned and rather foxed, some minor marginal paper repairs to first leaf, else very good. An unusual and early North Carolina compilation of legal advice and form documents, comprised of the twelve monthly numbers which make up Volume 1. Benjamin Swaim, a North Carolina attorney, published and edited this curious legal compendium, whose stated purpose was to "show how to draw and execute properly all deeds and writings obligatory; such for instance as conveyances, mortgages, trusts, conditional sales, wills, leases, covenants...." Swaim published a total of twenty-four numbers (two volumes) of the work. Issue number four contains the text of the United States Constitution. The NUC locates six sets of volumes 1 and 2 (apparently all that was ever published). A most unusual North Carolina practical legal advisor. COHEN 8225. AMERICAN IMPRINTS 26998. $500. >> Tennessee Unrecorded Broadside 50. [Cherokees]: REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE TO WHOM WAS REFERRED THE MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, OF THE SECOND ULTIMO, ACCOMPANYING THE COPY OF A LETTER FROM THE GOVERNOR OF THE TERRITORY SOUTH OF THE RIVER OHIO, TO THE SECRETARY AT WAR, DATED THE NINETEENTH OF DECEMBER LAST. [No place, but possibly Knoxville, Tn. after March 10, 1796]. Broadside, 15½ x 10¾ inches, printed in double-column format. Contemporary inscription on verso: "Report Comt. Congress Re Georgia Lands." Dampstaining, some areas of wear, several unobtrusive pin holes, old tape staining at edges, contemporary ink numerical notations on verso visible on recto. Very good. This unrecorded broadside prints the March 10, 1796 report of a House committee "instructed to enquire whether any, and what Relief ought to be granted to Persons claiming Lands in the Territory of the United States south of the River Ohio, under purchases made from the State of North Carolina, which have been since secured to the Indians by Treaty." The report reviews the history of North Carolina’s claims to the region, including North Carolina’s cession of the western lands, and outlines the limits of both the Treaty of Hopewell and the Treaty of Holston. After the American Revolution, North Carolina passed legislation extending the western boundary of the state to the Mississippi River and with the Land Grant Act of 1783, began accepting applications for settler’s grants in the region. However, under Hamilton’s public credit plan and the federal government’s Assumption Act of 1790, North Carolina and the other states ceded their western territories to the government in exchange for federal assumption of Revolutionary War debt. Earlier, the Confederation government had already made the Treaty of Hopewell with the Cherokee tribe, recognizing their right to areas in western North Carolina and west of the French Broad River in what is now Tennessee. During the period from 1783 to 1790, however, North Carolina made grants of western land, despite its Indian title. In 1791, at the Treaty of Holston, the federal government, now in control of the western territory, reaffirmed the Cherokee holdings. The American claimants, now dispossessed but determined to hold their lands, wrangled with Congress for years to try and support their claims, but in this report they got little support. After review, it was concluded that the committee "cannot find that the said claimants have any other than a pre-emptive right to the said lands, and are of opinion, that they cannot, or right, claim any thing more of this government, than a confirmation of that title...." The present broadside is entirely unrecorded, with both Evans and Sabin citing the six-page federal printing in Philadelphia. This broadside was clearly issued to convey a summation of that report to those most vitally concerned; there would have been no reason for such a broadside printing in any other context. This would have been in the lands of eastern Tennessee, where printing had begun in Knoxville with the press of George Roulstone in 1791. Broadsides and a book from this press (the first laws of Tennessee) exist from 1793. From its typography, which is consistent with the types of Roulstone’s press, and the rather crude appearance of the broadside, it is likely that it was printed on the southern frontier, most likely in Knoxville by Roulstone. A similar broadside, of almost identical measurements, printed by Roulstone in 1797, orders settlers to vacate the Cherokee lands they are settled on – the same issue addressed a year earlier by this broadside (that broadside survives in a single copy, at the John Carter Brown Library). An important broadside relating to the battle over illegal settlement on Cherokee lands in Tennessee, most likely printed in Knoxville, otherwise unrecorded. DAH V, pp.242-43. $17,500. Printed on Silk in Tennessee, 1839 51. [Carrier’s Address]: THE CARRIER BOY’S ADDRESS TO THE PATRONS OF THE JACKSON TELEGRAPH. FIRST JANUARY, 1829. [Jackson, Tn.? 1839]. Broadside, 10½ x 17 inches, printed on fine silk. Three woodcut illustrations (of a plow, Liberty and Justice, and a locomotive) adorn the lower portion the broadside. A calendar for 1839 is printed perpendicular to rest of text at the end. Various ornamental borders surround the entire text. Slight spotting and soiling. Very good, and quite suitable for display. A carrier’s address, to the subscribers of the Jackson Telegraph, a newspaper most likely located in Jackson County, Tennessee, but possibly Jackson, Mississippi. The poem ends with a thinly veiled plea to the recipients to continue receiving the newspaper. Despite the relatively recent introduction of printing on the old frontier, a tremendous amount of printing on silk was executed during the early 19th century, though very few examples survive. $2000. >> Mississippi 1816 Mississippi Laws, 52. [Mississippi]: STATUTES OF THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY...AND SUCH ACTS OF CONGRESS AS RELATE TO THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY. Natchez: Peter Isler, 1816. 495,28pp. Contemporary legal sheep, black gilt morocco label. Rubbed and scuffed. Moderate foxing. Overall very good. The second collected laws of Mississippi Territory, and the first Natchez imprint still found with any regularity. 1200 copies were issued of "Turner’s Code," with laws from 1798 to 1815. Scarce. McMURTRIE (MISSISSIPPI) 96. AMERICAN IMPRINTS 38269. DE RENNE I, p.358. $2000. >> Kentucky 1802 Laws of Kentucky 53. Toulmin, Harry: A COLLECTION OF ALL THE PUBLIC AND PERMANENT ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF KENTUCKY WHICH ARE NOW IN FORCE, ARRANGED AND DIGESTED ACCORDING TO THEIR SUBJECTS.... Frankfort: Printed by William Hunter, Printer to the Commonwealth, 1802. [iii]-lxvi,[iii]-xiv,507,[2]pp. Page numbers 86-93, 189-190 repeated in sequence; pp. 5 and 446 misnumbered 6 and 346. 12mo. Contemporary calf, spine and label gilt. Boards and spine worn. Occasional minor foxing and age-toning. A very good copy. An early compilation of the laws of Kentucky, preceded only by the 1799 Laws of Kentucky printed in Lexington. Toulmin, Secretary to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, states in the preface that this volume was published in order to provide easier access to the numerous laws passed by the legislature. "The very confused and undigested state in which the acts of the Legislature of Kentucky have hitherto remained, rendered an arranged collection of them highly necessary both to professional gentlemen and to the public at large. The immethodical manner in which the annual volume of laws is published, is by no means favourable to the ease or information of the reader; but when the acts of ten or twelve sessions are bound up together, just as they happened to be printed, the perplexity which attends a reference to them is disgusting in the highest degree. To remedy this inconvenience, the editor of the following work has distributed the acts of assembly into a variety of classes." The laws of Kentucky are organized into fourteen separate sections including laws relating to boundaries, the United States, the General Assembly, revenue, land titles, courts of justice, and domestic concerns. Laws regarding "agriculture, manufacturing, navigation, and commerce" and "the promotion of knowledge" are also recorded. This volume also includes a table of legal phrases, a summary of criminal law, and acts of the Virginia Assembly relating to rents. AII (KENTUCKY) 157. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 2486. OCLC 13487171. $2750. Early Kentucky Imprint 54. Edwards, Jonathan: SOME THOUGHTS CONCERNING THE PRESENT REVIVAL OF RELIGION IN NEW-ENGLAND, AND THE WAY IN WHICH IT OUGHT TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED AND PROMOTED.... Lexington, Ky.: Joseph Charles, 1803. 412pp. 12mo. Contemporary calf. Head of spine lightly chipped, moderate wear to extremities. Else a very good, tight copy. An early Kentucky imprint, from the press of the third printer in the state. Edwards’ book, first published in Boston in 1742, was one of the foremost religious statements of the Great Awakening in New England. American Imprints Inventory locates six institutional copies and one in private hands. AII (KENTUCKY) 174. SABIN 21961. $1250. 55. Wilson, Samuel: THE KENTUCKY ENGLISH GRAMMAR, OR NEW GRAMMATICAL INSTITUTE; CONTAINING A COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR.... Lexington, Ky. 1806. 97pp. 16mo. Contemporary calf. Rubbed, binding nearly detached. Perforations in gutter due to later crude stitching. Contemporary ink notes on rear endpapers, part of front free endpaper torn way. Tanned. Else good. An early Kentucky imprint, of which the NUC locates only two copies (DLC, Mid-C). AII (KENTUCKY) 285. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 11886. $1250. A Famed Rarity of the Burr Conspiracy 56. Daveiss, Joseph H.: A VIEW OF THE PRESIDENT’S CONDUCT, CONCERNING THE CONSPIRACY OF 1806. Frankfort, Ky.: From the press of Joseph M. Street, 1807. 64pp. Gathered signatures, stitched, as issued. Scattered light foxing. Leaf E2 defective due to original paper flaw, resulting in the loss of about twenty words. Overall, about very good, in original, unbound, unsophisticated condition, untrimmed. In a half morocco and cloth box. One of the great Burr conspiracy rarities, this is a vigorous and vituperative condemnation of the actions of President Thomas Jefferson, written by J.H. Daveiss, federal district attorney for Kentucky and Aaron Burr’s prosecutor. In 1806, Daveiss, an expert in land law and an ardent Federalist, began writing to Jefferson, detailing an alleged plot by former Vice President Burr to separate western states and territories from the Union and to invade Mexico. His initial allegations were ignored by Jefferson, but Daveiss nevertheless attempted twice to indict Burr, both times unsuccessfully. Daveiss’ public criticisms of Jefferson’s actions in the affair caused the President to dismiss him from office, and Daveiss produced the present pamphlet in response. Daveiss writes that Jefferson has acted "with much negligence and insincerity towards this nation" and has "long since made his judgment play the whore to his ambition." Much of the text reprints Daveiss’ correspondence with Jefferson, and an assessment of the qualities of the first three presidents is also included. Jillson writes that Daveiss "believed others of prominence besides the former Vice-President of the United States were engaged with him in his schemes of empire in the southwest. His insistence that the President follow a more active course to prosecute those combining against the best interest of the country caused the Executive to remove him from office, but history examining the sequence of events closely following has declared emphatically that Joseph Hamilton Daviess [sic] was quite right in his beliefs and contentions. The issuance of this pamphlet with its forthright views shows him to have been a patriot of the first order." The DAB notes that if Daveiss and his associates "had hoped to discredit the administration and build up a Federalist following in the West, their attempt was an utter failure." Joseph Hamilton Daveiss was born in Bedford County, Virginia in 1774. After three years of fighting Indians, he studied law, and in 1800 he was appointed by John Adams as federal district attorney for Kentucky. In 1801 he became the first lawyer from west of the Alleghenies to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court, and in 1803 he married the sister of Chief Justice John Marshall. A contemporary manuscript note on the titlepage of this pamphlet reports that Daveiss was "killed in the battle with the Prophet," a reference to Daveiss’ death at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. Daveiss’ work is extremely rare, the last copy to appear being the Streeter copy, which sold for $3,750 in 1967 (that copy is now in the DeGolyer Library at SMU). JILLSON, p.39. AII (KENTUCKY) 295. TOMPKINS 38. COLEMAN 2744. STREETER SALE 1681. HOWES D80, "aa." SABIN 18684. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 12397. ANB 6, p.124. DAB V, p.80. $30,000. 57. Clarkson, Thomas: AN ESSAY ON THE SLAVERY AND COMMERCE OF THE HUMAN SPECIES, PARTICULARLY THE AFRICAN. Georgetown, Ky.: Published by the Rev. David Barrow, 1816. 175pp. 12mo. Contemporary calf, morocco label. Calf worn and stripped, nicked along spine. Tanned and foxed. Good. A rare Kentucky printing of Clarkson’s important argument against the slave trade, following the first of 1786 and several American printings which followed. Clarkson was a prolific campaigner against the slave trade and proponent of improvements in the condition of Blacks, both free and enslaved. Barrow, the publisher, was a pioneering Kentucky abolitionist. An early Kentucky imprint of consequence. "One of the rarest of Kentucky anti-slavery tracts" – Coleman. COLEMAN 3032. AII (KENTUCKY) 584. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 37261. $1250. >> Louisiana France Establishes a Customs Office, 58. [Louisiana]: ARRETÉ CONCERNANT L’ADMINISTRATION PROVISOIRE DES DOUANES. A LA NOUVELLE-ORLÉANS. LAUSSAT, PRÉFET COLONIAL, COMMISSAIRE DU GOUVERNEMENT FRANÇAIS, CONSIDÉRANT, QUE L’ADMINISTRATION ESPAGNOLE DES DOUANES DANS CE PAYS...[caption title]. [New Orleans. 1803]. Broadside, 14¼ x 9¼ inches, with woodcut headpiece of symbolic figure with printed inscription: "Préfecture Coloniale." Moderate dampstaining and soiling, occasional foxing, moderate wear at edges. Autograph signatures of Colonial Prefect Laussat and Commission Secretary Daugerot, authorization stamp of the Préfecture Coloniale de la Louisiane, contemporary inscriptions above text. A good copy. In a cloth clamshell case, leather label. An exceedingly rare New Orleans broadside concerning the provisional administration of customs duties, printed during the brief return of France’s control of Louisiana between the Spanish and American periods of ownership. The decree creates a French customs system in place of the Spanish authority and appoints "Mr. Garland and citizen Navailles, respectively, as Collector of Customs and Treasurer under the newly installed French regime" (Hummel). Spain signed a treaty of cession on March 21, 1801, but this was not announced to the inhabitants of the colony until March 27, 1803. The actual transfer of Louisiana back to France occurred on Nov. 30 of that year, and three weeks later the territory became a part of the United States. Pierre Clément de Laussat, Colonial Prefect, arrived in New Orleans from Paris to take formal possession of Louisiana, and as had already been arranged, to transfer title to the U.S. "Laussat’s first official announcement after his arrival in New Orleans was followed by five other proclamations or edicts in broadside form which have been seen and recorded in the course of this study, and there were undoubtedly still others which have not come to light. The purpose of these broadsides was to establish and carry on the machinery of government and to insure the maintenance of law and order after the automatic termination of the authority of the Spanish magistrates and office holders. Most of these bear at the top an interesting woodcut of the typical female figure symbolical of France, and inscribed ‘Préfecture Coloniale.’ This woodblock was undoubtedly brought by the commission from Paris" – McMurtrie, New Orleans. Jumonville records copies at New Orleans Public Library and Tulane; OCLC adds a third copy at Yale. JUMONVILLE 68. HUMMEL 780,788. McMURTRIE (NEW ORLEANS) 52, p.64. McMURTRIE (LOUISIANA) 21. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 4539. OCLC 27803500. $10,000. Issued by the French Government 59. [Louisiana]: ARRETÉ, QUI MET LE SIEUR ST.-JULIEN EN LIBERTÉ, SOUS CAUTION QU’IL SE REPRÉSENTERA DEVANT LES AUTORITÉS TOUTES LES FOIS QU’IL EN SERA REQUIS. AU NOM DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE. LE PRÉFET COLONIAL, COMMISSAIRE DU GOUVERNEMENT FRANÇAIS, APRÈS AVOIR PRIS LA CONNAISSANCE LA PLUS APPROSONDIE DE L’AFFAIRE DU SIEUR LOUIS ST.-JULIEN...[caption title]. [New Orleans. 1803]. Broadside, 16½ x 13 inches, with woodcut headpiece of symbolic figure with printed inscription: "Préfecture Coloniale." Old fold. Moderate dampstaining and soiling, occasional foxing. Contemporary inscriptions above text. A good copy. In a cloth clamshell case, leather label. An exceedingly rare New Orleans broadside concerning a case of alleged sedition, printed during the brief return of France’s control of Louisiana between the Spanish and American periods of ownership. The decree is signed in print by Colonial Prefect Laussat and Commission Secretary Daugerot. The decree "orders the release under bond of Louis St. Julien, imprisoned in June, 1803, on a charge of sedition but actually, says Laussat, because of his intense patriotism for France on learning that Spain had ceded back Louisiana to his mother country" (McMurtrie, Louisiana). Below the names of Laussat and Daugerot is a certificate printed in italic indicating that the municipal council had ordered the immediate release of St. Julien under bond, and that the decree had been approved for printing. Spain signed a treaty of cession on March 21, 1801, but this was not announced to the inhabitants of the colony until March 27, 1803. The actual transfer of Louisiana back to France occurred on Nov. 30 of that year, and three weeks later the territory became a part of the United States. Pierre Clément de Laussat, Colonial Prefect, arrived in New Orleans from Paris to take formal possession of Louisiana, and as had already been arranged, transfer title to the U.S. "Laussat’s first official announcement after his arrival in New Orleans was followed by five other proclamations or edicts in broadside form which have been seen and recorded in the course of this study, and there were undoubtedly still others which have not come to light. The purpose of these broadsides was to establish and carry on the machinery of government and to insure the maintenance of law and order after the automatic termination of the authority of the Spanish magistrates and office holders. Most of these bear at the top an interesting woodcut of the typical female figure symbolical of France, and inscribed ‘Préfecture Coloniale.’ This woodblock was undoubtedly brought by the commission from Paris" – McMurtrie, New Orleans. An extremely rare broadside printed during France’s brief control of Louisiana in the early 19th century. Jumonville records copies at Historic New Orleans Collection and Tulane; McMurtrie adds two copies at the National Archives in Washington; and OCLC lists only microfilm copies. JUMONVILLE 79. HUMMEL 771. McMURTRIE (LOUISIANA) 29. McMURTRIE (NEW ORLEANS), pp.61-68. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 4542. $12,500. 60. Poydras, Julien de LaLande: A SPEECH, BY MR. POYDRAS, PRESIDENT OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF ORLEANS, AFTER THE GOVERNOR’S ADDRESS HAD BEEN DELIVERED, ON THE 4th OF DECEMBER, 1804. [New Orleans. 1804]. 12pp. Dbd. Light occasional foxing, moderate tanning. A very good copy. An interesting speech by Julien Poydras in response to Gov. Claiborne’s address of Dec. 4, 1804 to the Orleans territory Legislative Council – the first message of a governor of American Louisiana. Poydras, a French-born Louisiana poet and philanthropist, was president of the newly established council and a close ally of the governor. The territory’s new administration, however, met with some resistance from the long-time inhabitants anxious about the change: "The Creole population felt resentful at their unexpected transfer to American rule, distrusted their new executive and, when disappointed, were inclined to berate and ridicule him" (J.Q. Adams quoted in DAB). Here, Poydras underlines the importance of maintaining ties with the federal government so as to make the transition an easy one for Orleans residents: "Our sovereign is our support. It is the tree which sustains and nourishes the feeble and creeping ivy. We are the ivy, and should never separate ourselves from the tree which is our safeguard." A rare early New Orleans imprint; Jumonville notes copies at Tulane and Louisiana State University only. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 7103. JUMONVILLE 104. McMURTRIE LOUISIANA 43. $2750. An Extraordinary Run 61. [Louisiana Laws]: ACTS PASSED AT THE FIRST SESSION OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF THE TERRITORY OF ORLEANS, BEGUN AND HELD AT THE PRINCIPAL, IN THE CITY OF NEW-ORLEANS, ON MONDAY THE THIRD DAY OF DECEMBER, IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND FOUR...[through 1816]. New-Orleans. 1805-1816. Fifteen items bound in five volumes. Contemporary calf, leather labels. Some wear at extremities, a couple hinges cracked. Scattered browning and foxing, contemporary ink notes and signatures (several by Charles Mitchell), hole in one titlepage not affecting text. The front board of one volume bears the embossed name of "J.M. Ducros." Overall good to very good. In two non-uniform half morocco clamshell boxes. An extensive run of the important first laws of the territory and state of Louisiana, with the text in English and French. These laws established the foundation on which the American legal system was built, and this archive comprises the earliest collection of American laws west of the Mississippi. The influence of French and Spanish laws in North America is evident in these early territorial laws, as is the legal confusion created by the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. It took Congress more than two decades to determine their intent with regard to existing Spanish and French law. The present volumes cover the following sessions: first and second sessions, legislative council, 1805; first and second sessions, first legislature, 1807; "Acts Relative to Land Claims" and the Farewell Address of Washington, 1807; first and second sessions, second legislature, 1808-9; first and second sessions, third legislature, 1810-11; first, second, and third sessions, general assembly, 1812-14; and first and second sessions, second legislature, 1815-16. All are New Orleans imprints from a period from which all such imprints are rare. See Jumonville for collations. JUMONVILLE 121, 122, 143-45, 147, 173, 186, 203, 215, 226, 239, 249, 264, 723. STREETER SALE 1587 (ref). $15,000. Early New Orleans Laws 62. [New Orleans]: ACTS OF CONGRESS RELATIVE TO LAND CLAIMS IN THE TERRITORY OF NEW ORLEANS. [New Orleans: Printed by Bradford & Anderson, 1807]. 63pp. Modern half morocco and cloth. Foxed and tanned. Good. A printing in parallel English and French of some important post-cession acts, including those confirming validity of original Spanish and French grants, and so forth. Although these acts are frequently found bound with the Acts Passed at the Second Session..., they were printed and paginated separately. A good example of the printing work of Bradford and Anderson. Bradford arrived in New Orleans in 1804, rising to the post of printer to the Territory in 1805. The patronage was withdrawn three years later because Bradford and Anderson repeatedly attacked Gov. Claiborne in their newspaper, the Orleans Gazette. McMURTRIE (LOUISIANA) 99. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 11502, 13789. FOOTE, p.7. JUMONVILLE 144. THOMPSON 1078. $1250. The Farewell Address for Louisiana Territory 63. [Louisiana]: Washington, George: FAREWELL ADDRESS, OF GEN. GEO. WASHINGTON, TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES. SEPTEMBER 17, 1796. [New Orleans: Bradford & Anderson, 1807]. 47pp., printed in parallel English and French on facing pages. Dbd. Some signatures separated. Moderate foxing and browning. Good. In a half morocco box. A very scarce early New Orleans imprint, attributed to the press of Bradford & Anderson by both McMurtrie and Jumonville on the basis of typography. This is sometimes found bound with Acts Passed at the Second Session of the First Legislature of the Territory of Orleans. Jumonville locates only three copies. JUMONVILLE 147. McMURTRIE (NEW ORLEANS) 100. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 11798, 14157. OCLC 40827879. $2000. The Crucial Fight Over 64. [New Orleans Batture]: [SAMMELBAND OF FOUR EARLY NEW ORLEANS IMPRINTS DEALING WITH THE LEGAL BATTLE OVER THE NEW ORLEANS BATTURE]. [New Orleans. 1807-1808]. See paginations below. Antique-style three-quarter calf and marbled boards, leather label. Near fine. An interesting collection of scarce New Orleans imprints detailing the origins and progress of the New Orleans "batture" case, one of the bitter controversies of Jefferson’s presidency and beyond. John (also called Jean) Gravier and, later, his attorney, Edward Livingston, claimed ownership of a strip of beach (the batture) at New Orleans which had long been used as a common boat landing and which had been built up by alluvial deposits from the Mississippi River. Gravier brought suit against the city, which also claimed the land. After a trial in a territorial court, the case came to the attention of the federal government, with President Thomas Jefferson and the Justice Department challenging the rights of Gravier and Livingston (who had become a partial owner of the land). The case dragged on for several years, the eventual ruling being in favor of private ownership rights. The case set important precedent in the interaction of federal and state power, as well as having important local ramifications. The items in this collection have collations which correspond exactly to the appendices included by Edward Livingston in his Address to the People of the United States...with Respect to the Batture at New-Orleans (Jumonville 159). It is likely that items 2 and 4 were printed separately and gathered by Livingston for inclusion in his work, while items 1 and 3 were probably printed especially for inclusion in Livingston’s rebuttal to Jefferson’s action dispossessing him of his land. The items in the present collection, in the order in which they are bound, are:
65. [Louisiana]: ACTS PASSED AT THE SECOND SESSION OF THE NINTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA. Donaldsonville: C.W. Duhy, 1830. 156pp. Original plain wrappers. Minor edge wear. Moderate foxing and browning. Very good, unopened and untrimmed, with large margins. A summary of session laws for the state of Louisiana, particularly attractive for its unusually wide margins. An uncommon imprint and quite scarce. MACDONALD, CHECKLIST OF SESSION LAWS, p.70. $500. |
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