London: Engraved by T. Hutchins, 1778. Copper-engraved map by T. Cheevers, with period outline colour, on four joined sheets, overall measuring 36

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New York: Printed and sold by John and Andrew M'Lean, 1788. 2 volumes, 12mo. (6 1/8 x 3 3/4 inches). vi, 227; vi, 384pp. Expertly bound to style in... Ouvrir

New York: Printed and sold by John and Andrew M'Lean, 1788. 2 volumes, 12mo. (6 1/8 x 3 3/4 inches). vi, 227; vi, 384pp. Expertly bound to style in contemporary tree calf, the covers with a neo-classical Greek-key roll- tool border, the flat spine tooled in gilt, divided into six compartments with a Greek-key roll, lettered in the second compartment, numbered in the fourth, the others with an elegant repeat pattern in gilt, both contained within a recent black morocco box, spine gilt. Rare first edition of the most important work of American political thought ever written and according to Thomas Jefferson "the best commentary on the principles of government." The first edition of The Federalist comprises the first collected printing of the 85 seminal essays written in defense of the newly-drafted Constitution. The essays were first issued individually by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay in New York newspapers under the pseudonym 'Publius' to garner support for the ratification of the Constitution. This first collected edition was published in early 1788: volume I published in March, contains the first 36 numbers, volume II published in May, includes the remaining 49, together with the text of the Constitution. Upon its publication, George Washington noted to Alexander Hamilton that the work "will merit the Notice of Posterity; because in it are candidly and ably discussed the principles of freedom and the topics of government, which will always be interesting to mankind" (George Washington, letter to Hamilton, 28 August 1788). The genesis of this "classic exposition of the principles of republican government" (R.B. Bernstein, Are We to be a Nation? The Making of the Constitution, 1987, p.242) is to be found in the "great national discussion" which took place about the ratification of the Constitution, and the necessity of answering the salvos in print from the Anti-Federalists and other opponents of a strong Federal government. The original plan was that James Madison and John Jay were to help Hamilton write a series of essays explaining the merits of their system, whilst also rebutting the arguments of its detractors. "Hamilton wrote the first piece in October 1787 on a sloop returning from Albany...He finished many pieces while the printer waited in a hall for the completed copy" (R. Brookhiser Alexander Hamilton: American, 1999, pp.68-69). In the end, well over half of the 85 essays were written by Hamilton alone. Despite the intense time pressures under which the series was written "what began as a propaganda tract, aimed only at winning the election for delegates to New York's state ratifying convention, evolved into the classic commentary upon the American Federal system" (F. McDonald Alexander Hamilton: A Biography, p.107). The Federalist is without question the most important commentary on the Constitution, the most significant American contribution to political theory and among the most important of all American books. Church 1230; Cohen 2818; Evans 21127; Ford 17; Grolier American 100, 19; Howes H114, "c"; Printing and the Mind of Man 234; Sabin 23979; Streeter Sale 1049. Fermer

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London: Printed by Humfrey Lownes, for Robert Clerke, 1616.. [16],61,[2]pp. plus folding engraved map of New England. Small quarto. Full calf in... Ouvrir

London: Printed by Humfrey Lownes, for Robert Clerke, 1616.. [16],61,[2]pp. plus folding engraved map of New England. Small quarto. Full calf in antique style. Light dampstaining on top edge. Some careful expert paper restoration to upper foremargins of first ten leaves or so (including titlepage), and to a lesser extent on some later leaves. Map trimmed to the neat line, with a very small hole (4 x 25 mm.) at center in the ocean, neatly filled in. Some contemporary manuscript on verso of title- leaf and first text leaf. A nice copy. One of the great rarities of colonial Americana, Smith's A DESCRIPTION OF NEW ENGLAND... was, according to Streeter, "the pilgrim's principal guide to their American haven." Based on Smith's two visits to the New England coast in 1614 and 1615, this book did much to encourage later settlement in New England, preceding by four years the sailing of the Mayflower. In fact, Smith named Plymouth Rock, and described the place as "an excellent good harbour, good lands, and no want of anything but industrious people." Smith's first voyage was financed by a group of London merchants, with the primary objective being the search for whales and gold mines (the gold mines turned out to be "the masters device to get a voyage"). That first visit was relatively brief but afforded ample opportunities for trading with the Indians and for the collection of much geographical and natural history information. On his second voyage in 1615, Smith met with less success; thwarted by storms and pirates, he was eventually taken prisoner by a French warship. During his free time as a captive, Smith wrote A DESCRIPTION OF NEW ENGLAND..., destined to reveal the advantages and prospects for future adventurers to the region. "The use of the term 'New England' on the title page of this book established that name for the region that until then had been called North Virginia. The 'altered names' leaf, inserted between A4 and B1, records thirty new names chosen by Prince Charles to replace the mainly Indian place names of New England. All of the new names seem to have stuck except Cape James for Cape Cod" - Streeter. The rare map, printed by George Low, is here present in the fourth state as described by Sabin, Church, and Burden (there are nine recorded states of the map). Only the exceedingly rare first two states of the map properly belong with the book, both produced in 1616 (most copies, however, contain later states of the map; the only copy in some decades to have the first issue was the Siebert copy). Based on surveys made by Captain Smith for the Council for New England, the map is considered the foundation of New England cartography. It stands as the first map on which the name New England appears. The map depicts the area from the present Penobscot Bay in Maine, to Cape Cod. A monumental American rarity of the greatest possible importance. While not the main entry in PRINTING AND THE MIND OF MAN, Smith's GENERALL HISTORIE..., this work appeared eight years earlier, and is wholly incorporated into that work. CHURCH 369 (originally with 6th state of the map, but with the Britwell Court 1st state later substituted). BURDEN 187. STC 22788. VAIL 40. JCB II, pp.113-15. SABIN 82819. STREETER SALE 610. STREETER, AMERICANA BEGINNINGS 11. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 616/107. SIEBERT SALE 94. SCHWARTZ & EHRENBERG, pp.96-99. DEK, PICTURING AMERICA 19 (illustrating one of the NYPL copies). PRINTING AND THE MIND OF MAN 124. Fermer

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