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CONSTITUTIONS
&
Constitutional Issues
The
19th-Century
U.S. Constitutional
History
(A
“#1” Publication). Curtis, George Ticknor.
History of the origin, formation, and adoption of the Constitution of the United
States; with notices of its principal framers. New York: Harper & Brothers,
1854–58. 8vo (24.1 cm, 9.5"). 2 vols. I: xxxvi, 518 pp. II: xvi, 653, [1]
pp.
[SOLD]
Click
the images for enlargement.
First edition of one of the earliest and most important American examinations of
the U.S. Constitution. A Harvard University and Harvard Law School graduate, Curtis first
achieved success as a patent lawyer before going on to serve as a member of the Massachusetts
House of Representatives, a U.S. commissioner at Boston, and co-counsel for Dred Scott before
the Supreme Court. He also published several important legal treatises, among which the present
is probably his best-known work. This Federalist view of the creation and powers of the
Constitution was begun under Daniel Webster's supervision, and for several decades was
unquestionably the authoritative work on the subject.The uncommon errata slip accounting for the absent “note on the authorship of the
Ordinance of 1787") is laid into vol. I.
Sabin 18038; Allibone 462. Publisher's dark brown corded
cloth of Krupp's style Lea8, front covers with gilt-stamped eagle, flag, and
motto vignette (of which a detail-photo is given above), back covers with
same vignette in blind, spines with gilt-stamped title; corners/edges rubbed,
spine extremities chipped, gilt slightly oxidized, and vol. I with joints
starting yet covers firm. Ex–social club library: call numbers inked
to endpapers (in some cases then obscured with old paper), rubber-stamp on
front free endpapers and title-page of vol. II (not that of vol. I),
several other pages rubber-stamped (most, faintly). Pages slightly age-toned.
(26521)
WAR Threatens U.S.
Constitutional Rights 1863
Agnew, Daniel. Our national Constitution: Its adaptation to a state of war or insurrection. Philadelphia: Pr. by C. Sherman, Son & Co., 1863. 8vo. 39 pp.
$45.00

Agnew argues for several ad hoc changes in the administration of the law under the Constitution because of exigent circumstances brought on by the Civil War. Chiefly he wants the suspension of certain individual rights and the federal assumption of rights and exemptions allowed by common law to citizens but never granted to the government.
Original printed wrappers; five-digit number stamped on front wrapper; some chipping; loss of paper from spine. (78)
Associate
Reformed Church in North America. The Constitution and Standards....
New York: Pr. by T.J. Swords, 1799. 8vo (21.5 cm, 8.5"). 612 pp., [2] ff.
$475.00

Scottish “Covenanters” (so-called because they signed
the "National Covenant" against the BCP in February 1638) and “Seceders”
(those who refused to join the Church of Scotland when Presbyterianism was established
in 1691) in Pennsylvania joined to form the Associate Reformed Church in 1782
and soon added to their number from all over the eastern seaboard. This first
edition of their
Constitution
and Standards is printed in five parts each with its own
sectional title-page, and ornamented with a few woodcut tailpieces. It opens
with the Westminster Confession and includes the other key documents of Scottish
Calvinism with a section on the “Government, Discipline, and Worship”
of the Associate Reformed Church. While many congregations joined the United
Presbyterian Church in the 19th century, the Associate Reformed Church is still
in existence under the title of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.
ESTC W35823; Evans 35119. Contemporary sheep, spine with red
leather title label; abraded with a few wormholes (including one track across
spine) and front joint opening. Some pages quite stained, not impairing reading;
a couple instances of chipping in margins with loss of letters. Front free
endpaper excised. Pp. 433–44 pinned together in the inside margin. Pencil
doodlings on half-title and p. [5].
He
Tried.
Burrows, Julius
C. Civil rights. Speech of Hon. Julius C. Burrows, of Michigan, in
the House of Representatives, February 5, 1875. Washington: Government Printing
Office, 1875. 12mo. 10 pp.
$60.00


The Constitution that Came Out of
“The
War of the Supremes”
Colombia. Constitution. 1843. Constitucion politica de la república de la Nueva Granada reformada por el congreso en sus sesiones de 1842 y 1843. Bogota: imp. del Gobierno, por J.A. Cualla, 1843. 12mo. 31, [1(blank)] pp.
$2200.00
“Edicion oficial” of the constitution that came out of “The War of the Supremes” (1839–42) and reacted to the decentralization of the 1832 constitution that followed the break up of Gran Colombia with Venezuela and Ecuador going their own ways. This new constitution centralized power in the president, who was granted unlimited authority.
Click the images for enlargements.
There were two editions of the constitution in 1843: This one, and another that extended to 27 pages.
Not in Palau. Original printed wrappers, small strip excised from blank area at top of front wrapper. Few dust smudges on wrappers. Very good copy.
(15169)
Colombia.
Constitution. 1853. Constitucion política de la Nueva Granada.
Año de 1853. [Bogotá]: no publisher/printer, 1853. Small 8vo (20
cm, 7.9"). 12 pp.
$2500.00

“Edicion oficial” of the first Colombian constitution to rebel against the stringent control of the 1843 document that centralized power in the president. This compact is notable for its many liberal reforms, such as abolition of slavery, establishment of freedom of the press, and creation of separation of church and state.
Click the images for enlargements.
There were two editions in 1853, the other being 24 pages in length.
Palau 59737. Original printed yellow wrappers, creased and a little dusty. Very good condition.
Colombia. Constitution. 1861. Pacto de union de los Estados Unidos de Colombia celebrado por el Congreso de Pleniptenciarios en su sesión del día 20 de setiembre. Bogota: Impr.de la nación, 1861. 12mo (15.8 cm, 6.25"). 28 pp.
$1500.00

A proposed constitution for a loose confederation with each state sovereign and decisions being made by an executive committee composed of one representative of each state. We fail to find evidence that this constitution ever went into effect. This is, however, clearly a precusor to the 1863 constitution and its loose federalism with quasi-independent state governments.
Not in OCLC.
Not in Palau. Original printed green wrappers. Waterstaining to inner area of wrappers, same faintly visible in one area of title-page.
Very Early Printing of the
1863
Constitution
Colombia.
Convención nacional. Actos lejislativos de la Convención
Nacional. Instalada en Rionegro, el 4 de febrero de 1863. Bogotá: Impr.
de la Nación, [1863]. 8vo. [1] f., 86 pp., vii pp.
$950.00


The period 1840–1880 in Colombian political history was characterized by swings between ascensions of the Liberals and of the Conservatives, the Liberals ruling without serious challenge in the last two decades of that period.
This publication contains the Constitution of 1863 as ratified by the Ríonegro Convention as well as most of the other legislation that the Convention adopted. The constitution incorporated many anti-clerical measures, including: separation of Church and state; full freedom of worship, even for non-Catholics; suppression of religious orders; prohibition of corporate ownership of real property (which amounted to prohibition of Church ownership of property); and governmental supervision of worship. The document also thoroughly decentralized power and made each state a virtual law unto itself.
In an attempt to curb the power of Gen. Mosquera, the presidency was made an office of two-year duration, and immediate re-election or succession was barred.
IMPORTANT AND RARE: NUC Pre-1956 fails to locate any copies, and RLIN finds only one copy (SUNY-Buffalo).
Removed from a volume of pamphlets and now in later wrappers. Ownership mark eradicated from title-page.
A very good copy of a rare item.
Colombia.
Constitution. 1863. Constitucion politica para los Estados UU. de Colombia, sancionada el 8 de mayo de 1863. Rionegro: Imprenta de la Union, por J. Orjuela, [1863]. 4to (26.4 cm, 10.4"). 50 pp., plus wrps.
$2000.00
The political pendulum swung to the liberals in 1863 and a new constitution was promulgated at Rionegro which was to last until 1886. It renamed the nation the United States of Colombia, gave to the states all powers not reserved to the central government, contained fully defined individual liberties and guarantees, and guaranteed Colombians full religious freedom.
Click the image for an enlargement.
This is the first printing of that new liberal constitution, from the small press in the out-of-the-way town of Rionegro. It is very rare: We trace no copies via OCLC, RLIN, or NUC. Further, searches of the OPACs of the National Library of Colombia and of the universities of Cali and the Andes failed to locate a copy.
Not in Palau. Original wrappers, much dog-eared as are the text leaves. Old, mostly faint waterstaining. Withall, a good copy.

A Costa Rican Constitution
Long Active
Costa Rica. Constitucion. 1871. Decretos y constitucion politica de la República de Costa-Rica, emitida en 1871 y adoptada el 26 de abril de 1882. San José: [Impr. Nacional], [1882]. 12mo. 39, [1 (blank)] pp., [1 (ndex)] f.
$500.00
First printing of the 1871 constitution, not adopted until 1882. The constitution was in force, although not formally adopted, during the Guardia administrations (1870–82) and it remained in force until 1949.
Click either image
for an enlargement.
Rare. The only copy we located in Latin America via METABASE is in the Biblioteca Monseñor
Sanabria Martínez (Biblioteca Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica). In the U.S. we locate only the copies at Bancroft and Harvard Law libraries.
Wrapper title is “Decretos y constitución política de la República de Costa-Rica, emitida en 1871 y adoptada en 1882.”
Not in Palau. Original printed wrappers, wrappers dusty and with old pencil writing. (21258)
Cundinamarca
(Colombia ). Constitution. Constitucion de Cundinamarca,
su capital Santafe de Bogota. [Santafé de Bogota] : D. Nicolas Calvo, y
Quixano, 1811. Small 4to (20.5 cm, 8.1"). 47, [1] pp.
$5750.00
First printing of the first state constitution for any Latin American
nation, in this case for the state in which Bogotá is located. This was
written during the early, uncertain days of the Napoleonic occupation of the
Spanish peninsula and captivity of the Spanish king. Political matters were
wild and wooly with some viceroyalties experiencing harsh rule while others
began to experience first experiments in self-government and democracy.
Click
the images for enlargements.
Posada, Bibliografia bogotana, 231; Palau 59632. Sewn
as issued, without the wrappers. Minor soiling to title-page and last (blank)
page. Old inked numbers at top of title-page.
A very good copy.

Davis Himself
on the Civil War
— Many
Plates &
Maps
Davis,
Jefferson. The rise and fall of the Confederate government.
New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1881. 8vo (23.8 cm, 9.4"). 2 vols. I: xxi,
[3], 707, [5 (adv.)] pp.; 9 plts., 1 map. II: xvii, [3], 808, [4 (adv.)] pp.;
10 plts., 13 fold. maps.
$500.00
Click
the images for enlargements.
First edition of Davis's arguments,
constitutional
and otherwise, in favor of secession, states' rights, and
slavery; and his defense of his conduct and that of the Confederacy. The two
volumes are illustrated with a total of 19 steel-engraved plates, including
numerous portraits, and 14 maps, 13 of which are oversized and folding.
Howes D120. Publisher's pebbled brown cloth, covers framed
in blind with central gilt-stamped horse and rider medallion on front, spines
with gilt-stamped title; edges/extremities lightly rubbed and spines each
with a patch lightened (moreso to vol. I). Ex–social club library: call
number on endpapers, title-pages rubber-stamped. Minor offsetting from some
plates, pages otherwise clean. (26900)
Foster, Abiel. Mr. Abiel Foster’s motion for an amendment to the Constitution of the United States. 4th February, 1800. Committed to a committee of the whole House on the state of the Union. Published by order of the House of Representatives. [Philadelphia]: Published by order of the House of Representatives, [1800]. 8vo (22 cm, 8.6"). [4] pp.
$385.00

Motion to amend that part of the Constitution dealing with the election of president and vice-president. The effort resulted in the twelfth amendment, ratified on 25 Sept. 1804.
Click the image for an enlargement.
Evans 38786; ESTC W026281. Folded as issued, edges untrimmed and slightly darkened. Second leaf with corners creased.

Cutting Way Back on
Presidential Authority
Hillhouse, James. Propositions for amending the constitution of the United States, submitted by Mr. Hillhouse to the Senate on the twelfth day of April, 1808, with his explanatory remarks. [Washington]: 1808. 12mo (19.3 cm, 7.6"). 52, [2], 7 pp.
$150.00

Hillhouse, a United States Senator from Connecticut, put forth these seven amendments in the hopes of diminishing corruption and partisan politics.
One of the most interesting suggestions isthat the President of the U.S. be chosen by lottery from among the existing senators, to serve a one-year term!
Click the interior image for an enlargement.
Following Hillhouse's discussion of his purpose and reasoning, the actual amendments have a separate title-page.
First edition. Second and third editions were printed at New Haven by Oliver Steele & Co. in the same year as this first.
Sabin 31883; Shaw & Shoemaker 15230. Recent marbled paper–covered boards, front cover with printed paper label. Pages with a few scattered spots of light staining and occasional early inked corrections; old stitching holes in inner margins. Page edges untrimmed. In fact, quite a nice copy. (25210)
A
Boston Federalist Perspective
[Lowell,
John]. Mr. Madison's war. A dispassionate inquiry into the reasons alleged
by Mr. Madison for declaring an offensive and ruinous war against Great-Britain.
Together with some suggestions as to a peaceable and
constitutional
mode of averting that dreadful calamity. By a New-England farmer.... Third edition.
Boston: Russell & Cutler, 1812. 8vo (20.7 cm, 8.1"). x, 363, [1] pp.
$175.00
Lowell retired early from a highly successful legal career out of consideration
for his declining health, and promptly applied himself to farming on scientific
principles and to embroiling himself in the contemporary political dialogue.
Sometimes called "the little Rebel" or "the Boston Rebel," the New England
Federalist opposed Madison's policies, the proposed French alliance, and the
War of 1812. This pamphlet went through eight printings in 1812, the year
of its first publication; it argues that the war would serve no purpose other
than promoting French interests and wronging Great Britain.
Shaw & Shoemaker 25897; Sabin 42452. On Lowell, see: Dictionary
of American Biography, XI, 46566. Disbound from nonce volume, with
sewing holes, some leaves separating. Title-page with two colored marks and
early inked ownership inscription. Mild offsetting and spots of foxing; some
pages dog-eared.
Mercedarians. Third Order. Breve compendio de las reglas,
constituciones, privilegios, gracias é indulgencias, de la Real Tercera Orden de Nra. Sra. de la Merced, nuevamente restablecida en la iglesia del convento grande de S. Miguel de Lima.... Lima, [1804]. 4to (19.8 cm, 7.75"). [33] ff.
$800.00
St. Peter Nolasco (ca. 1182–1249 or 1256) founded the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the Ransom of Captives (or Mercedarians) in 1218; quickly successful in its work of redeeming Christian prisoners, it also undertook other charitable work. A third “Mercedarian” order was founded in 1260 for lay male and female supporters and assistants, and the first Mercedarian convent was established in Lima in 1535, the year of the Spanish founding of the city, where the religious were noted for their work among natives.
This document gives the rules, constitutions, privileges, and indulgences of the third order in Lima on the occasion of its reestablishment at the conventual church of St. Michael. A fine woodcut of the arms of the Mercedarian order, surrounded by a typographic border, graces the verso of the title-leaf.
This is the first edition of the Breve compendio; it was reprinted in 1870.
Medina, Lima, 1945. Limp vellum lightly cockled and a little stained/soiled, with small hole to front cover from a defect in the skin; traces of adhesive on covers and a small paper label on front one. One small wormhole piercing margin of some leaves; traces of soiling and very light waterstaining. Library bookplate and personal rubber-stamp on front pastedown; old call number neatly penned (and crossed out) on title-page verso.
Constituciones with an Important & Useful OVERVIEW of 110
Years of
Mexican Intellectual History
Mexico (Viceroyalty). University. Constituciones de la real y pontificia universidad de Mexico. Mexico: Felipe de Zúñiga y Ontiveros, 1775. Folio. [16] ff., 238 pp., [11] ff..
$2750.00
Click the images for enlargements.
By 1775 the first edition of the university constitution was a rare book but demand for it was significant, so a reprint was brought out. And an important change was made to this second edition of the rules, regulations, and constitution of the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico: While the main text of the first edition is faithfully reprinted, the original preface is deleted and a new one substituted. It gives a marvelous overview of those who were perceived to have been the intellectual giants of Mexico during the period 16601770: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Doña Ana María del Costado de Cristo, Juan José de Eguiara y Eguren, Antonio Guillén de Castro, José Ignacio Bartolache, and so on. Additionally, the anonymous but very knowledgeable author of the preface gives a detailed essay on the architecture of the university and its art work in all of its manifestations: sculpture, paintings, retablos, tapestries, etc.
Although the university was founded in 1551 and began offering classes in 1553, its rules and practices were not published until 1668: Various manuscript compilations of the rules had been gathered during the first hundred years of the institution, but it fell to Bishop Palafox to undertake the definitive compilation and to initiate the publication of the results, which did not see light of day until after his death. It is his omnium gatherum that the body of this volume offers.
Medina, Mexico, 5836; Palau 6067; not in Harper, Americana Iberica; not in Maggs, Bibl. Amer. 20th-century quarter calf with marbled paper sides and endpapers. All edges carmine. Paper clean and crisp.
A lovely copy.
Montana.
Constitution. 1889. Constitution of
the state of Montana, as adopted by the Constitutional Convention held at Helena,
Montana, July 4, A.D. 1889...and also an address to the people. Helena (MT): Independent
Publishing Co., [1889]. 8vo (20 cm, 7.9"). 76 pp.
$275.00
Good copy of the document marking Montana’s transition from
a territory to a state—the result of the final, successful attempt at
drafting a constitution acceptable to Congress, this version was not significantly
altered until 1972. The text is here accompanied by a plea for the populace
to ratify the proposed constitution.
Eberstadt 166: 91; Shearer 269; Sonneborn sale 89. Original
printed paper wrappers. Now in a cloth-covered clamshell box with gilt-stamped
leather title label; wrappers faded with some edge chipping, more pronounced
wear to back wrapper than to front. Pages age-toned with a few short edge
tears, and last few creased; generally clean.
Women's Vote
“Guaranteed to Us
by the Original Constitution”
National Woman Suffrage Association. An appeal to the women of the United States by the National Woman Suffrage and Educational committee, Washington, D.C. Hartford: Case, Lockwood & Brainard, 1871. 8vo (24 cm, 9.45"). 4 pp.
[SOLD]

Constitutional Law SECESSION?
Parker, Joel. Constitutional law: With reference to the present condition of the United States. Cambridge: Pr. by Welch, Bigelow, & Company, 1862. 8vo. 35 pp.
$90.00
Union, & the Constitution, Are Key for
This WHIG Writer
Philadelphia Whig. An appeal for the Union. Philadelphia: 1856. 8vo. 16 pp.
[SOLD]


Pamphlet contains articles originally published in the Philadelphia Evening Journal, appealing to a more "reasoned" approach in dealing with the issue of slavery than that
favored by "fierce" Abolitionists (or by "the propagandists of slavery").
Good. Without wrappers. Age-toned with a few small stains; some pages detached, tattering and dog-earing. (1246)
(Portuguese Admiration). Sobre a constituição de Inglaterra...com algumas observações sobre a antiga constituição de França.... Lisboa: Na imprensa da Rua dos Fanqueiros, 1827. 4to (19.5 cm, 7.75"). 72 pp.
[SOLD]
In the period after the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, the British Constitution seemed a good model for stable government, as this Portuguese pamphlet on the subject witnesses.
Rare: No copies traced via NUC Pre-1956, OCLC, and RLIN.
Recent wrappers. Some light waterstaining in upper margins and on inner edge of title-leaf. Shallow tears and chipping, not affecting impression.

“We the People . . . of Rhode Island” — The 1843 Constitution
Rhode Island. The Constitution of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, as adopted by the Convention, assembled at Newport, September, 1842. Providence: Pr. by Knowles & Vose, 1842. 8vo. 24 pp.
$250.00
This is the first printing of the Rhode Island Constitution, which went into effect in May 1843. Until then, the state had been governed by the original Royal Charter granted by Charles II in 1663. It was disenchantment with the charter's old colonial property qualifications for the franchise that caused the celebrated Dorr War (1841–42), an armed rising that pitted the suffrage movement against supporters of the charter. The reactionary forces won the day, but nevertheless found it expedient to frame a new written constitution, in 1842, which granted voting rights to adult, native-born citizens who owned $134-worth of real estate or paid the $1 poll tax (cf. Article Second, pp. 6–8).
A landmark document in Rhode Island history.
Click the image for an enlargement.
Sabin 70572. Sewn. Waterstained; soiling to outer leaves. Early reader's two small ink notations on title-page, just below the imprint. Uncut, partly unopened copy, with one signature opened unevenly. (24487)

“[A]
bare Narrative
of matter of
FACT,
digested in order of time”
Rushworth, John, comp. Historical collections of private passages of state, weighty matters in law, remarkable proceedings in five parliaments. Beginning the sixteenth year of King James, anno 1618. and ending ... [with the death of King Charles the First, 1648] ... London: Pr. by Tho. Newcomb for George Thomason, 1659–1701. Folio (31.5 cm; 12.5"). 5 parts in 8 vols. I: Frontis. port., [15] ff., 691, [1 (blank)], 57, [1 (blank)] pp. II: Frontis. port., [5] ff., pp. 1–617, [1 (blank)] p., pp. 717–884 pp., 1 plt. (port., Duke of Hamilton). III: pp. 885–1060, 1085–1196, 1199–1388; appendix pp. 1–315, [1 (blank)] pp.; 1 plt. (port., Earl of Strafforde). IV: Frontis. port., [3] ff., 184 pp., fols. 185–92, pp. 193–400, [16] ff., pp. 385–552, fols. 553–64, pp. 565–788, [6] ff. V: [1] f., 208 pp., pp. 259–410, 459–770, 777–99, 791–975, 974–88, [6] ff. VI: Frontis., [1] f., xvi, 148 pp., pp. 177–352, 361–656, [4] ff.; fold. plt. VIII: Title-leaf, pp. 731–890 (837, 838 repeated), 913–1056, 1059–74, 1097–1431; [1] p., [9 (index)] ff. VIII: Frontis., title-leaf, [4] ff., pp. 1–76, 101–252, 401–786, .
$5000.00
Click the interior images for enlargements.
Rushworth (1612?–90), a partisan of Cromwell and Parliament, compiled one of the most famous and still sought-after assemblages of documents on the history of England during the early Stuart period and the Civil War era. Biased though it be, the work is a major source for historians, both amateur and professional, and for students of English law.
For the latter, in addition to the obvious parliamentary proceedings, there is the noteworthy inclusion at the end of vol. III of the “Star Chamber Reports” that compose the appendix, and the devotion of all of vol. VIII to the trial of Thomas, Earl of Stratford.
As our caption notes, this vast repository purports to have been made as “a bare narrative” of its “fact[s]”; but it now resonates with a richness far beyond mere chronicle.
It repays both extended and “dip-in” reading for pleasure.
Wing (rev. ed.) R2316, R2318–19, & R2333; Lowndes 2152. Recent half speckled calf, old style; marbled paper sides; round spines, raised bands, gilt center devices in spine compartments, bands accented with gilt beading. Binding signed by Starr Bookworks. Occasional early marginalia. Occasional foxing. Very old waterstaining in vol. VI, with cockling of paper; minor worming in upper margins of same volume (not anywhere close to text). Old library pressure- (not perforation-) stamps in some blank margins.
A very nice set. (22477)

Written & Published
Here in Philadelphia
. . . This the
English Version
Salazar, J[osé] M[aría].
Observations on the political reforms of Colombia. Tr. from the manuscript by
Edward Barry. Philadelphia: Pr. by William Stavely, 1828. 8vo. 47, [1 (blank)]
pp.
$1250.00
The author of this was a native of Antioquia, a lawyer, and a diplomat; he wrote this treatise while serving as the Venezuelan plenipotentiary minister to the United States. It was printed for the first time in Philadelphia, and appeared simultaneously in two editions, one in English and the other in Spanish. Writing in hopes of influencing the congress of Grand Colombia, which in 1826 was considering revising the constitution, Salazar offers his noteworthy, extended thoughts on what political organization would be best.
This is a very scarce book. Palau did not know of this English translation, and fewer than eight U.S. libraries report owning a copy of it.
Palau 286648 (for the Spanish-language edition); Sabin 75576; Shoemaker 35093a. Recent quarter dark green morocco with marbled paper sides. Pages 3 through 6 are supplied in xerographic facsimile. Browning and foxing.

African-American Author on
“HAYTI” — The First New-World Black-Ruled Nation
Sanders (a.k.a. Saunders), Prince. By authority. Haytian papers. A collection of the very interesting proclamations, and other official documents; together with some account of the rise, progress, and present state of the kingdom of Hayti. London: Pr. for W. Reed, 1816. 8vo. [2] ff., xv, [1], 228 pp.
[SOLD]
Click the images for enlargements.
A major and now uncommon compilation of documents from the founding years of the first black-ruled nation in the New World. The documents relate to the reign of Henri Christophe and carry dates from 1806 to 1816. They are: Code Henri: Law respecting the culture [of the land]; Extracts from the registers of the deliberations of the consuls of the [French] Republic; Narrative of the accession of Their Royal Majesties to the throne of Hayti; State of Hayti: Proclamation. Henri Christophe, president ... to the land and naval armaments [Oct. 8, 1810]; Constitutional law of the Council of State which establishes royalty in Hayti [Apr. 4, 1811]; Kingdom of Hayti: Manifesto of the King [Sept. 18, 1814]; Royal gazette of Hayti [Jan. 4, 1816]; Proclamation [Jan. 1, 1816].
Prince Sanders (1807–40) was an American-born African-American from New England who was educated at Dartmouth and came to be a Pan-Africanist and black colonizer. On a trip to Haiti in 1816 he immediately began to serve Henri Christophe as a close assistant after successfully introducing vaccination against smallpox and the Lancastrian system of education in the schools. Publication of this work strained that relationship for Christophe had not officially sanctioned it. Sanders was, however, allowed to continue his educational work and to develop plans for colonizing Haiti with free and freed blacks from the U.S., and by some accounts he served as attorney general, being given credit for authorship of the Haytian criminal code. His “editor's address,” “reflections,” and reflections specifically on the abolition of the slave trade, therefore, are of significant interest.
Sabin 29578; not in Library Company, Afro-Americana, but see 9145 for the 1818 U.S. edition. Early 20th-century brown half-calf, gilt-stamped; rubbed on joints and corners. Ex-library (properly deaccessioned), with bookplates, call number on spine in gilt, pressure-stamp on title-page, abrasion to rear pastedown where once was a charge pocket. Occasional instances of spotting or soil; in fact, a good copy. (26021)

Uncommon & Carefully Printed
Society of Jesus. Constitutiones Societatis Iesu. Cum earum declarationibus. Romae: In Collegio Romano eiusdem Societatis, 1615. 8vo. 309, [71] pp.
[SOLD]
Click the interior images for enlargements.
Early Latin printing of the Jesuit Rule first adopted and published in 1556. Originally written in Spanish by St. Ignatius of Loyola, the work was given its official Latin translation by Juan Polanco, Ignatius's personal secretary, who had assisted in the document's composition; this translation was first printed in 1558.
The contents include “Primvm ac generale examen iis omnibvs, qvi in Societatem Iesv admitti petent, proponendum”; “Constitvtiones cum declarationibus”; “Formvla votorvm simplicivm, quae professi emittunt post professionem, iuxta constitutiones; extracta ex prima Congregatione generali, & recognita à tertia”; “Index in examen, & constitutiones”; each of those sections starts with a decorative capital. An extensive index is provided.
Much attention was paid overall to the attractive typography of this work, which was printed at the Jesuits' Roman college. A four-element woodcut architectural title-page border, woodcut initials and tailpieces, and carefully laid-out columns of roman and italic text adorn the volume. The text of the Constitutiones is printed in roman type and the “declarationibus” that supplements them is printed in italic, sometimes surrounding the text, other times in a column to the right or left.
Scarce: Only three U.S. institutions report holdings.
DeBacker-Sommervogel, V, 78; Graesse, II, 255. Recent calf, covers ruled in blind in period style: blind rules above
and below each band extending onto the covers forming a V with a trefoil at the end of each V; each band with fine gilt rule. Title-page with inked Jesuit ownership inscription dated 1625. Light foxing throughout; waterstaining to lower and outer portions of some early leaves. All edges stained red. A handsome production in a good copy. (23547)

Putting DOWN the
REVOLUTION in Connecticut
Steadfast, Jonathan [pseud. of David Daggett]. Count the cost. An address to the people of Connecticut, on sundry political subjects, and particularly on the proposition for a new constitution. Hartford: Hudson & Goodwin, 1804. 8vo (23.6 cm, 9.25"). 21, ii, [1] pp.
$150.00

Daggett, a Federalist lawyer and politician, argues against the creation of a new state constitution for Connecticut; he claims that those promoting such a thing do so for personal and political gain, and suggests they are “pigmy politicians, the mushroom growth of an hour” (p. 16). The appendix provides “a View of the Fiscal Concerns of Connecticut.”
Click the interior image for an enlargement.
First edition.
Sabin 15716; Shaw & Shoemaker 610. Recent marbled paper–covered boards, front cover with printed paper label. Title-page with small inked
“pseud.” comment next to author's name. Pages age-toned with offsetting and some light spotting (darkest to title-page); one leaf with upper margin repaired some time ago. Page edges untrimmed; one signature unopened. (25211)

Folwell's Printing: The Fifth U.S. Congress
United States. Laws, statutes, etc. 1797–99 (5th Cong., 1st–3rd sess.). Acts passed at the first session of the fifth Congress of the United States of America, begun and held at the city of Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania, on Monday the fifteenth of May, in the year MDCCXCVII and of the independence of the United States, the twenty-first. Philadelphia: Richard Folwell, [1797–99]. 8vo (21.3 cm, 8.4"). 240, vii, [1], [241]–561, [1 (blank)], 26, iv, [48 (index)] pp.
$300.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Acts of the first, second, and third sessions of the Fifth Congress, printed in the same years as their original appearances — with these Richard Folwell printings being less common than the William Ross editions. Each section has a separate title-page, with the pagination of the first session's acts continued in the second and third. Covered here are the establishment of the Department of the Navy, the creation of the Mississippi Territory, treaties with the Cherokees and with Tripoli, and the Alien and Sedition Acts; the volume closes with a copy of the Constitution as “ratified by the several states.” In passing, one happens upon acts regulating the distillers of “Geneva” (gin) and “the Medical Establishment.”
Reading or browsing, in this volume, is interesting and eye-opening.
Provenance: Old signature, “Hall Harrison,” on title-page.
Evans 32952, 34688, & 36479; ESTC W11750; Sabin 15502, 15503, & 15504. Contemporary treed calf, rebacked with calf, spine with gilt-stamped bands and gilt-stamped leather title and publication labels; leather of boards (but not spine) crackled, chipped/chipping, and discolored from a fire, with rear board most affected and with one corner lost (3/4" up and across from the point, this showing in our extra photograph). Front pastedown with old institutional bookplate; title-page with early inked ownership inscription as above and old institutional rubber-stamp. Offsetting from binding at beginning and end, intermittent mild offsetting and faint spotting generally, a few leaves towards the back browned, with pages otherwise clean; the fire that affected the boards did not reach the interior, here. (25667)
For Books for the BUSTED
BIBLIOPHILE, click here.

Convention Constitution Membership
United States Railway Mail Service Mutual Benefit Association. Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Convention of the United States Railway Mail Service Mutual Benefit Association, held at Washington, D. C., September 4th and 5th, 1878, with the constitution and by-laws as amended thereat, and list of members of the association. Washington: Pr. by J. F. Sheiry, 1878. 16mo. 175 pp.
$100.00
The Railway Mail Service Mutual Benefit Association was founded in 1874 to secure life insurance and other benefits for its members. It was the grandfather of the current American Postal Workers Union. A number of delegate speakers are quoted at length, and some of their remarks are witty — Mr. Towers of Texas, for example, noted that he came from “Ft. Worth, the largest city of its size in the United States.” Original printed wrappers, chipped at spine and edges and corners without loss of printing; darkened. A shallow chip or two to title and following page, shallow dog-earing and faint waterstaining to initial leaves including title-page; otherwise, clean and free of chips or tears. (21257)
Let's
Work
with 'Em
A Presentation
Copy
Wall, James W. The Constitution: Originating in compromise, it can only be preserved by adhering to its spirit, and observing its every obligation. An address delivered ... at the City Hall, Burlington, February 20, 1862. Philadelphia: King & Baird, 1862. 8vo. 60 pp.
$75.00


Weaver, Isaac. Experience[,] the test of government: In eighteen essays. Written during the years 1805 and 1806. To aid the investigation of principles, and operation of the existing constitution and laws of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Pr. by William Duane, 1807. 8vo (23.2 cm, 9.125"). 60 pp.
[SOLD]

Appeal for reform of the Pennsylvanian constitution in a more radically democratic direction and for reductions in the checks and balances placed on the legislature and in the power of the governor and judges. Isaac Weaver (1756–1830) was state treasurer. This work is also attributed to its printer, future U.S. Secretary of the Treasury William Duane (1780–1865).
Sole edition.
Shaw & Shoemaker 14179 & 12469. Recent gray-green paper over light boards; front cover with paper label, lettered in black. Uncut copy. Paper lightly age-toned and deckle edges with some light browning, waterstaining, and traces of soiling.

NOT by a “Free-Thinker”
Whitehead, William Adee. The alleged atheism of the Constitution. From the Northern Monthly for November, 1867. Newark: 1867. 8vo. 15, [1 (blank)] pp.
$95.00
With a brief survey of early STATE-constitutional relationships to (Christian) religion.
NSTC 2W17788. Original wrappers, front wrapper chipped at edges, back wrapper chipped at inner edge and with paper remnants affixed at top. Leaves loose (wrappers included). Long tear in fore-margin of title-leaf and small chips in inner margins of title-
and final leaves. Some short marginal tears. Small chips to lower outer margins. Lengthwise fold mark. (8931)
[Wilson,
George, of Manchester]. The
constitutional
right to a revision of the land-tax. Being the argument
on a case submitted to counsel on behalf of the National Anti-Corn league. London:
[Pr. by A. Sweeting for] The National Anti-Corn-Law League, 1842. 8vo (20 cm,
7.875"). [2] ff., 55, [2], [1 (blank)] pp., [1 (blank)] f.
$250.00
Wilson here makes a learned argument, beginning with Anglo-Saxon law, and covering medieval law and the nature of feudal tenure, against the real-estate tax in the England and against the unjust collection of that tax by the exchequer. This was an especially urgent matter in the mid–19th century as landholders and farmers were doubly burdened by the combination of low grain prices and high taxes, and were increasingly losing political clout to rising industrial and urban interests.
Goldsmiths'-Kress 32703.2; NSTC 2R11046 & 2W25177. In recent wrappers; previously removed from nonce volume. Light soiling and staining on outer pages. Closely trimmed by binder with lost of part of last line on last two pages. Inked number on title-page.
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