PHILADELPHIA NOT just Ben . . .
MULTICULTURAL ALWAYS!
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PHILADELPHIA 
First English-Language Edition — Pr. by
Bradford, 1795
Martens, [Georg Friedrich von]. Summary of the law of nations, founded on the treaties and customs of the modern nations of Europe...translated from the French by William Cobbett. Philadelphia: Thomas Bradford, 1795. 8vo. XIX, [1], 379, [1 (blank)] pp.
Click the images for enlargements. Provenance: 19th-century ownership signatures on front pastedown or front fly-leaf of John T. Wait (Dec. 14, 1839), Luther Spalding (undated), and W.H. Richards.
• Evans 29025; ESTC W29507; Sabin 44848. On Cobbett, see: The Dictionary of National Biography, XI, 142–45. Contemporary sheep, framed in blind with a roll of a rope design, spine with gilt-stamped title-label; leather worn at edges and front cover expertly reattached, spine worn with chipping. Ownership inscriptions as above. Minor spotting and offsetting.
Tough Times for a Famous “Name”Meade,
George. Autograph Letter Signed. Philadelphia, PA, 1798. Folio (31.7 cm, 12.5"). [2] ff.
Meade was, briefly, a member of the 3rd Philadelphia Battalion, but saw no military action himself; his grandson was Gen. George Gordon Meade, commander of the Army of the Potomac.
• On Meade, see: Dictionary of American Biography, XII, 473–74. Creased along folds, with a few ink blotches and very minor offsetting. Later pencilled note beneath signature.
With
a
Seal
Meant for ReuseMifflin, Samuel. Document signed on parchment, in English. “Exemplification of a common recovery with double vouchers of the messuage & plantation in Blockley late the estate of Morton Garrett.” Philadelphia, 1776. Folio (51.5 cm, 20.5"). [1] p. 
All the names involved here have powerful Philadelphia associations. A seal is affixed to the sheet, intended to be removed and used “for sealing of Writs in our Court.”
Blockley, in which the land in question was located, was a township located in West Philadelphia from about 1677 until its consolidation with the city in 1854. The name has lingered, although it has been superceded in general usage by the broader term “University City.”
• Parchment crisp and untorn, with outermost folded portions lightly spotted; front with early inked title as given above, plus pencilled numerals. An evocative document connected to some very prominent names, in excellent condition, with its seal protected for its intended reuse by a diamond-shaped paper covering.
A
Philadelphian's
Privately
Printed“Ghostly” VisionMoore, Charles Leonard. Ghost of Rosalys: a play. Philadelphia: Pr. for the author (Times Printing House), 1900. 12mo. 174 pp. 
Single-click
the image, for an enlargement. • Full library blue cloth, gilt-stamped on the spine, covers pressure-stamped with the name of a now-defunct library, spine with shelving label. Small tear to head of spine. Binding lightly soiled. Bookplate and library pocket present. Possible authorial inscription on front fly-leaf. Remnants of paper adhered to top edge of title-page. Pages clean. Very good. (7372)
Philadelphia-AreaFIRE
Insurance
(Mutual Assurance
Company). The deed of settlement of the Mutual Assurance Company,
for insuring houses from loss by fire, in and near Philadelphia. Philadelphia:
Pr. by W. Fry, 1818. 8vo (18.7 cm, 7.4"). 15, [1 (blank)] pp. 
In
libraries, this is a common item on microfilm—very uncommon, as a reality.
• Shaw & Shoemaker 44957. Stitched in paper wrappers, front wrapper with printed paper label; pencilled notations to upper margin of front wrapper, small smudge to back wrapper. Ownership inscription to front fly-leaf. A little foxing only.
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VI . . . |