LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 October Rare Books & Manuscripts #675  / 

30859

1807 Massachusetts School Book: The Constitution

Currency:USD Category:Books / Antiquarian & Collectible Start Price:90.00 USD Estimated At:100.00 - 300.00 USD
1807 Massachusetts School Book: The Constitution
<B>1807 Massachusetts School Book: <I>The Constitution of the State of Massachusetts; and that of The United States; The Declaration of Independence, with President Washington's Farewell Address.</B></I></B></I> (Brookfield: Printed by E. Merriam & Co. for Isaiah Thomas, 1807), 108 pages, original blue paper on wood boards, beige paper spine, 16mo (4" x 6.5"), housed in a custom full leather solander box with gilt lettering and five raised spine bands. This small tome was "Printed by Order of the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, And by them recommended to the Inhabitants of the several Towns, to be read as a School Book in all the common Schools." It was most likely a Brookfield schoolboy's first introduction to Washington's Farewell Address, the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the fledgling American republic, as well as a primer on his own commonwealth's state constitution. The book has a few small wormholes on the wood, foxing to the endpapers and light foxing scattered throughout the remainder of the text. Significant portions of the boards along the fore-edge have worn down, and some of the paper covering the boards has worn away as well. As such, part of the title on the front board has worn away. The binding at the tail of the spine is a touch shaken at the endpapers, but the vast majority of the textblock is tight. A 19th-century owner has signed and dated the book on the front free endpaper, and a later owner has affixed a bookplate to the front pastedown. An early and altogether charming publication of the documents that made America, intended for the first generation of American schoolchildren.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Books & Catalogs (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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