Nov 25, 2014 - Sale 2368

Sale 2368 - Lot 171

Price Realized: $ 2,000
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
(MAGAZINES.) The Columbian Magazine, or Monthly Miscellany. Volume I, issues 1 through 6. 12 plates, 4 folding tables. [2], 300 pages. 8vo, contemporary calf, moderate wear; lacking a collective title but including introductory leaf, archaeological plate lacking 4 inches of upper corner, moderate dampstaining toward rear; early owners' signatures on front free endpaper and page 1. [Philadelphia], September 1786 to February 1787
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"The most ambitious project in magazine publication yet attempted in this country"--Evans 19565. Original articles include a life of General Nathanael Greene, a long "Letter relative to the present state of China," two letters quoting Biblical passages in Hebrew characters, "Thoughts on the Present Situation of the Federal Government" by "Pro-Republica," letters concerning George Washington's treatment of prisoners, an essay titled "The Paradise of Negro-Slaves: A Dream," and much more. The plates (all executed by James Trenchard) include portraits of General Greene and George Washington (Hart 839); the new arms and the great seal of the United States; mammoth bones found in Kentucky; plan of John Fitch's steamboat; and a natural history plate of a ruby-crowned wren. "The handsomest and one of the most important magazines in the 18th century, profusely and magnificently illustrated. . . . A truly remarkable record of 18th century American culture"--Lomazow 19. No other copies of the complete first volume known at auction since 1991. Provenance: George Ellicott (1760-1832) of Ellicott City, MD; gift to his granddaughter Mary Lea (1822-1888).