Journal of the Proceedings of the Congress, Held at Philadelphia,
Item #73173
[CONTINENTAL CONGRESS]. Journal of the Proceedings of the Congress, Held at Philadelphia, September 5,1774. Philadelphia: PRinted by William and Thomas Bradford, at the London Coffee House, 1774. [4],144pp. Bound to style in half calf and marbled boards, leather label. Contemporary ownership inscription on half title, slightly later ownership inscription on titlepage. Light tanning and occasional faint foxing, several interior leaves browned, light dampstaining to initial leaves. Very good. The Journals of the first Continental Congress, describing meetings from Sept. 5 to Oct. 20, 1774, one of the most basic documents of the American Revolution. This is the very rare issue of 144 pages, with the correctly dated state of the titlepage, probably issued several months after the first(with 132 pages only, omitting the Petition of the King, and the correct date in Roman numerals). Committees of Correspondence, responding to the Intolerable Acts passed by Parliament in the wake of the Boston Tea Party, resolved to hold a Continental Congress in June of 1774. Delegates from twelve colonies (none from Georgia) gathered in Philadelphia in the fall. It included many of the most distinguished men in America, including Samuel and John Adams, Roger Sherman, John Jay, Joseph Galloway, John Dickinson, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, Edmund Pendleton, and Henry Middleton. The Congress succeeded in taking numerous important steps. On Oct. 14 they adopted a Declaration of Rights, and agreed to an Association governing imports and exports and boycotting British goods. They also drafted and sent an Address to the People of Great Britain and another Address to the Inhabitants of the Province of Quebec. They agreed to reassemble on May 10, 1775. This issue of the Journals adds twelve highly important pages of text, consisting of the address to King George III("The Petition to the King") arguing the American position, asking for redress, and promising loyalty if the status quo of 1764 was restored. This text was agreed upon and voted in executive session Oct. 1, 1774, and probably reached England in early November. This text does not appear in the 132-page issue, probably published in November, because it was still secret. The Petition certainly reached Lord North, but is is unclear whether the King ever saw it. By mid-Janu.
Price: $60,000.00