History of the American Revolution.
Item #77917
RAMSAY, David. The History of the American Revolution. Phila: Printed and sold by R. Aitken Son, 1789. Two volumes: vi,320,323-359; vi,360pp. Contemporary calf, expertly rebacked in matching calf, retaining early gilt morocco labels. Boards of both volumes rubbed and a bit scuffed, upper portion of front board of first volume darkened. Contemporary ownership inscriptions on front pastedowns, front free endpapers, and titlepages of both volumes. Some minor chipping and wear at edges of a few pages. Tanning and foxing throughout (heavier at first and last leaves). Good plus. HOWES R35. SABIN 67687. EVANS 22090. First edition of one of the more often reprinted general histories of the Revolution. This work has the distinction, with Ramsay's HISTORY OF THE REVOLUTION IN SOUTH-CAROLINA (1785), of possessing "the first copyrights issued by the general government, [which] antedate, by over a year, the passage of a general copyright law, which became operative on the first of June, 1790" - Evans. As an historian and public figure Ramsay made an important contribution to events in Revolutionary America. His service as a military surgeon resulted in imprisonment at St. Augustine for a year after the capture of Charleston. After the war and until his assassination by a maniac in 1815, he wrote a number of works of lasting historical value.
Price: $7,500.00