Declaration of Independence, 1776

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/26/2023

Book, beautifully rebound, "THE ANNUAL REGISTER, OR A VIEW OF THE HISTORY, POLITICS, AND LITERATURE, FOR THE YEAR 1776. London, J. Dodsley, 1779. Second Edition, 268pp. Early Publication of Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation. Filled with Contemporaneous Reports of American Revolution. This is the Annual Register for 1776 which contains an extensive review of the historic events and document of 1776 in America and England. The accounts and documents were fresh and vibrant to the writer and readers who were reading about events that intimately affected them and the end result of the Revolutionary War was unknown at the time. This book contains all the important events of 1776, the invasion of Canada led by Benedict Arnold, the Battle for Boston won by the Americans through the fortifications quickly built on Dorchester Heights, the successful defense of Charlestown, the events in Virginia leading to Governor Dunmore's abandonment of the capitol of Williamsburg and emancipation of slaves, the Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation, the British Invasion of Long Island, Manhattan, the Hudson River and New Jersey, etc., etc. Below are some of the text from this volume recounting those events and some of the critical documents, including a very early publication of the Declaration of Independence in book form. The first chapter summarizes the events in America in 1775 and the invasion of Canada by Arnold and the second chapter, summarized below, focuses on the events in Virginia where Governor Dunmore abandoned Williamsburg, issued a "Proclamation for martial law, and the emancipation of the negroes." The phrase Declaration of Independence does not appear herein. It is called instead (much less powerfully): "Reasons assigned by the Continental Congress for the North American Colonies and Provinces withdrawing their allegiance to the King of Great Britain", 261-270. Additional points of interest include reviews of books including Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations and Gibbon's Decline of the Roman Empire. A fascinating piece of history. Text block is good and tight and pages are clean. Spine with gilt ruled deco, titling and 1776 in gilt separated by bands.

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