Two Centuries of American History: Highly Important Letters and Documents

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Lot 27
  • 27

(Bill of Rights)

Estimate
5,000 - 10,000 USD
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Description

  • Acts Passed at the First Session of the Second Congress of The United States of America. Begun and Held at the City of Philadelphia … on Monday the Twenty-Fourth of October, One Thousand and Seven Hundred and Ninety-One. Philadelphia: Printed by Francis Childs and John Swain, [1792].
  • Paper, Ink
8vo (8 5/8 x 5 1/8 in.; 220 x 131 mm, uncut); occasional browning and soiling, ink library stamp ("Department of Justice Library") on A2r. Modern half blue morocco over marbled boards.

Literature

Evans 24868

Condition

8vo (8 5/8 x 5 1/8 in.; 220 x 131 mm, uncut); occasional browning and soiling, ink library stamp ("Department of Justice Library") on A2r. Modern half blue morocco over marbled boards.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Supreme Court Justice William Paterson's copy of this important collection of acts, including the ratifications of the Bill of Rights by the various states, signed by him ("Wm. Paterson") on the title-page. The volume also includes the acts that established the U.S. Post Office and Mint, the act taxing whiskey (which later provoked the Whiskey Rebellion), and the full text of the 1791 treaty between the U.S. and Cherokees.

Paterson (1745–1806) was one of the great statesmen of eighteenth-century New Jersey. He was delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and a signer of the Constitution. His principal contribution to the Convention was advocating for the "New Jersey Plan," which envisioned a unicameral legislative body with equal representation from each state; the competing "Virginia Plan" called for representation in the national legislature to be based on population. Roger Sherman of Connecticut brokered the "Great Compromise," by which the New Jersey Plan was applied to the Senate and the Virginia Plan to the House of Representatives.

Paterson also served as a senator from New Jersey, as governor of the state, and, in his final office, as associate justice of the Supreme Court.