Sold
James D. Richardson (American, 1843-1914) “A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents 1789-1897” 10 Vols. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1896-1897. 1st Edition. An impressive first edition set of 10 Volumes of “A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents 1789-1897″ compiled by James D. Richardson, an American politician and a Democrat from Tennessee for Tennessee’s 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1885 through 1905. Pursuant to an act of Congress on August 20, 1894, Richardson was charged with compiling this multi-volume work including every single important document from the federal government, from the early days of President Washington through the second administration of Grover Cleveland, plus some papers from the administration of William McKinley. Each volume is decorated with illustrated endpapers and tissue-guarded frontispieces, as well as illustrated plates and maps found throughout the text. Size (all similar): 6.5″ L x 2″ W x 9.25” H (16.5 cm x 5.1 cm x 23.5 cm)
The original first edition was printed in 1899 by the Government Printing office in Washington D.C. Only 6,000 copies were printed and presented to members of Congress and Senate. Initially copyrighted by Richardson in 1897, the private copyright of these public documents became a political dispute known as the Richardson Affair and copyright of such works was prohibited in 1895, eventually leading to a comprehensive prohibition on copyright of works of the federal government.
Condition: Brown cloth with gilt spines. Missing additional unnumbered “Supplemental Volume.” All have bending to edges of covers with some fraying, rubbing, scuffs, wrinkling, and staining. Some wear and light splitting to joints. A few have tearing to front pages and all have foxing and discoloring to pages. Nice preservation of text and images throughout.
Provenance: private Cripple Creek, Colorado, USA collection
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all purchases.
We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
