The letters of Junius. Complete in one volume. With a copious index
Philadelphia: printed for Robert Campbell, 1795. 12mo, pp. [4], xii, 13-283, [13] index; contemporary full mottled calf, gilt-paneled spine laid out in 6 compartments, red morocco label in 1; early ownership signatures of Levi Bartlett (likely the eldest son of Josiah Bartlett, the signer of the Declaration of Independence from New Hampshire, and later governor of that state) at the top of the title page and the top of the dedication page; short tear in front free endpaper, else a fine copy in a very nice American binding of the period. The first American edition of Junius was published in Philadelphia by Pritchard and Hall in 1791. This is the second American edition. Evans 28912. "The secret of the authorship of these letters which puzzled the men of the last century still remains unsolved, and it may be added that with our present information it is practically insoluble" (Halkett & Laing III. 327), although current scholarship seems to suggest that they are the work of Sir Philip Francis (1740-1818). "The first of the letters of Junius appeared in Woodfall's Public Advertiser in London, Jan. 21, 1769. Further letters appeared irregularly until 21 Jan. 1772. The series attracted enough attention to make it profitable for various booksellers to bring out editions of the letters before the series was concluded. At least 16 of these unauthorized partial editions were published before the end of 1771. In addition, individual letters were published in other political collections" (NCBEL, II, 1178). Item #49443
Price: $600.00
