Beschreibung:

NEW JERSEY-BENJAMIN FRANKLIN IMPRINT] A bill in the Chancery of New-Jersey, at the suit of John Earl of Stair, and others, pro... . New York: printed by James Parker and a few copies to be sold by him, and Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia, 1747. Full dark green morocco by Alfred Matthews, gilt dentelles, modern clamshell case. 13 3/4 x 8 1/2 inches (35.2 x 21.5 cm); [1-title]-124, 1-11 [12 blank], [i-iv-reprint of text from the New-York Weekly Post Boy], 13-24, [24 verso blank], 25-39, [40 blank], 41 [text reprinted from The New-York Gazette], [42-blank] pp. As with the copies Miller examined pp.^(2)16-23 are numbered 17-24, i.e. 16 was omitted from the pagination. Miller states that ^(2)24 is a blank; in our copy that page is numbered and bears text, and its verso is a blank. Collation: pi 2 [lacking the conjugate blank pi 1], A-U, X-2H^(2) [-2H2, blank, missing from all but one copy examined by Miller] a-c^(2) [^(2)a^(2)]-d^(2) E^(2)-H^(2) chi 1. Given minor differences from the collation as given by Miller [for example, his final signature ^(2)G^(2) is signed H^(2) in this copy), it seem possible that more than one state of the book exists. The three folding maps (with borders indicated in watercolor along designated boundary lines) were engraved and printed by James Turner of Boston, and are bound at the end of this copy. Some copies were issued without maps. Joints separated, four regular abraded areas on front board where tape was attached, front endpaper separated, stamp of the Bar Association and other accession marks neatly placed on the title, text evenly toned but generally a clean copy, the maps laid down, possible very minor loss to the margin of the second map, four minor ink spots to the third. This interesting work contains (among other items of note) what may be the first attempt at a facsimile done in North America, the front page of The New-York Gazette for March 7, 1747-8, in which the masthead is almost perfectly rendered. The text pertains to the so-called Elizabethtown Bill compiled by James Alexander. This dispute was between the holders of the Carteret grant, the lands given directly by the Duke of York in 1664, and those (John Bailey and others, the Elizabethtown Associates) who held land purchased under the aegis of Deputy Governor Colonel Richard Nicolls from the Elizabethtown indians. The Carteret grantees formed the Board of Proprietors of the Eastern division, and their numbers increased as shares were divided. Until the 1720s, matters simmered quietly, but over this period legal interests in some of the lands had come into the hands of Robert H. Morris and James Alexander, who held important offices in the colony. Alexander, who was the Surveyor General of the region, drew up the chancery bill, and the Proprietors commenced legal action to eject the settlers and to collect quit-rent fees from them. The settlers, in turn, immediately emphasized their Indian titles to their lands. In time, matters grew heated, and riots occurred in Newark in 1745. Those who had been imprisoned for protesting the actions of the proprietors were released, in a fracas described in this work. The subsequent call for a Riot Act was supported by the New Jersey Governor and Council, but the Assembly not only rejected this bill but also actively encouraged the settlers, and the messy litigation continued for several decades. This was an expensive publication, costing about 295 pounds overall. About 270 copies were produced, according to Miller. Franklin had suggested James Turner to print the maps, which were drawn by Lewis Evans of Philadelphia. It was a complex publication, issued in separate parts. For a very full account of the work, see The Felcone Collection 21, which indicates only about 60 sets of the maps were colored (p.32). Evans 6021-24; Miller Benjamin Franklin's Philadelphia Printing 426; Church 961; Tower [Americana] 9, p. 269; Felcone 21; Streeter Sale 918. C The New York City Bar Association