Constitutions des Treize États-Unis de l'Amerique.
by [UNITED STATES, Constitutions.]
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
New York, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
A Philadelphie, et se trouve à Paris [Printed for Benjamin Franklin by], Chez Ph.-D. Pierres … Pissot, pere & fils, 1783.. First collected edition in French. 8°, contmporary quarter calf over decorated boards (joints cracked and weak, worn at extremities), spine richly gilt with raised bands in six compartments, crimson morocco lettering piece in second compartment from head, gilt letter, marbled endleaves, text block edges sprinkled red and blue-green. Woodcut seal of the United States of America on title-page. Internally clean. Overall in good to very good condition. (2 ll.), 540 pp. *** First collected edition in French, translated by the Duc de la Rochefoucauld. Six hundred copies were printed (of which there were 100 on large paper). The Seal of the United States, eagle, stars and stripes, designed by Franklin, is used in the imprint on the title-page. This is the first use of the Seal in a book. In addition to the Constitution of each of the thirteen states, the text includes the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and three treaties (between the newly independent United States and France, Sweden, and The Netherlands, respectively). The translations were made several years before this publication, at the behest of Franklin, the Minister to the French court, who had negotiated with Great Britain for the independence of the thirteen colonies, and who probably supplied the annotative footnotes throughout. "Franklin's grand gesture in publishing and distributing these constitutions, about which there was an intense interest and curiosity among statesmen, was one of his chief achievements as propagandist for the new American republic." - Streeter. He explained his motives in a 1783 Christmas day letter to Thomas Mifflin: "The extravagant Misrepresentations of our Political State in foreign Countries, made it appear necessary to give them better Information, which I thought could not be more effectually and authentically done, than by publishing a Translation into French, now the most general Language in Europe, of the Book of Constitutions, which had been printed by Order of Congress. This I accordingly go well done, and … I am persuaded that this Step will not only tend to promote the Emigration to our Country of substantial People from all Parts of Europe, by the numerous Copies I shall disperse, but will facilitate our future Treaties with foreign Courts, who could not before know what kind of Government and People they had to treat with." *** Howes C716. Sabin 16118. Streeter Sale II: 1035 (L-P issue). Livingston, Franklin and his Press at Passy, pp. 181-188.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Richard C. Ramer Old & Rare Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 24933
- Title
- Constitutions des Treize États-Unis de l'Amerique.
- Author
- [UNITED STATES, Constitutions.]
- Book Condition
- Used
- Edition
- First collected edition in French
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- A Philadelphie, et se trouve à Paris [Printed for Benjamin Franklin by], Chez Ph.-D. Pierres … Pissot, pere & fils, 1783.
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- law, constitutions, Americana, Usiana, Benjamin Franklin, Duc de la Rochefoucauld
Terms of Sale
Richard C. Ramer Old & Rare Books
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About the Seller
Richard C. Ramer Old & Rare Books
Biblio member since 2012
New York, New York
About Richard C. Ramer Old & Rare Books
We have been in business since 1969. We work from private premises, both in New York and in Lisbon, Portugal, and admit visitors by appointment. Online lists are issued regularly.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
- Raised Band(s)
- Raised bands refer to the ridges that protrude slightly from the spine on leather bound books. The bands are created in the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Text Block
- Most simply the inside pages of a book. More precisely, the block of paper formed by the cut and stacked pages of a book....
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
- Cracked
- In reference to a hinge or a book's binding, means that the glue which holds the opposing leaves has allowed them to separate,...
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