Books and Manuscripts

Philadelphia: R. Aitken and Son, 1795. First edition. 12mo. (ii), 25, (1) pp.; lacking folded leaf. Original limp light blue wrappers, lightly toned, scattered chipping along spine, slight vertical crease at center; scattered light foxing to text. Evans 29220; Howes P-412; Sabin 55548

Orignal prospectus for the North American Land Company. Established in 1795 by "Financier of the Revolution ", Robert Morris, as well as John Nicholson, Comptroller General of Pennsylvania, and James Greenleaf, former United States Consul to Amsterdam. The organization speculated in land and sought to develop over 6,000,000 acres in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, and the Carolinas. The venture proved a calamitous failure, resulting in Morris's bankruptcy and stint in debtor's prison. The land speculation scheme, of which this was the largest at the time, contributed to the Panic of 1796-97.