Books and Manuscripts

Burlington, in New Jersey: Printed and sold by James Parker, Sold also by David Hall, in Philadelphia, 1765. First edition. 8vo. x, 573, (1) (errata) pp. Contemporary full calf, rebacked, stamped in gilt, red morocco spine label, boards and extremities rubbed; all edges trimmed; remnants of removed label on front paste-down; contemporary ownership signature of James Whitall, Jr., on verso of title-page and on p. 1, additional old ownership signature on verso of title-page; soiling and toning to text throughout; text leaves trimmed close, shaving some letters in printed shoulder notes; scattered underlining in pencil. Felcone 243; Evans 10166; Howes S 661; Miller 853

"The first history of New Jersey, printed by James Parker on a press owned by Benjamin Franklin, formerly used in Antiqua by Benjamin Mecom, and moved temporarily from New York to Burlington for the printing of this book." (Felcone 243).

During the American Revolution, in the days leading up to the Battle of Red Bank in the fall of 1777, the Patriot army seized the estate of James Whitall, Jr., the original owner of this book, to build Fort Mercer. The location of Whitall's estate was strategically located on the bluffs overlooking the left bank of the Delaware River, directly across from Fort Mifflin, a key defensive stronghold for the Americans against the British Navy. When the British seized Philadelphia in September 1777, the Americans attempted to deny them supplies by blockading the river at the site of the two forts. The British then began bombarding both forts, and on September 22, 1777 a 2,000 strong Hessian mercenary army, led by Count Carl Emil Kurt von Donop, sailed up the Delaware from Camden, New Jersey to seize Fort Mercer. In a morale boosting victory, the Americans, led by Colonel Christopher Greene and his 400 strong Rhode Island regiment, repelled the attack and inflicted significant casualties on the Hessians. After the battle, the Whitall home was used as a field hospital for both American and Hessian casualties.