[Americana] The Constitutions of the Several Independent States of America; The Declaration of Independence; The Articles of Confederation Between the Said States…

The Constitutions of the Several Independent States of America; The Declaration of Independence; The Articles of Confederation Between the Said States…
Philadelphia: Printed by Francis Bailey, 1781. First edition (one of only 200 copies printed by order of Congress). 12mo. (ii), 226 pp. Full modern brown calf, stamped in blind, contemporary red morocco ownership label laid down on front board and stamped “Joshua Mersereau, Esq”, modern red morocco spine labels, stamped in gilt; all edges trimmed; foxing and dampstaining to title-page; text trimmed close along top edge, affecting some running headlines and page numbers, and “The” at top of title-page; light to moderate dampstaining in gutter of most leaves; scattered light spotting to text; chip in bottom corner, p. 71/72, affecting catch-word. Howes C-716; Evans 17390; Adams, The American Controversy 81-74a; Hildeburn, Pennsylvania 4091; ESTC W20083; Reese, The Revolutionary Hundred 67

Presumably the same copy sold at Bangs & Co., New York, January 7-9, 1902. Described in that sale as “old calf” and with “Joshua Mersereau, Esq. in gilt on side.” Recently rebound, presumably preserving that label from that original binding.

A rare copy of the first authorized edition of America’s founding documents, including the first collected state constitutions, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance with France–“one of the most desirable works in American constitutional history.” (Reese). One of only 200 copies published by order of Congress, this important volume was a vital text in the formative years of the United States, and was instrumental in the drafting of the Federal Constitution in 1787, where it would have “provided a convenient reference to the state constitutions.” (Reese)

On December 29, 1780 Congress resolved that “a committee of three be appointed to collect, and cause to be published, two hundred correct copies, of the Declaration of independence, the Articles of confederation and perpetual union, the alliance between these United States, and his Most Christian Majesty, with the constitutions or forms of government of the several states, to be bound together in boards.” They appointed Thomas Bee of South Carolina, John Witherspoon of New Jersey, and Oliver Wolcott of Connecticut to undertake the task and compile the official texts, and had official printer Francis Bailey, then in Lancaster, to print the volume. The Monthly Review noted that this volume, “contains a greater portion of unsophisticated wisdom and good sense, than is, perhaps, to be met with in any legislative case that was ever yet framed. It is, in short, the book which may be considered the Magna Charta of the United States." (Sabin)

Joshua Mersereau (1728-1804) was an American businessman, lawyer, and patriot who operated, along with his two sons and family members, the Mersereau Spy Ring–one of the first intelligence gathering operations for the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Along with the Culper Ring, it was one of the two major spy networks that operated in the greater New York region during the war.

Educated at Kings College (now Columbia), Joshua practiced law in New York City before the outbreak of the war, and ran a successful tavern and stagecoach with his brother, John, on Staten Island. When New York fell to the British in the summer of 1776, Joshua’s Staten Island property was destroyed by the British and he narrowly escaped, first to Manhattan and then to New Brunswick, New Jersey. While also narrowly escaping to New Jersey, John released their stagecoach horses for service in the Continental Army. As the Army retreated through New Jersey toward Pennsylvania, Washington recruited Joshua to serve as a secret intelligence agent, and sent Joshua’s son, John LaGrange, to stay behind enemy lines in Staten Island to operate a spy network between New Jersey and New York. It was from here that the Mersereau family developed a complex and highly successful intelligence gathering operation that funneled vital information on the strength of British forces, troop deployments, invasion plans, and prisoner conditions to Washington throughout the duration of the war.

Concurrent with his intelligence operation, during the war Joshua also served as a representative for Richmond County (Staten Island) in the Provisional Assembly of New York State, from 1777-1782, and as Deputy Commissary of prisoners under Elias Boudinot for Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. He reached the rank of Captain, and following the war moved to Tioga County and became one of the county's first justices.

Provenance
Private Collection, Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania