[Americana] [Constitution] Debates, Resolutions and other Proceedings, of the Convention of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Convened at Boston, on the 9th of January, 1788, and Continued until the 7th of February following, for the Purpose of Assenting to and Ratifying the Constitution Recommended by the Grand Federal Convention...

Boston: Printed and sold by Adams and Nourse; and Benjamin Russell, and Edmund Freeman, 1788. First edition. 8vo. 219 pp. Full contemporary brown calf, front joint worn, rear joint rubbed, extremities rubbed; all edges trimmed; ownership signature on front blank and at top of p. 3; scattered spotting and creasing to text; in tan cloth fall-down-back box. Evans 21242; Ford 97; Reese, The Federal Hundred 21; Sabin 45702; Gephart 9607

First edition in a contemporary binding of the debates of the Massachusetts Ratifying Convention.

In Massachusetts, anti-federalist opposition to the Constitution was significant. In order to mollify their concerns, convention delegate Theophilus Parsons added nine amendments, which were presented by John Hancock. The Constitution was ratified by Massachusetts with the amendments added as a recommendation to “remove the fears, and quiet the apprehensions of many of the good people of this Commonwealth, and more effectually guard against an undue administration of the federal government.” Three of these recommendations would become the Fifth, Seventh, and Tenth Amendments of the Constitution. The sixth state to ratify the Constitution, Massachusetts was the first to suggest amendments, which in turn led directly to the passage of the Bill of Rights.

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Darren Winston

SVP, Head of Department, Books and Manuscripts, Philadelphia

[email protected]267.414.1247

Darren Winston, Senior Vice President at Freeman’s, has served as Head of Department for Books & Manuscripts, Philadelphia, since 2018. He has been a trustee of the Rosenbach Museum and Library since 2022, is a member of The Manuscript Society, The Bibliographical Society of America, and Philadelphia’s Philobiblon Club.

Raised in northern New Jersey, Darren moved to New York City in 1988 and began his career there as a bookseller in 1995. He spent the next 18 years selling to private clients and at East Coast book fairs. In 2003 he moved with his young family to Sharon, Connecticut where, in 2009, he opened his own bookshop. Darren Winston, Bookseller offered rare and vintage books, prints, fine art, and more, and hosted over 50 book signings and art shows. He was a trustee and, later, Board President, of the Sharon Historical Society, and for six years a trustee of Indian Mountain School in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Darren has hosted the radio program "Darren Winston's Book Report" for NPR-affiliate WHDD since 2009, appeared in the 2014 book-themed documentary The Paper Trail, and in 2024 he joined Antiques Roadshow as a books and manuscripts appraiser. From 1999 to 2005, Darren was the buyer and consultant to the Fine and Rare Books Department at Asprey, the British luxury goods company, at its New York headquarters. While there he spearheaded various in-store events including readings by Salman Rushdie and Dominick Dunne.

In 1993, Darren was hired as a Creative Consultant to Columbia Records, where he assisted in the repackaging of their 12-record Aerosmith back catalogue. He later sold his extensive collection of Aerosmith memorabilia, which he began amassing at the age of 14, directly to the band.

Darren now lives on the Main Line, outside Philadelphia, with his wife, two children, and dog. The family travels frequently to his wife's native England and Scotland. When not bookselling, he plays guitar in Pumped, an Aerosmith tribute band. Darren also appears on the top-rated PBS television program Antiques Roadshow.

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