[Americana] [Playfair, William] Donnant, D.F. Statistical Account of the United States of America

London: Printed for Messrs. Greenland and Norris, by J. Whiting, 1805. First edition. 8vo. 72 pp. Translated by William Playfair, and illustrated with a hand-colored folding frontispiece pie chart by him. Quarter vellum over contemporary paperboards, spine lettered in black; edges untrimmed; remnants of removed book-plate on front paste-down; offsetting onto title-page from frontispiece; abrasion at center of title-page verso; circular stain in fore-edge of C5, E1, and at bottom of E4, with offset staining on adjoining pages. Sabin 20599

Rare statistical analysis of the United States during Jefferson's presidency, featuring one of the earliest uses of a pie chart, illustrated by its inventor, the Scottish engineer, William Playfair (1759-23). Playfair is considered the father of statistical graphics, and single-handedly invented the pie, line, and bar charts. His first use of a pie chart occurred four years prior to this volume, in his Statistical Breviary (1801). Playfair's chart here represents the total area of the United States in square miles, divided into proportional sections, and distinguished by color to represent each state, the territories, and Spanish-held possessions.

Rare, according to RBH this is only the second copy to ever appear at auction.

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Darren Winston

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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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[Americana] [Playfair, William] Donnant, D.F. Statistical Account of the United States of America

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