Lot 10

[American Revolution] (Morris, Gouverneur) Observations on the American Revolution. Published According to a Resolution of Congress...For the Consideration of Those Who Are Desirous of Comparing the Conduct of the Opposed Parties...

Status:

Closed

Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000

Estimate$3,000 – $5,000

Status

Closed

[American Revolution] (Morris, Gouverneur) Observations on the American Revolution. Published According to a Resolution of Congress...For the Consideration of Those Who Are Desirous of Comparing the Conduct of the Opposed Parties...

Philadelphia: Printed by Styner and Cist, 1779. First edition. 8vo. (iv), 122 pp., with half-title (often wanting). 20th-century quarter tan buckram over brown cloth, red morocco spine label, stamped in gilt; all edges trimmed; abrasion on front paste-down from removed label; faint abrasion on verso of title-page and at foot of final page; scattered light soiling to text. Sabin 50830. Evans 16625; Howes M-829; Reese, The Revolutionary Hundred 57; Hildeburn 3907; ESTC W28706; Rachum, From "American Independence" to the "American Revolution" (in Journal of American Studies, Vo. 27, No. 1, April 1993)

Rare first edition of Gouverneur Morris's masterful account of the causes of the American Revolution, "a skillful and official resume of the American view of the question" (Sabin). Published in response British attempts at reconciliation, this first edition was printed in February 1779, at Congress's expense, in 1,300 copies. According to Ilan Rachum, it is possibly the first appearance of the term "American Revolution" at "the head of an official publication sponsored by the United States government" (p. 76).

According to RBH, this is only the third copy to come to auction since 1984.

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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.

Printed and Manuscript Americana

[American Revolution] (Morris, Gouverneur) Observations on the American Revolution. Published According to a Resolution of Congress...For the Consideration of Those Who Are Desirous of Comparing the Conduct of the Opposed Parties...

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