The Constitutional Articles of the Independent Company of Cadets, As Revised and Ratified, May, 1806

Boston: Printed by Greenough & Stebbins, 1806. First edition thus. 12mo. 36 pp. Three-quarter blue levant over marbled paper-covered boards, decorated in gilt; top edge gilt, other edges trimmed; matching marbled endpapers; original marbled wrappers bound in; spotting to title-page, old ink notation at top of same; contemporary inscription on verso of original rear wrapper ("Officers, August, 1812 / Lt. Col. John Williams / Major Geo. G. Lee / B.T. Lickman". From the library of Valentine Hollingsworth, and with his gilt morocco book-plate on front paste-down. Not in Evans, Bristol, or Sabin; Shaw & Shoemaker 10612; OCLC 51050247

Rare handbook for the Massachusetts Independent Company of Cadets, the oldest volunteer militia unit in Massachusetts. First organized by Benjamin Pollard in 1741, the Cadets initially served as the ceremonial bodyguard for the royal governors of Massachusetts. John Hancock, one of the Company's most famous members, joined in 1766, and in 1772 was selected its Commander. In 1774, as relations between the colonists and Great Britain worsened, Hancock was dismissed by acting Massachusetts governor, Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Gage. In protest the unit disbanded, and following Britain's retreat from Boston, the Cadets were reorganized and then incorporated into the Continental Army. In 1786, following the war, it was formally reorganized as the Independent Company of Cadets and given special privileges by the General Court of Massachusetts. It continued to serve as escorts for Massachusetts governors, and its members served in the Civil War, as well as World Wars I and II.

For the 1798 edition, see ESTC W39091, of which only one copy has been located, at the American Antiquarian Society.

Rare, according RBH, no copy of this edition has ever appeared at auction. OCLC locates only three copies: American Antiquarian Society, New England Historic Genealogical Society, and Kreitzberg Library at Norwich University. We locate an additional copy at the Gilder Lehrman Institute.

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

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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

The Constitutional Articles of the Independent Company of Cadets, As Revised and Ratified, May, 1806

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