Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana

Printed by Order of the Town of Boston: London, Re-printed for E. and C. Dilly; and J. Almon, 1770. Second English edition. 8vo. 166 pp. Illustrated with an engraved folding frontispiece, after Henry Pelham and Paul Revere. Full crimson morocco, lettered in gilt on front board and spine, front hinge rubbed, small splits starting in upper and lower front joint, corners lightly worn, boards and spine unevenly darkened, faint stain in lower front board; all edges gilt; gilt dentelles; by Riviere & Son; offsetting to title-page; bottom corner of C2 repaired, affecting some letters. Adams, American Controversy 70-5d; Brigham, p. 53; Howes B-632; Sabin 80672; see Church 1078, note; see Reese, The Revolutionary Hundred 11

A near-fine and scarce second English edition recounting the events of the Boston Massacre, "one of the most important events on the road to Revolution" (Reese).

The day following the March 5 ,1770 massacre, the British soldiers responsible for the shooting were arrested and jailed, and following pressure from Boston citizens, Massachusetts Royal Governor Thomas Hutchison had them relocated to Castle William, a fortified island in Boston Harbor. The preparation of an official account of the event was authorized by the Boston town meeting, and James Bowdoin, James Warren, and Samuel Pemberton were ordered to begin collecting depositions from witnesses. On March 19, the committee presented this Short Narrative, which was approved and printed, with copies then quickly sent to England. It includes a 15-page summary of the event, followed by over 90 affidavits from eye-witnesses and others.

News of the massacre reached London by April 22nd and May 1, and two editions based on the committee's report were printed in quick succession. This second English edition, published on May 8, was preceded by only three days by W. Bingley's London edition, published on May 5th. Like the Bingley edition, the frontispiece used here closely follows Henry Pelham's original and famous design showing the dramatic scene of British soldiers indiscriminately firing into a crowd of protesters, and which was subsequently copied and popularized by Paul Revere. It has subsequently come to be known as one of the most famous and effective pieces of American propaganda, and helped galvanize American sentiment against British rule.