1787 – Annual Register | Early United States Constitution & Ben Franklin Letters

Through the end of the 18th-century, “The Annual Register” became the most respected journal in print. The periodical was a reference work that contained major events from each year, focusing on economics, politics, arts, trends, and world developments. Many leading historians of the American Revolutionary period, including David Ramsay, James Murray, and William Gordon “borrowed heavily from the Annual Register” (Gephart 1016, 2565).

This 1787 register covers major military events, but is most desired for the early printing of the United States Constitution.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Annual Register: Or a View of the History, Politics, and Literature, for the Year 1787
• Author(s): Various
• Publisher: London: Printed for J. Dodsley
• Edition: 1789 printing
• Binding: (8vo), single volume
• Format: Size and format
• Size:  8.25 in x 5.5 in (21 cm x 14 cm)
• Collation: [2], ii, [192, 193*-232*, 193-320; 202, [14]
• Illustrations:
• Contents Include:
  • State of affairs in Holland, arrests of princes of Orange
  • British commerce treaties with France
  • French perspective on the causes of the Revolution
  • Accounts and descriptions of Serbian people, Wodyacks
  • Summary of Ali Bey from Volney’s ‘Travels’
  • Early accounts of Mexico and customs of central America
  • Poetry of Thomas Wharton
  • Content on Negro slavery and Mulattos
  • Science letters from Benjamin Franklin
• Provenance: provenance
• Reference(s): Gephart 1016, 2565; Sabin 1614; ESTC T212986

Condition:

Very Good. Bound in full leather with tight hinges and a secure spine. Boards show minor surface rubbing. Interior is clean with crisp pages and no markings. Text block is complete with unusual pagination retained.

Why Collect This?

• Includes early printing of the United States Constitution
• Features writings on slavery

Item Number: # 29928