New Englands Memoriall Nathaniel Morton, 1669 MORTON, Nathaniel (1613-1685). New Englands Memoriall: or, A Brief Relation of the most Memorable and Remarkable Passages of the Providence of God, manifested to the Planters of New-England in America; With special Reference to the first Colony thereof, Called New-Plimouth. Cambridge [Mass.]: Printed by S. G[reen] and M. J[ohnson] for John Usher of Boston, 1669. First edition of one of "the cornerstones of early New England history" (Church). Morton's extensive compilation, which the title proclaims was "published for the use and benefit of present and future generations," remains an outstanding primary source for the earliest decades of Plymouth Colony and is the authority for the list of signers of the Mayflower Compact. It is based largely on William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation, which did not see publication until the 19th century due to the manuscript's disappearance during the Revolutionary War. Nathaniel was Bradford's nephew and the son of George Morton who helped publish the short 1622 work Mourt's Relation, one of the earliest publications describing the adventures of the Plymouth colonists. While a few other early writers did use Bradford's manuscript as a source for their own histories, Nathaniel's work was the primary way in which Bradford's first-hand account of the settlement was received for several hundred years, including Bradford's account of Thomas Morton's utopian experiment at Merrymount. New Englands Memoriall was "the first strictly historical work printed in America" (Streeter). It comes from the second press in the British colonies, Samuel Green's print shop on the first floor of the Harvard Indian College. This is the same outfit which produced Eliot's Algonquin-language Bible (see lot 15), and where Green's protégé, a Nipmuc man named Wawaus (also known as James Printer), was a typesetter alongside other Native members of the school community. This publication is also an under-recognized contribution to American literary culture, containing poetry by New England writers like John Cotton, John Norton and Josias Winslow. Church 606; Evans 144; Howes M-851 ("dd", "first original work not religious in character issued from the press at Cambridge"); JCB III, p.188; Sabin 51012; Streeter sale 631; Wing M-2827; Evans 144. Quarto (171 x 130mm). Title within printed double-rule border, printer's ornament (title and following leaf restored with portion of rule and about 12 worlds in facsimile in each, other prelimes with smaller, mostly marginal, repairs but some affecting several letters; repaired marginal tear to first 2 text gatherings). 19th-century tan morocco gilt by Bedford for Henry Stevens (rubbed at extremities); in custom chemise and slipcase. Provenance: some early trimmed marginalia – with Henry Stevens of Vermont (binding, clipping from catalogue tipped in) – Henry M. Dexter (ink signature on fly-leaf) – Jay T. Snider (bookplate).
New Englands Memoriall Nathaniel Morton, 1669 MORTON, Nathaniel (1613-1685). New Englands Memoriall: or, A Brief Relation of the most Memorable and Remarkable Passages of the Providence of God, manifested to the Planters of New-England in America; With special Reference to the first Colony thereof, Called New-Plimouth. Cambridge [Mass.]: Printed by S. G[reen] and M. J[ohnson] for John Usher of Boston, 1669. First edition of one of "the cornerstones of early New England history" (Church). Morton's extensive compilation, which the title proclaims was "published for the use and benefit of present and future generations," remains an outstanding primary source for the earliest decades of Plymouth Colony and is the authority for the list of signers of the Mayflower Compact. It is based largely on William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation, which did not see publication until the 19th century due to the manuscript's disappearance during the Revolutionary War. Nathaniel was Bradford's nephew and the son of George Morton who helped publish the short 1622 work Mourt's Relation, one of the earliest publications describing the adventures of the Plymouth colonists. While a few other early writers did use Bradford's manuscript as a source for their own histories, Nathaniel's work was the primary way in which Bradford's first-hand account of the settlement was received for several hundred years, including Bradford's account of Thomas Morton's utopian experiment at Merrymount. New Englands Memoriall was "the first strictly historical work printed in America" (Streeter). It comes from the second press in the British colonies, Samuel Green's print shop on the first floor of the Harvard Indian College. This is the same outfit which produced Eliot's Algonquin-language Bible (see lot 15), and where Green's protégé, a Nipmuc man named Wawaus (also known as James Printer), was a typesetter alongside other Native members of the school community. This publication is also an under-recognized contribution to American literary culture, containing poetry by New England writers like John Cotton, John Norton and Josias Winslow. Church 606; Evans 144; Howes M-851 ("dd", "first original work not religious in character issued from the press at Cambridge"); JCB III, p.188; Sabin 51012; Streeter sale 631; Wing M-2827; Evans 144. Quarto (171 x 130mm). Title within printed double-rule border, printer's ornament (title and following leaf restored with portion of rule and about 12 worlds in facsimile in each, other prelimes with smaller, mostly marginal, repairs but some affecting several letters; repaired marginal tear to first 2 text gatherings). 19th-century tan morocco gilt by Bedford for Henry Stevens (rubbed at extremities); in custom chemise and slipcase. Provenance: some early trimmed marginalia – with Henry Stevens of Vermont (binding, clipping from catalogue tipped in) – Henry M. Dexter (ink signature on fly-leaf) – Jay T. Snider (bookplate).
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