Beschreibung:

WASHINGTON, GEORGE, President . President Washington's personal copy of the official Acts of the First Congress (Sessions 1 through 3, 4 March 1789 - 3 March 1791), bound by the Philadelphia binder James Muir, containing the full texts of the Federal Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Acts creating the Supreme Court, Treasury, State and War Departments, Post-Office, National Bank, the First Census and and other crucial legislation (see partial table of contents below), establishing the essential structure of American government, and including the text of key treaties (the Treaty of Paris, Fort Stanwix) as ratified by Congress. GEORGE WASHINGTON'S COPY OF THE COMPLETE ACTS OF THE FIRST CONGRESS (1789-1791), CONTAINING THE CONSTITUTION, BILL OF RIGHTS, THE TREATY OF PARIS AND MANY OTHER FUNDAMENTAL LEGISLATIVE ACTS, IN AN IMPORTANT CONTEMPORARY PHILADELPHIA BINDING BY JAMES MUIR BINDING 3 parts in one volume, folio (for bibliographical description and partial table of contents, see below). 306 by 197mm. (12 x 7 3/4 in.) A CONTEMPORARY PHILADELPHIA BINDING BY JAMES MUIR: mottled tree calf over pasteboard, outer edges of covers ruled with gilt Greek key roll borders, front cover with central onlaid green morocco label (42 x 87mm., 1 5/8 x 3 3/8 in.), ruled in gilt and with floral and hatched roll borders, gilt-lettered "PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES"; spine gilt in seven compartments with floral, leaf and hatched rolls, five compartments containing gilt American eagles holding a shield (two different tools: one facing right, the other facing left with a flourish beneath), second compartment with red morocco label gilt-lettered "LAWS OF THE U. STATES," fifth compartment with black morocco label with red morocco onlaid roundel gilt-lettered "1"; board edges and turn-ins with double gilt hatched roll, marbled endpapers, plain fore-edges, upper hinge with 3-inch crack at top and tender, light rubbing to head and base of spine and board edges, three corners worn, light and even foxing (mainly to part 2), cloth folding protective case . Despite these minor defects, IN FINE CONDITION. Little is known of the binder James Muir, but he was employed in the shop of Robert Aitken in 1775 and from 1786 to 1796 maintained his own shop in Philadelphia. None of his bindings are signed, but the Greek-key roll on the present binding is identical to one Muir used on a 1791 Bible in the Papantonio collection at the American Antiquarian Society (see Early American Bookbindings From the Collection of Michael Papantonio , 2nd edn., Worcester, Mass., 1985, no. 21, illustrated); one of the eagle tools, a wide floral roll and a hatched roll all appear on a 1790 Book of Common Prayer bound by Muir (ibid., no. 18); while the wide floral roll, hatched roll and two floral cornerpieces were employed by Muir on a 1790 edition of Churchill's Poems (ibid., no. 17). The style of the present binding is so close to that of Jefferson's and John Jay's copies of the First Session Acts (Evans 22189) as to suggest that Washington himself may have specified their design. Jefferson's and Jay's copies were bound in New York by Thomas Allen but are closely similar in the choice of leather, the use of the Greek-key roll at the edges and the presence of the gilt-lettered morocco panel on the upper covers. (Thomas Jefferson's copy is at the Huntington Library, John Jay's copy was formerly in the Doheny Library, sold Christie's, 22 February 1989, lot 2026, $150,000, later in the Richard Manney collection, sold Sotheby's, 11 October 1991, lot 181, $210,000). Two other copies of the Acts (Evans 22189) which also belonged to Washington bear similar morocco labels on their upper covers (see details below). BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION Part 1: U.S. CONGRESS, FIRST CONGRESS. Acts Passed at a Congress [First Session] ... Published by Authority . Philadelphia: Childs and Swaine [1791]. Folio, pp. 93 (1), (1), with errata page, text of pages 21-22 (F1r and F1v) duplicated by the pr