Sale 2455 - Printed & Manuscript Americana, September 28, 2017

139 c   (LAW.) Dallas, Alexander J.; compiler. Reports of Cases Ruled and Adjudged. [2], x, 494, 26; [2], iv, 480, xix; [7], 519, xiii; [6], 472, xxxiv, [12] pages. 4 volumes. 8vo, later library cloth, moderate wear to first two volumes; light toning and foxing, moderate damp- staining inVolume IV; early ownership signatures on title pages, inked and embossed stamps and spine labels of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Philadelphia, 1806, 1798, 1799, 1807 [500/750] This series includes the first compiled reports of the United States Supreme Court, assembled by the court’s official reporter. The Supreme Court section extends over 594 pages, from late in Volume II through page 46 of Volume IV, spanning from the court’s first term in 1790 through 1800. Landmark cases from this period include Chisholm v. Georgia, the 1793 case which led to the Eleventh Amend- ment; and Georgia v. Brailsford from 1794, the court’s first and only jury trial. The less important Volume I, present here in the second edition, is titled “Reports of Cases Ruled and Adjudged in the Courts of Pennsylvania Before and Since the Revolution.”The final three volumes, here in first editions, are titled “Reports of Cases Ruled and Adjudged in the Several Courts of the United States and Pennsylvania.” Among the early owners was David Howell (1747-1824), a longtime federal judge in Rhode Island, who signedVolume II. Evans 33598, 35374; Sabin 18313. 140 c   (LAW.) Manuscript tally sheet for the ratification of the Constitution. One manuscript sheet, 7 x 4 inches; moderate wear and light soiling. Np, December 1787 to June 1788 [500/750] As the Constitution wound its way through the lengthy ratification process, the nation waited anxiously to see if it would become the law of the new nation.The unknown author of this contemporary record was among the curious. He titled his sheet “Ratification of the Federal Constitution by the Following States,” giving the dates and the votes for the first ten states to approve. The ratification by New Hampshire (the ninth to do so) on 21 June 1788 signaled the official establishment of the Constitution, followed closely byVirginia four days later.With the drama dissipated, our chronicler never filled in the dates or vote counts for the final three states, NewYork, North Carolina, and Rhode Island. 141 c   (LAW.) Tracy, [Uriah.] Speech in the Senate of the United States . . . on the Passage of the . . . Amendment to the Constitution. 24 pages. 8vo, stitched; minor foxing, minor dampstaining to final leaves. [Washington?], 3 December 1803 [400/600] A speech in opposition to the 12th Amendment, which allowed for separate balloting for president and vice-president. It was delivered the day after the amendment’s passage by the Senate.The amendment would be passed by the House the following week, and then ratified the following June. UriahTracy was a former senator who argued that the separate election of a vice-president would undercut state’s rights, and also discourage competent men from seeking the office. Sabin 96420; Shaw & Shoemaker 5387. 142 c   (LINCOLN, ABRAHAM.) Abott, Abott A. The Assassination and Death of Abraham Lincoln. 12 pages on 3 folding sheets. 12mo, formerly stitched; minimal wear. NewYork:American News Company, 1865 [400/600] A nice clean copy of what is generally regarded as the first account of the assassination in pamphlet form. That’s a tough claim to prove, but it was certainly very early. It contains extracts from newspaper accounts published through 9:30 a.m., concluding with Lincoln’s death. Booth is named as the primary suspect, but the manhunt and his eventual death are not described.The final two pages, describing the mood in Manhattan in the wake of Lincoln’s death in present tense, were clearly written on the day of the event: “Men who yesterday openly expressed themselves opposed to Mr. Lincoln’s political course, to-day were as severely depressed by the deplorable intelligence as were his most ardent supporters. . . .The city is hung in mourning.All business is suspended.” Monaghan 372.