[DICKINSON, John]

[LETTERS FROM A FARMER IN PENNSYLVANIA, TO THE INHABITANTS OF THE BRITISH COLONIES]

[Philadelphia]: [David Hall, and William Sellers], [1768]. Second Edition. Softcover. Stitched wraps, the original cover present with the rear lacking; 3 - 71, [1] pages. Lacking the title page with a photocopy of it bound in. The exceptionally scarce First Edition was published in March, and this Second Edition, very scarce in its own right, in June. EVANS 10875; HOWES D-329: "Earliest serious study into colonial legal rights"; SABIN 20044. Dickinson was a leading voice against British Parliamentary acts that imposed a tax on items by requiring the purchase of a stamp. He argued that these various acts were intended to raise revenue, a power held only by the colonial assemblies. As a direct result of the popularity of Dickinson’s letters, widely read throughout the Thirteen Colonies as well as in Europe, there were calls and petitions for the boycotting of imported goods throughout the colonies. The eventual result of this unity amongst the colonies against a common enemy was the First Continental Congress. Housed in a cloth folding case with a gilt-stamped brown morocco spine label. Title page lacking and replaced by a modern photocopy; “Fahnestock Bequest 1869” embossed stamp on the first page of text; early owner signatures on the top blank margin of two text pages; closed tear with no loss to margin of another page; even browning to text. Overall, despite the missing title page, a Very Good example of this scarce and important piece of Americana. Item #020427

Price: $3,000.00