Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - February - 2005 Issue
Recent Acquisitions From the William Reese Co.
Original printing of the hated Stamp Act.
There was probably no greater grievance against the British by the colonists than the passage of the Stamp Act. That act placed a tax on the sale of various papers, requiring a tax stamp be placed on each. To the British, it was a means of forcing the colonists to pay for the Crown's expenses in America, but to the colonists, it was taxation without representation. The reaction was so venomous that the British repealed the act just a year later, but the resentment was so deep that it remained a primary justification for the revolution which would occur a decade later. Item 175 is the official British folio printing of this hated act from 1765. $20,000.
Item 156 is an 1803 Philadelphia broadside urging the city's citizens to be inoculated against smallpox. The vaccine, generated from cowpox, was not readily accepted, as many feared being subjected to any type of pox. In the broadside, signed by 49 of the city's top physicians, the argument is made that while one out of six people who contract smallpox will die, no one will die from cowpox. Reese points out that the latter wasn't entirely true, but it was undoubtedly worth the risk. $6,000.
Item 207 is an interesting threat to the people of West Virginia during the Civil War. West Virginia had recently split from secessionist Virginia, remaining in the Union. This is a broadside issued by Confederate Major General William Loring, stating that his army would "rescue the people from the despotism of the counterfeit State Government." He goes on to warn, "those who persist in adhering to the cause of the public enemy, and the pretended State Government in Wheeling, will be dealt with as their obstinate treachery deserves." Loring never got the chance. This broadside was probably printed in Charleston during the Confederate troops' brief control of that city in 1862, but they were soon driven out. $1,000.
Item 172 is a manuscript copy of a speech given by William Shepard to members of the Seneca Nation of New York. Shepard, a Revolutionary War veteran and Congressman, spoke to the Senecas on behalf of Robert Morris, who wished to purchase large tracts of their land. Morris purchased huge amounts of land on speculation in the late 18th century, only to have his empire collapse and be imprisoned for debt. Shepard had made such speeches on behalf of others and was evidently quite adept at it. To show his solidarity with the Senecas, he began every sentence with the word "brothers." His argument was that most of the land was of little benefit to the Senecas, but if they sold, they would be able to buy the things needed to live a good life off the interest they collected on their money. Reese describes the speech as, "An eloquent and masterful example of how the eastern Indians of the early United States were duped into selling their patrimony." While that's certainly true, Shepard was probably giving them good advice, for if they hadn't sold, in time the white man undoubtedly would have simply taken their land and paid nothing in return. $1,750.
The William Reese Company can be located online at www.reeseco.com and by phone at 203-789-8081.
