Oak Knoll

Rubbing to hinges. Spine age darkened. Minor spotting to boards. Preliminary pages, including title page, loose yet present. A few signatures loose near the end. Exlibris with markings. In 1881, Congress authorized a catalogue of "all publications made by authority of the Government of the United States and the preceding government of the colonies, and all departments, bureaus, and offices thereof, from July 4, 1776 to March 4, 1881." The Joint Committee on Printing had charge of the project. B.P. Poore (1820-1887), an editor and archivist from the GPO, took over the project in 1883 and, finding much amiss, made drastic changes, but owing to the amount of money and time already expended was undoubtedly obliged to retain much of what had already been done. The final result is now useful for the study of early U.S. government publications, but not an outstanding example of how to catalogue such items. There are over 60,000 entries, including records of the Continental Congress, publications of various states, and a few official imprints from other countries. Entries indicate author, title, associated government agency or body, and the date down to the day, and have annotations describing contents (unusual in an official catalogue of official publications). Arrangement is chronicle-style, day by day. Various indices. Our copy has entirely separated between pages 2 and 3; the backing is heavily rubbed and missing pieces, and the back cover is almost detached. Covers rubbed, chipped, soiled, etc. From the Thomas M. Whitehead Collection of Books About Books.