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Smith, William (Jr.) - The History of the Province of New-York from the First Discovery to the Year Mdccxxxii. To Which Is Annexed, a Description of the Country, with a Short Account of the Inhabitants, Their Trade, Religious and Political State, and the Constitution of the Courts of Justice in That Colony

Title: The History of the Province of New-York from the First Discovery to the Year Mdccxxxii. To Which Is Annexed, a Description of the Country, with a Short Account of the Inhabitants, Their Trade, Religious and Political State, and the Constitution of the Courts of Justice in That Colony
Description: London, England, Printed for Thomas Wilcox, Bookseller at Virgil's Head, opposite the New Church in the Strand, 1757. First Edition. Leather-bound. 4to. 9 7/8" x 8". Later black half-binding, with very slight rubbing to corner pieces and edges of spine. Spine in five compartments (no raised bands), divided by thick gilt chain rules, and titled as well in bright gilt. pp. xii, 255. Re-hinged, and corners strengthened. Staining to preliminary pages, and to upper, text only portion of fold-out frontis MAP of "The South View of Oswego on Lake Ontario"; all other pages are clean and in good order, with just a touch of age-toning. Dedicated to George, Earl of Hallifax (George Montague Dunk). Part I: The Discovery of the Colony to the Surrender in 1664; Part II: From the Surrender in 1664, to the Settlement at the Revolution; Part III: From the Revolution to the Second Expedition against Canada; Part IV: From the Canada Expedition in 1709, to the Arrival of Governour Burnet; Part V: From the Year 1720, to the Commencement of the Administration of Colonel Cosby. Then, at page 183, a new title page ("The History of New-York), and the book continues thusly: Chapter I: A Geographical Description of the Country (with sections on these counties: West-Chester, Dutchess, Albany, Ulster, Orange, Richond, King's, Queen's, & Suffolk); Chapter II: Of the Inhabitants; Chapter III: Of our Trade; Chapter IV: Of our Religious State; Chapter V: The Political State; Chapter VI: Of our Laws and Courts; (Justices Court, Sessions and Court of Common-Pleas, The Supreme Court, The Court of Admiralty, The Prerogative Court, The Court of the Governour and Council; The Court of Chancery. NOT the large-paper edition. Howes S703; Sabin 84566. Divided thusly: Part I: The Discovery of the Colony to the Surrender in 1664; Part II: From the Surrender in 1664, to the Settlement at the Revolution; Part III: From the Revolution to the Second Expedition against Canada; Part IV: From the Canada Expedition in 1709, to the Arrival of Governour Burnet; Part V: From the Year 1720, to the Commencement of the Administration of Colonel Cosby. Then, at page 183, the annex commences, with a new title page ("The History of New-York), and the book continues thusly: Chapter I: A Geographical Description of the Country (with sections on these counties: West-Chester, Dutchess, Albany, Ulster, Orange, Richond, King's, Queen's, & Suffolk); Chapter II: Of the Inhabitants; Chapter III: Of our Trade; Chapter IV: Of our Religious State; Chapter V: The Political State; Chapter VI: Of our Laws and Courts; (Justices Court, Sessions and Court of Common-Pleas, The Supreme Court, The Court of Admiralty, The Prerogative Court, TheCourt of the Governour and Council; The Court of Chancery. Smith was a graduate of Yale, a lawyer (admitted to the bar at age 22), later Chief Justice of the Province of New York, and then in Canada. Although a declared loyalist to the crown, Smith had also been known by the ignoble moniker of "The Weathercock" because one never knew on which side he stood. His brother was an unwitting co-conspirator who fell in with Benedict Arnolds traitorous designs. There existed a deep vein of mistrust for the Smith brothers, and some write they both narrowly escaped execution for suspicion of conspiracy. Smith writes in the preface that this work is based chiefly on the Provincial Laws, the Minutes of the Council, the Journals of the General Assembly and other government records, and that he acknowledges his indebtedness to Colden's "History of the Five Indian Nations," and to Charlevoix. Very Good Plus .

Keywords: History of New York; American Colonial History

Price: US$ 3000.00 Seller: Aardvark Books
- Book number: 76770