[American Revolution] Plans and Sections of the Obelisk on Bunker's Hill, with the Details of Experiments Made in Quarrying the Granite Stone; [offered with:] A Panoramic View from Bunker Hill Monument
by WILLARD, S. (Solomon, 1783-1861); SMILLIE, James (1807-1885)
- Used
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Boston: [printed by Samuel N. Dickinson, Washington Street] / Published by Luther Stevens, 186 Washington Street, 1861. Two works documenting the first public obelisk in the United States and the technology developed to create it. First (and only) Edition of the Willard, quite scarce. Royal 8vo (340 x 253 mm): [5],6-31,[1]pp, with 14 inserted leaves (including frontispiece) of plates (one folding). Original drab boards, brown muslin spine, upper cover with publisher's paper title label ruled and printed in black. Inscribed on front fly-leaf in pencil: "Charles W. Pearson, August 13, 185?" A handsome survival, tightly bound (hinges neatly reinforced with Japanese tissue), pages and plates generally clean and free of foxing, with occasional smudges and stains. American Imprints 43-5291; Hitchcock 1409. The second work, by Smillie: Slim demy 8vo (223 x 175mm): 16pp, with frontispiece view of the monument, engraved by E. A. Fowle from a drawing by R. P. Mallory, seven-part accordion-fold panoramic view (engraved for Drakes History of Boston) of 160 important sites and institutions (pp 2-12 provide "A key to the engraving"), and woodcut in text. Publisher's green paper-covered boards printed in black, rebacked with black cloth spine (mimicking the original). End sheets and first page of text tanned from binder's glue, else pages and plates (including folding panorama) fresh, bright, and free of foxing. Also issued, in 1848, by Redding & Co., 8 State Street, Boston, in brown cloth decorated in blind and gilt. Stokes & Haskell P.1855—G-37. Abbey (Life) 573 (for Mallory's panorama, issued by Redding). The Battle of Bunker Hill actually was fought on Breed's Hill, site of the Willard's Bunker Hill Monument, on June 17, 1775. The first monument, commemorating the major opening battle of the American Revolution, was an 18-foot wooden pillar with gilt urn, erected in 1794 by King Solomon's Lodge of Masons to honor the fallen patriot and mason, Major-General Dr. Joseph Warren, who was killed during the battle's third and final assault. From 1824 to 1842, Willard designed and built the present monument, a 221-foot tall granite obelisk, for which he also developed the granite quarry, in Quincy, Massachusetts, that provided stone. The first railroad in the country was built to transport granite from that quarry to the waterfront, where it was taken by boat to Charlestown and hauled to the building site. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).
Details
- Bookseller
- Fine Editions Ltd (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- BB2214
- Title
- [American Revolution] Plans and Sections of the Obelisk on Bunker's Hill, with the Details of Experiments Made in Quarrying the Granite Stone; [offered with:] A Panoramic View from Bunker Hill Monument
- Author
- WILLARD, S. (Solomon, 1783-1861); SMILLIE, James (1807-1885)
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- [printed by Samuel N. Dickinson, Washington Street] / Published by Luther Stevens, 186 Washington Street
- Place of Publication
- Boston
- Date Published
- 1861
- Keywords
- Granite. Quarries and quarrying. Bunker Hill Monument (Boston, Mass.)
- Bookseller catalogs
- XIX CENTURY;
Terms of Sale
Fine Editions Ltd
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About the Seller
Fine Editions Ltd
Biblio member since 2005
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
About Fine Editions Ltd
Fine Editions specializes in First Editions of English and American Literature, Landmarks In Science and the History Of Ideas, Natural History and Color-Plate books, Travel and Voyages, and books on Gardening and Landscape Design. Our hallmark is condition: with few exceptions (mostly relating to our antiquarian stock), all books sold are in Near Fine or better conditions and all are highly collectible.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Fly-Leaf
- ...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Rebacked
- having had the material covering the spine replaced. ...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...