History of Printing in America

1810. THOMAS, Isaiah. The History of Printing in America. With a Biography of Printers, and an Account of Newspapers. To which is Prefixed a Concise View of the Discovery and Progress of the Art in Other Parts of the World. Worcester: from the press of Isaiah Thomas, Jun., Isaac Sturtevant, printer, 1810. 2 Vols. 8vo. 487;576pp. 5 engraved plates (2 folding). Period-styled calf-backed marbled boards, gilt-ruled spines, red morocco spine labels. Light scattered toning, else very good. Grolier One Hundred Influential American Books Printed Before 1900 #29; Howes T-168; Lowndes IV,p.2666 ("An interesting and now scarce work"). "Thomas, who began life as a printer's apprentice, fought at Lexington and Concord, and settled finally in Worcester, Mass., in 1778, where he became the country's leading printer, putting out more than 400 titles before he retired in 1802 to devote himself to scholarship, and first to this book. The source materials were obtained from voluminous correspondence, and from his own personal library ... Although a printed work, it is always considered a primary source, and is today the recognized authority on printing in the United States from 1640 to 1800. Much of the material which it contains can be found nowhere else" (Grolier, American 100). Philadelphia jurist and the author of Hail, Columbia.