$850
Estimate: $1,500 - $2,500
Auction: November 12, 2020 10:00:00 AM EDT
New York: Samuel Colman, 1839. First edition. 8vo. 136 pp. Presentation copy, inscribed by Adams to Samuel S. Wilde. Illustrated with frontispiece. Limp brown printed wrappers, rear panel and portion of spine replaced; inscription appears to be cut from original rear wrapper, now preserved and mounted to verso of frontispiece; text lightly foxed. Lot includes an engraved portrait of Adams.
A scarce presentation copy of John Quincy Adams' speech, delivered on the 50th anniversary of George Washington's inauguration in New York in 1789. Adams' impassioned speech explores the origins of the Declaration of Independence, the failures of the Articles of Confederation, and the power and providential nature of the Constitution to unite the American people. Inscribed by Adams to associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Samuel S. Wilde.