25
●
(AMERICAN REVOLUTION.) Smith, William.
A Sermon on the Present
Situation of American Affairs.
8vo, disbound; minor foxing, cropped with partial loss
of a few page numbers, later clipping pasted to blank portion of final page; partial contem-
porary inscription reading “by the author” on title page.
Philadelphia: James Humphreys, Jr., 1775
[400/600]
An important address given soon after the Battle of Bunker Hill. Smith was the first provost of
what became the University of Pennsylvania. Like many other Pennsylvanians including John
Dickinson, Smith was anxious for a redress of the colonists’ grievances, but wary of plunging
into war. This is a possible first edition—priority has not been determined between the two
Philadelphia editions. Adams, Independence 196b (title in four lines); Evans 14459; Howes
S697; Sabin 84651 (suggests that this is the first edition).
26
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(AMERICAN REVOLUTION.) Willett, Marinus.
Affidavit concerning a
promise made to the Oneida Indians in 1781.
Document Signed. 2 pages, 9
1
/
2
x 7
1
/
2
,
plus integral blank; minor repairs at intersection of folds.
New York, 26 January 1792
[400/600]
Colonel Marinus Willett (1740-1830) was an important militia leader on the western New
York frontier during the Revolution. This formal statement recalls a promise he made while
pursuing the routed British forces in the aftermath of the Battle of Johnstown, one of the last
major battles of the war: “I hereby certify that on a pursuit of the enemy in the county of
Montgomery the latter end of October in the year 1781, in order to stimulate a party of
Oneida Indians then with me, I promised in case of exerting themselves to overtake the enemy
who were put to flight, that they should each of them have a blanket. That in consequence of
this promise they began a vigorous pursuit and in a short time overtook and killed a number of
the enemy.” Ten years later, with the war long over, he was still trying to get these blankets
delivered to the Oneidas. Apparently the blankets never were delivered—a lawsuit was filed
regarding this case in 2005. Provenance: George A. Baker sale, 4 May 1943, lot 90, to Allyn
Kellogg Ford.
27
●
(AMERICAN REVOLUTION—
PRINTS.) Charon, Louis-François, engraver;
after Martinet.
Lafayette, Lieutenant
général, naquit à Chavagnac.
Tinted
aquatint, 23
1
/
4
x 17 inches; large margins,
minimal edge wear, very faint mat toning.
Paris: Jean, circa 1830
[500/750]
Lafayette is shown as a young man, apparently at
Yorktown with the British surrender to
Washington taking place in the background.
27
