[UNITED STATES, CONTINENTAL CONGRESS]: A complete set of the Journals of Congress, containing proceedings from 5 September 1774 to 3 November 1788. Philadelphia: Published by Order of Congress [various printers, Robert Aitken, David C. Claypoole, John Dun - photo 1
[UNITED STATES, CONTINENTAL CONGRESS]: A complete set of the Journals of Congress, containing proceedings from 5 September 1774 to 3 November 1788. Philadelphia: Published by Order of Congress [various printers, Robert Aitken, David C. Claypoole, John Dun - photo 2

[UNITED STATES, CONTINENTAL CONGRESS]: A complete set of the Journals of Congress, containing proceedings from 5 September 1774 to 3 November 1788. Philadelphia: Published by Order of Congress [various printers, Robert Aitken, David C. Claypoole, John Dun

Lot 58
25.05.2022 17:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Starting price
$ 50 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 752769
Lot 58 | [UNITED STATES, CONTINENTAL CONGRESS]: A complete set of the Journals of Congress, containing proceedings from 5 September 1774 to 3 November 1788. Philadelphia: Published by Order of Congress [various printers, Robert Aitken, David C. Claypoole, John Dun
Estimate value
$ 50 000 – 80 000
[UNITED STATES, CONTINENTAL CONGRESS]: A complete set of the Journals of Congress, containing proceedings from 5 September 1774 to 3 November 1788. Philadelphia: Published by Order of Congress [various printers, Robert Aitken, David C. Claypoole, John Dunlap and John Patterson], 1777-1788. A complete set of the Journals of the Continental and Confederation Congresses. A fundamental collection of documents recording the early history of the American republic, minutely documenting its progression from an array of disparate and disgruntled colonies to armed resistance and outright rebellion, independence, confederation, and eventually, unification under a federal constitution. The journals record in detail the daily business of the Congress, and contain the most vital documents from the Revolutionary period through the end of the Confederacy, culminating with the tumultuous adoption of the Federal Constitution in 1788. They are an essential basis for any comprehensive collection of the American Revolution and early National period. These journals contain fundamental acts relating to every possible concern of a national legislature: issues of war and peace, inter-state relations; the recruitment, equipping and supply of the Continental Army, Navy and Marines, and the appointment and compensation of officers; instructions to general officers and commanders in the field; the receipt of communiques from officers including Washington, Knox, Gates, Nathanael Greene, St. Clair, Heath and others; the receipt of letters from U.S. ministers overseas including Franklin Deane, Adams and others; the management of British prisoners, their exchange, housing, transport and supply; the provision of pensions for wounded or disabled soldiers and sailors; the perennial difficulties in "supplying the Treasury"; Indian affairs, including reports from far-flung garrisons of incursions and alliances; the appointment of Superintendents of Indian Affairs and their reports; the handling of Loyalists and their property; matters of international diplomacy, diplomatic appointments and the ratification of treaties and pacts, including the critical Treaty of Amity and Commerce with France (vol. 6, 1780); foreign trade; the proclamation of days of prayer and thanksgiving; currency, the mint, bills of credit, loan certificates and the regulation of specie and paper currencies; maritime affairs, from the certification of privateers and the taxation of imports to the payment of prize-monies to John Paul Jones and other sailors; the settlement of conflicting territorial claims of the states and the survey of those borders; judicial issues, the appointment of judges, and the delineation of their spheres of responsibility; the postal office and postmaster-general's duties and stipulations concerning his authority; the receipt of and response to communications from officers, ministers plenipotentiary, Governors, state legislatures and foreign rulers; etc., etc. The attendance of delegates for each session and even their yea and nay votes on particular resolutions are noted. Shortly after the Declaration of Independence, Congress recognized the necessity of publishing and disseminating its proceedings on a timely basis. These volumes appeared in more or less annual volumes, but in variable formats and from four different printers: Robert Aitken, David Claypoole, and John Dunlap. A tradition had already been established by the separate publication of the Journals from the First and Second Continental Congress in 1774 and 1775. The first volume in this series, begun after the Declaration of Independence, reprinted those journals, and was issued concurrently with the second volume, both appearing from the press of Robert Aitken in 1777 (that volume includes the full text of the Declaration of Independence, and the names of the Signers, pp. 241-246). Dunlap and Claypoole provide the subsequent volumes which is rounded out by several later printings by John Paterson of New York (who printed the 1777 volume in 1788 and the volume for 1781-82 in 1787. Also of interest is a 1786 printing of the Journals for 1780 by Dunlap under the title, Resolutions, Act and Orders of Congress, for the Year 1780 (described by Evans as "abridged"). The series thus covers the entire span of the Continental Congress, beginning in 1774, through the Revolutionary years, and on to the period from the Peace in 1783 to the adoption of the Constitution. The final session sat through November 1788, and the new federal government was initiated in April 1789. The dates, printers, years of publication, and pagination of the individual volumes, are as follows: 1774-1776. Aitken. 1777. [2], 310 pp. (lacking index). Evans 15683.1776. Aitken. [2], 513, [22] pp. Evans 15684.1777. Patterson. [1788]., 603, xxii pp. Evans 21527.1778. Claypoole. [1779]. [2], 748 pp. lxxxix, [4] . Evans 16584.1779. Claypoole. 1782. 464, [15], 74 pp. Evans 17766.1780. Dunlap [1786]. 257, xliii pp. Evans 20079. 1781 [-1782]. Patterson. [1787]. 522, lxxix pp. Evans 20773.1783. Claypoole. 1783. 483 pp. Evans 18266.1784. Dunlap. [1784]. 317, xviii pp. Evans 18840. [Bound with:] Dunlap. [1784]. June - Aug. 1784. 47pp. Evans 188411785. Dunlap. 1785. 369 pp., xxvi. Evans 19316.1786. Dunlap. 1786. 267, xvi pp. Evans 20068.1787. [New York], Published by Order of Congress. 1787. 255, ix pp. Evans 20772.1788. Dunlap. 1788. 170, xcviii, xi pp. Evans 21526. Revolutionary Hundred, 48. 13 volumes, octavo (188 x 201 to 108 x 125mm). (Occasional browning, marginal dampstains, wormhole runs in vol. 6). Contemporary sheep with red morocco spine labels except vol. 1 in 19th century half morocco (rubbing to extremities, front board and endpaper detached on vol. 3). Uniform chemises and red morocco-backed slipcases.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
25.05.2022 – 25.05.2022
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.