Journal of the Proceedings of the Legislative Council of the State of New-Jersey, in General Assembly Convened, at Trenton...the twenty-fifth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six.

Item Details

Trenton, NJ, Mathias Day, 1797, Stab sewn.

First, very good original condition.

Journal of the Proceedings of the Legislative Council of the State of New-Jersey, in General Assembly Convened, at Trenton, on the twenty-fifth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six. Bring the first and second sittings of the twenty-first session.

Trenton: Printed by Matthias Day, printer to the state, M,DCC,XCVII. [1797]

pp. [1-4], 5-93, [94]. 8.25 x 13.75 inches.

Condition: Collated complete. Original or early stab sewing. Very clean. Two 1 inch clean tears on inner margin of title, not touching the text. One 3/4 x 7 inch loss to inner margin of last page, not touching the text. (See images.) Minor edge and corner tears and losses, none touching the text. Overall even toning, some light damp staining on pp. 77-80, 92-3, but no foxing. All edges untrimmed. No evident restoration or repair. As fresh a copy as one could reasonably hope to find.

“The Address of George Washington, to the People of the United States,” on his retiring from public life, is printed on pp. 27-37 and is considered “extremely rare” as an early "lifetime" printing. Widely referred to as Washington's "Farewell Address," dated September 17, 1796, it was "...entered at large on the Minutes of..." the Legislative Council, meeting in Trenton two months later on November 17, and published here in early 1797. 

Although Washington’s “Farewell Address” was widely printed in newspapers, all copies dating from his lifetime are rare.

According to the Rare Book Hub, the last recorded copy at auction was 1917.

Washington’s “Farewell Address” remains especially relevant today as “…a classic statement of republicanism, warning Americans of the political dangers which they must avoid if they are to remain true to their values.”

"In 1796, President George Washington published his “Farewell Address” to the nation.  After two terms in office, Washington decided to retire from public life—clearing the way for the peaceful transfer of power from one President to another.  This was one of the crowning achievements of the early American republic and an important precedent for future Presidents. In his powerful valedictory address, Washington called for national unity and focused on threats at home and abroad.  At home, Washington feared the rise of political factions.  Abroad, he warned of the dangers of foreign entanglements.  For Washington, both foreign influence and newly emerging political parties threatened liberty and undermined the promise of republican government.  For the American republic to survive, the American people and their elected leaders had to commit to lives of civic republican virtue—valuing reason over passion and the public good over private self-interest." (The National Constitution Center)

See also:
Virginia Museum of History and Culture:
https://virginiahistory.org/learn/george-washingtons-farewell-address