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[King George III's Speech Before Parliament and the Invasion of Quebec]. Thomas's Massachusetts Spy. ...
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[King George III's Speech Before Parliament and the Invasion of Quebec]. Thomas's Massachusetts Spy. Or, American Oracle of Liberty. Worcester, [Massachusetts]; Friday, January 12, 1776. Printed by Isaiah Thomas. Volume V [5], number 255. Four pages of a bifolium, 9.5" x 15". Unpaginated and printed in three columns.Exceedingly scarce and desirable 1776 edition of Thomas's Massachusetts Spy with Paul Revere masthead.
While Paul Revere is best remembered for his "midnight ride" of April 18-19, 1775, immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem Paul Revere's Ride, he was a copper engraver and silversmith by trade. Here we have a beautiful example of Revere's iconic woodcut mastheads with an elaborately decorated title with flourishes and scrolls. To the left is a medallion shaped illustration of a woman holding a liberty pole while leaning against a rolled copy of the Spy. Thomas's earlier issues featured an additional illustration to the right of the title, but it was omitted after his operation moved to Worcester.
The paper contains multiple, lengthy articles concerning American independence and the invasion of Quebec. The front page features a full printing of King George III's October 26, 1775 thunderous speech before Parliament, discussing the Revolution, which he refers to as "the rebellious war". The article reads, in part:
"Those who have long too successfully laboured to inflame my people in America by gross misrepresentations, and to infuse into their minds a system of opinions repugnant to the true constitution of the colonies, and to their subordinate relation to Great Britain, now openly avow their revolt, hostility, and rebellion. They have raised troops, and are collecting a naval force; they have seized the public revenue, and assumed to themselves legislative, executive, and judicial powers, which they already exercise, in the most arbitrary manner, over the persons and properties of their fellow subjects... The rebellious war now levied is become more general, and is manifestly carried on for the purpose of establishing an independent empire. I need not dwell upon the fatal effects of the success of such a plan... It is now become the part of wisdom, and (in its effects) of clemency, to put a speedy end to these disorders by the most decisive exertions... When the unhappy and deluded multitude, against whom this force will be directed, shall become sensible of their error, I shall be ready to receive the misled with tenderness and mercy..."
Page [2] and [3] report on the Battle of Great Bridge, Virginia. It reads, in part: "...We have been favoured with an extract of a letter from Col. Woodford, dated Dec. 11, at the Great Bridge by which we learn, that the enemy lost in their attack on our trenches...Lord Dunmore raved like a mad man on hearing of the defeat of his forces, and swore he would hang the boy who had deserted to him...A few days ago, fix of Lord Dunmore's men deserted from the Otter. They me some of our men on their way to this city, by whom they were treated with the utmost hospitality...When they were asked what induced them to leave Dunmore, they answered, 'hungry bellies, naked backs, and no fuel; besides, in other respects, the most cruel and inhuman treatment.'" Page [2] also includes an extract from a December 6, 1775 letter from "Camp before Quebec, near the General-Hospital" that mentions General Richard Montgomery has joined the siege "with artillery, and about 3000 men...and are making preparations to attack the enemy, who are in close garrison, but cannot hold out long..." General Montgomery was killed on December 31, 1775 at the Battle of Quebec, but the news had not yet reached Massachusetts by the time of this issue's publication.
Page [3] also contains a large proclamation signed in type by Horatio Gates commanding all furloughed soldiers return to their regiment by February 1, by order of General George Washington. "...If any Officer neglects to pay due obedience to this order, he will be immediately cashiered, and any Non-commissioned Officers, or Soldiers, offending therein, will be tried and punished as deserters."
Page [4] includes a fascinating extract of a July 24, 1775 letter from John Adams to his wife Abigail. Writing from Philadelphia where he was serving on the Continental Congress, he attempts to sum up the momentous task they were undertaking, dryly acknowledging the difficultly and importance of the task before them. "...The business I have had upon my mind has been as great and important as can be intrusted to one man, and the difficulty and intricacy of it is prodigious, when 50 or 60 men have a constitution to form for a great empire, at the same time that they have a country of fifteen hundred miles extent to fortify, millions to arm and train, a naval power to begin, an extensive commerce to regulate, numerous tribes of Indians to negotiate with, a standing army of twenty seven thousand men to raise, pay, victual and officer, I really shall pity those 50 or 60 men."
Isaiah Thomas (1749-1831) established The Massachusetts Spy August 7, 1770. According to The Newspaper and Periodical Press of the U.S. the Spy originally began by publishing controversial articles from both political spectrums, but gradually took on a more patriotic bent. By March 7, 1771, the Spy was publishing weekly and featured articles from prominent patriots operating under pseudonyms. John Adams and Josiah Quincy Jr. were among those who published anonymously for the paper. By April 1775, it had become some radically anti-royalist that Thomas was forced to move his operations from Boston to Worcester to avoid arrest and the destruction of his printers. Thomas was a dedicated Whig, and later Federalist. He operated the paper until 1802 when it was turned over to his son. The Spy was one of the most popular American newspapers of its time, with subscriptions sometimes double that of its competitors. This issue features a beautifully illustrated masthead with a sub-header that leaves no reader in doubt of the publisher's patriotism: "Do Thou Great Liberty inspire Our Souls - And make Our Lives in Thy Possession Happy - Or, Our Deaths Glorious in Thy just Defence." A scarce and highly desirable edition with multiple lengthy articles with a Revolutionary focus. It is accompanied by three engraved portraits of Richard Montgomery, Horatio Gates, and John Adams.
Reference: S. N. D. North. History and Present Condition of the Newspaper and Periodical Press of the United States, page 20; American Antiquarian Society, Illustrated Inventory of Paul Revere's Works. Brigham Plate 70; Evans 15102
Condition: Toned, with light scattered soiling. Three small areas of archival tape repair to minor splits at intersection of folds. Tape attachment at two corners.
Auction Info
2022 June 25 The Founding Fathers' Fight for Liberty and the Birth of a New Nation - Part I Manuscripts Signature® Auction #6257 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
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