Published by Printed and Published by the Author, Galena, 1830
Seller: David M. Lesser, ABAA, Woodbridge, CT, U.S.A.
164, [1 blank], [1 errata], 52 [appendix], 10 [Index] pp [as issued]. Light to moderate foxing, light wear. Bound in original half sheep [rubbed], rebacked. Good+. With contemporary ownership signatures of George Taylor and Robert Williams. This popular law book was one of Galena's first imprints and probably its first non-periodical publication. Neither Byrd, Tanner, nor OCLC records an earlier Galena book. "Galena was the seventh town in Illinois to attract a printing press. It was the first 'boom' town in the state and, for a brief period during the 'lead rush' was the state's most populous area. James Jones, the first printer there, had many reasons to expect a bright future" [Byrd]. Tanner, augmenting Byrd's entry, states that the page of errata "was printed some months after the book itself." Byrd concludes that Jones, who probably arrived in Galena in 1827, issued the town's first imprint with the first number of his 'Miner's Journal' in 1828. The section on mining regulations has particular relevance for Galena's Lead Boom. 'Galena' in Latin means 'lead sulfite.' FIRST EDITION. Byrd 104. Tanner, Some Corrections and Emendations 104. Graff 2239. Cohen 8033.