This volume is in the large ambitious quarto format of the journal's first years, not the octavo format of the later, “New Series”

Provenance:  Front free endpaper with early inked presentation inscription to New Salem Academy from the Honorable Ethan Allen Greenwood (1779–1856), the Massachusetts lawyer who established the New England Museum.

•  Sabin 64182.   Contemporary quarter sheep and light blue paper–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and gilt-stamped date; rubbed and stained overall, spine leather with cracks and chips, spine head with remnants of small paper label, refurbished: spine caps readhered, front cover reattached, edges reinforced, leather consolidated. Front free endpaper with inscription as above. A later hand has laid in a number of leaves of annotations and commentary on various pieces herein, along with some account of the lacking portions; occasional pencilled annotations in text as well. One leaf with inner margin neatly reinforced; some tears repaired and loose leaves secured. Pages occasionally creased; varying degrees of browning and foxing. Outer edges trimmed closely, occasionally with loss of final letters. Upper portion of one leaf torn away, with loss of weekly header and about three paragraphs of text; one leaf chipped along fold, with loss of several letters; lower outer portion of one leaf torn away, with loss of roughly two paragraphs. Nos. 13, 14, 32, and 34 each lacking final leaf; no. 33 lacking. Pp. 395/96 bound in out of order. Several pieces of dried plant matter laid in at various points. This volume of the Port Folio is as meaty and full of just plain interesting stuff as they all were, despite its lacking bits; and, it represents the journal's beginnings.  (29227)

Provenance:  Front free endpaper with early inked presentation inscription to New Salem Academy from the Honorable Ethan Allen Greenwood (1779–1856), the Massachusetts lawyer who established the New England Museum.

•  Sabin 64182.   Contemporary quarter sheep and light blue paper–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and gilt-stamped date; worn and stained, front cover with (child's?) pencilled name, spine head with remnants of paper shelving label, spine leather cracked. Volume refurbished, with leather consolidated, joints repaired, edges reinforced with repair tissue. Lacking one issue, no. 12, apparently never bound in; one stanza of one poem excised. Some leaves creased, with occasional tears into text; varying degrees of age-toning and foxing; scattered small holes. Lower outer portion of one leaf torn away, with loss of several lines. A few pencilled marks of emphasis; a later hand has laid in several sheets of annotations and commentary on various pieces herein. Dried plant matter laid in. Price reduced recognizing absent No. 12; but a volume of interest both simply as a substantial Port Folio and as the one produced in such a significant year for the proprietor.  (29238)

Provenance & Evidence of Readership: Front pastedown with early inked and pencilled inscriptions of Simon Elliot, front free endpaper with early pencilled presentation inscription of Dr. Willard Putnam, first text page with inked inscription of Simon Elliot along upper inner margin. A later hand has laid in several sheets of annotations and commentary on various pieces herein; there are occasional pencilled marks of emphasis and a few annotations. Laid-in letter from a modern bookseller noting that he is sending the present volume and will look for another.

•  Sabin 64182.   Contemporary quarter red sheep; marbled paper all but entirely worn away from sides, spine sunned and scuffed. Some early leaves with lower corners creased or stained along inner margins and starting to separate; scattered light to mild foxing. One leaf with one paragraph excised, affecting a few lines of the biography on the reverse; pp. 29/30 of vol. VI, no. 2 excised; upper portion of pp. 409/10 of vol. VI torn away with loss of a few lines. Some pages printed slightly askew, resulting in occasional shaving of letters or even (infrequently) lines. A slightly battered copy, but still — like all Port Folios, meaty and full of just plain INTERESTING stuff.  (29347)

A few of the U.S. pieces are anonymous, e.g. “The People’s Friend,” which was “sung at Philadelphia, 4 July, 1801.”

•  Wegelin 932; Shaw & Shoemaker 2148. Period-style quarter tan cloth over light blue paper–covered sides, spine with printed paper label. Title-page torn, with outer corner chipped, resulting in loss of four letters from end of title; now mounted. One contents leaf with edge tear extending into text; last leaf with short edge tears. Some light to moderate foxing, with pages age-toned; final page with shadow of pencilled “Finis” and p. 80 with pencilled comment as above.

Scarce: WoldCat reports only two holdings of this item.

•  Later sewing. Tear extending halfway up spine, partly detaching first and last leaves. Tear within text of final leaf repaired some time ago, affecting a number of lines without loss of sense. Some shallow dog-ears. Toning and scattered staining. Good++. Charming and chock-full of matter.  (27817)

Evidence of readership: Occasional pencilled marginalia, including “Great chapter,” “Know,” and, in one case,the comment, “Voltaire again!”

•  ESTC W11665; Evans 17930.   Contemporary sheep, spine with raised bands and binding slightly sprung; leather cracking over spine and lost in small areas at corners, edges, and spine foot to insect damage or abrasion. Front free endpaper lacking; back free endpaper with inked inscription dated 1789. Pages browned and stained, with minute insect damage to blank areas (only) of first few leaves and with marginalia as above.  (14942)

•  Evans 27001. Removed from a nonce volume, now in modern wrappers. Six-digit number stamped on title-page. Dusty.

•  American Imprints 18878; Sabin 25494.   Publisher's brown cloth, spine with printed paper label; rubbed and discolored, spine cloth cracked, spine head with paper shelving label extending onto sides. Ex–social club library: 19th-century bookplate, pressure-stamp on title-page, no other markings. Occasional small spots of light staining, scattered edge chips, one page with small burn hole (not touching text); two pages formerly adhered together, with resulting small holes in one and paper traces affixed to the other, obscuring a handful of words. Page edges untrimmed.  (27630)

featuring an addition “not in any other Edition,” according to the title-page: “An Examination, before the British House of Lords, respecting the Stamp-Act.”

Click the interior image for an enlargement.

•  Sabin 25602; Shaw & Shoemaker 515. On Temple Franklin and early editions, see: Green & Stallybrass, Franklin,151–60.   Contemporary treed sheep, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label; spine extremities a little chipped, front cover a little sprung, hinges (inside) reinforced. Frontispiece and title-page tattered and now mounted, with outer margin of first preface page repaired; a number of corners bumped or dog-eared, with a few in one section at some point delicately rodent(?)-nibbled. Subscribers' list trimmed closely, affecting two names only; pages age-toned with intermittent foxing. In fact, though certainly not “excellent” — quite “satisfactory.”  (25357)

•  Evans 37442; Sabin 25602; ESTC W17376.   Contemporary speckled sheep, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label; joints fully open and holding by cords, leather peeled up from board edges, gilt dimmed on spine label. Front fly-leaves with faint pencilled and inked inscriptions; back fly-leaves with inked ownership inscriptions, one dated 1801. Pages age-toned, last few waterstained; one leaf torn with loss of several words from one line. A “survivor” copy, priced accordingly.  (22636)

Click the image for an enlargement.

•  Sabin 61675; not in Shoemaker. Original plain blue-green wrappers, chipping over spine, front wrapper with inked title and numeral. Sewing going, with signatures loose in wrappers. Title-page with three-digit stamped number and with pencilled notation in upper margin. A very scarce publication.