Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society for the Year 1792, Volume I

Boston: Printed at the Apolo Press in Boston by Belknap and Hall, 1792. First Edition. Very good. First edition; 8 3/4 x 5 1/4; pp. [4], 3-288; marbled paper over boards; rebacked in brown calf and red morocco label with gilt title; illustrated with a woodcut vignette at the beginning of first chapter; ornate bookplate to front board verso and signatures of previous owners to title page and last page; wear along edges of boards and scattered spots of foxing; first several leaves with small loss to fore-edge, affecting but a few letters; overall in very good condition.The very first publication of the very first institution in the United States to publish in its field and the oldest organization devoted to preserving materials for the study of American history, it contained valuable historical information on the Native Americans in the region, topographical descriptions, letters, etc. The Massachusetts Historical Society was founded in January of 1791 by Rev. Jeremy Belknap and "nine other like-minded Bostonians."