THE ART OF SPEAKING...
1793 · Boston
by [Burgh, James]
Boston: Joseph Bumstead, for Ebeneezer Larki, 1793. 322,[18]pp. 12mo. Half calf and marbled boards, bound in antique style, spine gilt. Minor shelf wear. Several small chips and closed tears. Tanned, occasional foxing. Very good. Later American edition of a tract on oratory by the noted British politician James Burgh, originally published in London in 1761. Reprinted numerous times, the work proved to be one of the most popular on public speaking in the 18th century. This is the first edition printed in Boston. Though Burgh died in 1775 on the eve of the Revolution, Burgh was known American sympathizer and a proponent of radical political reforms in the United Kingdom and Europe such as universal suffrage and freedom of speech. His most well known work, "Political Disquisitions," contains a long section on taxation in the colonies, which heavily criticized oppressive duties imposed on the colonists, and was subscribed to by many leading American political figures. EVANS 25239. ESTC W19982. (Inventory #: WRCAM51761)