Bidwell, Barnabas | Connecticut claims western lands

Bidwell, Barnabas

The Susquehannah Title Stated and Examined, in a Series of Numbers, First Published in the Western Star... Catskill: Mackay Croswell, 1796

12mo (178 x 99 mm). Title and final leaf repaired, browned, contemporary annotations. Half speckled calf and marbled paper-covered boards, gilt-lettered red morocco label to spine; extremities rubbed.  

First edition of a scarce upstate New York imprint. "This is a clear statement of the Connecticut claim and is especially worthwhile for its discussion of the decision by the Commissioners of the Confederation made at Trenton, New Jersey, in 1782, holding that the State of Connecticut had no right to the lands in the Wyoming Valley. The point is very strongly urged that this did not apply to individuals holding under Connecticut titles" (Streeter).

PROVENANCE

Yeats (signature to title—possibly the copy of John Yeats, an Albany lawyer)

REFERENCE

ESTC W22403; Evans 30091; Federal Hundred 56; Howes B431; Sabin 93937; Streeter sale 982; Vail 1050