Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-08-04
WRITTEN BY WASHINGTON
A Copy Of His First Book Has Recently Been
Sold.
Gives an Account Of His Inspection of
the Forts Along the Ohio
River.

in New York city for small sixteen-page
pamphlet. minus the cover and otherwise
rather dilapidated.
At first sight much money may seem
out of proportion to the object purchased.
But the man who handed over his check
for the amount is both book collector and
patriot, whereas the tiny volume bought
by him happens to be the work of George
Washington, and. save for two other cop
les, the last known survivor of it's edition.
The 1000 pamphlet was printed at Will
Iiamsburg, the old capital of Virginia, in
17j4-5, according to the date upon the title
page. The government printers of the
old dominion were the publishers, and
George Washington, Esquire, Colonel of
Militia is set down as author. 1t would
be, save for its associations, a very unin-
teresting work, consisting solely of a sol
dierly and altogether matter-of-fact ac-
count of Washington's expedition, under
the orders of Governor Dinwiddie, to in
spect the frontier forts along the Ohio
river.
On his return from the expedition to the
forts Washington laid his report before
the colonial governor. and was permitted
by that functionary to have 1t printed at
the governments expense. Accordingly
Colonel Washington set to work. and put
his report into shape, the results of this,
his first literary labor, being the pamphlet
described.
For generations the pamphlet had lain,
obscure and unvalued, in an unimportant
private library. 1t was generally sup
posed that only two copies of Washing
toms first essay in authorship existed. and
within the past fifteen years both of these
copies had come up for sale-one of them
IN the Brinley auction of 1882, fetching
$3.50, and the other being bought for a
large price by the LenoX library trustees.
Discovered by Accident.
was made by accidental visitor to the
house in which it lay having found il
while grubbing among some dusty papers
in the library. This gentleman, knowing
something Of the, value of such prize
it to New York for valuation. 1t happened
that the wealthy collector who made ths
purchase wanted that particular time-worn
print to complete his set of Washingtoniana
and quite willingly paid $1,000 for it, Little
did George Washington, colonel of the Vir-
giria militia, think as he corrected the
proof sheets of his Report" away back
In 1tJi-5, that a copy of that unpretentiouS
work should one day be worth thousands
of dollars.
When Washington set forth at the head
OF deta chment of militia to examine into
the condition of the sparsely scattered Ohio
a mere carpet knight. Indians and French
were united against the British-for II
must be remembered that George Wash
ington was to all intents and purposes a
"BritfSher' i'll 11J4-J.
In the course of his journey from point
to point the young colonel met with ad-
ventures not few, but throughout his
report" he is extremely careful to elimi-
nate anything that might be described as
stirring or unconventional. although cur
rent history tells US that the expedition
encountered many events of this nature.
On the contrary. the report simply re-
counts the condition of the block houses
and stockades visited, the health and stand
Ing of their garrisons and the exact quanti-
ties of ammunition, food, &c. in their
stores. Altogether. 1t would be difficult to
extract material for a historical romance
from this meager work by the father of his
country. But your true book collector
never looks beyond the title page. 10
the man that owns it, Washington's RE
port of a Visit to the Ohio Forts is we'll
worth 1000.
Book dealers and collectors are unani-
nous in announcing that a notable de-
mand has sprung up throughout the coun-
try for books and relics of the ante-revo-
lutionary and revolutionary periods Per-
haps the many societies recently founded
of persons descended from participators in
those eventful epochs may have something
to do with the revived interest In the ma
tion's early history.