The Topeka state journal., 1897-08-09
WRITTEN BY WASHINGTON.
Copy of His First Book Sold for ST.
600 Recently.

New York, Aug. 9.-One thousand
dollars has just been paid in New York
city for s. small 16-page pamphlet, min
US the cover and otherwise rather di-
lapidated.
AT first sight so 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 copies, the last
known survivor of it's edition.
The $1,000 pamphlet was printed at
Williamsburg, the old capital of Vir-
ginia, in 1754-5, 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 it's as
soc1ations, very uninteresting work,
together matter-o -of-fact account of
Washington's expedition, under the or
ders of Governor Dtnwiddie, to inspect
the frontier forts along the Ohio river
On his return from the expedition to
the forts Washington laid his report be-
fore the colonial governor, and was
permitted by this functionary to have it
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,
For generations the pamphlet had
lain, obscure and unvalued in an unim-
portant private library. 1t was gener-
ally supposed that only two copies of
Washington'S first essay in authorship
existed, and within the past Is years
both of these copies had come up for
sale-One of them in the Brinley auc-
tion of 1882 fetching $3.50, and the other
being bought for a large price by the
Lenox library trustees.
The discovery of the pamphlet num-
xyyqc ma do hxro i1aT, vic
itor to the house in which it lay having
found it while grubbing among some
dusty papers in the library. This gen
tleman, knowing something of the value
of such a prize, persuaded the unbeliev-
ing owner to send it to New York for
valuation.1t happened that the wealthy
collector who made the purchase want
ed that particular time-worn print to
complete his set of Washingtoniana,
and quite willingly paid 81, 900 for it.
Little did George Washington, colonel
of the Virginia militia, think as he cor
rected the proof sheets of his report %
away back in 1855, that a copy of
that unpretentious work should one day
be worth thousands of dollars.
When Washington set forth at the
head of a detachment of militia to ex-
anime into the condition. of the sparse
| ly scattered Ohio forts the journey was
| not one suitable to a mere carpet
| knight. Indians and rFench were uni
| ted against the British-for it must be
remembered that George Washington
| ''Britisher'' in 1754-5.
| In the course of his journey from
| point to point the young colonel met
| with adventures not a few, but through
| out his report he is extremely careful
| to eliminate anything that might be de-
! scribed as stirring or unconventional,
| although current history tells US that
| the expedition encountered many
/ events of this nature. On the contrary
| the report" simply .recounts the con-
| ditiOn of the block houses and stock
| AIDES visited, the health and Standipo
| of their garriSons and the exact GUAM
| titles of ammunition, food, etc, in their
| stores Altogether, it would be diff
| cult 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. To the man that owns it,
| Washington's Report of a Visit to the
] Ohio Forts" is well E-orth 81 900