Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-18
Law Books and Their Connection
With Early Printing.
THROW VALUABLE LIGHT ON HISTORY
Often the First Works Published
in New Country.
SOME INTERESTING FIND:

company, to a Star reporter recently THE
first books to be printed in any new Amer
lean community are usually its laws The
first book printed northwest of the Ohio
river was the laws of the Northwest Ter
ritory. The first book printed west of the
Mississippi was the laws of the then LOU
isiana territory. In the Mexican cession
the first book printed in English was the
code of laws put in force by Gen. Kearney
and promulgated by him at Santa Fee The
laws of Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin
were also the first books printed in what is
now those states, and this is true of other
of the western and also of some of the east
ern states. notably New York, Vermont.
Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia.
Hence, a complete list of the statutes and
session laws of any state or community
often furnished rather complete history
of the art Of printing within it's borders, as
well as an accurate mirror of It's economic
and social conditions.
''In many of the states the first book of
laws was not printed at home, even if the
first book then printed was book of laws.
The first Virginia laws were printed in
London in 1862, long before the introduction
of printing in that colony. The first book
of laws of both Indiana and Illinois was
printed in Kentucky, Indiana's in 1902. and
Illinois in 1872. Printing was introduced
into Kentucky at Lexington in 1892, and in
the decade that followed this art had moved
westward, so that by 1902 there was
printing press in the middle of the state,
where Indiana's first law book was printed;
in still another decade, Illinois first law
book was printed in western Kentucky.
The Athens of the Day.
Lexington was an Athens In those days;
people went there from hundreds of miles
to get their education at the great Transyl-
vania Institute, often travelling on horse
back, and from Lexington radiated not
only learning and education. but the arts
that go with them, including printing The
introduction of printing west of the Missis-
slppl probably came from this progressive
first book printed west of the Mississippi
was the laws of the Louisiana territory
printed in st. Louis in 1908 This book is
somewhat more common than the Ken
lucky, Indiana and Illinois first books of
laws, which are very rare, and the few
copies known to be in existence are mostly
In libraries. 1t is a remarkable fact that
collectors of rare books have heretofore
generally neglected this western field
Books relatively as early, and as rare. per
tanning to the eastern states or to Europe
would bring tenfold what these western
books sell for fgf8
1.-THE Kearney code the first hook nrfntod
in English in the Mexican cession, was
prepared by two or three- of the officers
In his command who happfned to be law
yers, and was printed on type and an old
e.
What has become Of this Kearney press I
do not know, but at Montpelier Vt, in
the rooms of the State Historical Society
may be seen an old press known to be the
first operated Within tkaS state of Yer
mont. 1t was taken there. from New Lon
don, Conn, by Judah SPst1ock and Alden
Spooner, Verm6nfs frstN printers. The
tradition is that this pf'-ss- was the one
brought to New London L.. 1908 or 1909 by
Thomas Short, ConnecticHt's first printer
who had bought 1t in Taoston or Cam
bridge. Some authorities s1laintain that 1t
was the identical press ,oli which Stephen
Day in 1889 printed the first book in the
British colonies of America. The first
printing press used in Wisconsin was at
Belmont, in 1896, towl., by the way,
which IS now almost forgotten This press
from there Is said to have gone to St
Paul in the late forties, ard to have been
the means of introducing the art pre-
sentative of all arts in Minnesota 1t is
also reasonably certain that the first print
ing press used in Oregon was brought
there from the Sandwich Islands, whittier
1t had been taken in 1921 by missionaries
from Boston.
After Rare Volume.
"1n the pursuit of these; old books I have
had some interesting experiences. T dis
covered the existence of an early volume of
Wisconsin laws by means of references to
1t scattered through the early journals Of
the legislature, long before 1 was able to
find any copy of it. After searching Wis
consin from end to end finally found the
book in Burlington. Iowa. At the time it
was printed Iowa was a part of the terri
tory OF Wisconsin. The last reference to
this book in the legislative Journals is that
the edition had been printed in Pennsylva-
mia and was al Pittsburg awaiting high wa
ter on the Ohio river. when it could be
brought to the territory of Wisconsin
These books may have been lost on the
way, or the fact that by the time they
reached the territory their usefulness had
ceased by reason of a revision of the laws
may account for their disappearance. You
see, this was compilation of certain laws
of the territory of Michigan, which by act
of Congress had been continued in the terri
tory OF Wisconsin when that was set off
from Michigan. Owing to the small settle
ments west of the lake few or none Of
Michigan's statute laws were to be had by
the early lawmakers, lawyers and judges
of that region. The legislature, therefore,
ordered the printing of this edition, which,
however. arrived where 1t had been so
much wanted only after a new code had
been issued.
AN examination of the printed laws of
Connecticut for the year 170S09, the only
known copy Of which is in the Yale Uni
versity library, convinced me that this was
the first book printed in Connecticut, prob
ably in l709, and perhaps in 170s, 1t had
previously been believed universally that
the Saybrook Platform of Church Disei-
pline, printed in no. was the first book
printed in Connecticut. This book of laws
had apparently been overlooked 1t unfor-
tunately has no imprint. but the fact that
it is usual to print the laws promptly after
their passage, and as the printer. Thomas
Short, had been brought to Connecticut
primarily to print the Paws, it seems con-
elusive that it was an earlier issue than the
Saybrook Platform. O. sd
Early Massachgsetts Laws.
cit was also my goodsfortune to be of as
sistance to the editor Of the facsimile edi-
ton Of the Massachusettsy laws Of 1900.
with supplements to 1872 eThis was orig
inally reproduced In an incomplete FORM
but when he gave me d copy one day 1
found by reference to my Manuscript bibli-
ography that an original was in existence
considerably more complete than that from
which his photographs were made. I ac-
cordingly called upon him ahd told him that
he would find the volume in the Harvard
Law School library. He tid SO and re-
printed the eleven ADDITIONAL pages as a
supplement-. The compteter copy formerly
belonged to Judge Story.
Il believed that had q complete list Of
all the session laws OF all the states, at
least since the revolution, but during a
trip in the south last year found a copy