THE HALF CENTURY; or, A History of Changes That Have Taken Place, and Events That Have Transpired, Chiefly in the United States, Between 1800 and 1850

Boston: Tappan and Whittemore, 1851. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. ...a work of great labor, which gives, in a condensed form, facts relative to the intellectual, moral, physical, and mechanical progress and discoveries of the nineteenth century. This work had a large circulation, and was reprinted in Great Britain" (Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography). The appendix describes the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 with an ominous closing: "I trust that He who has guided this nation through many perils will interpose, and mercifully save us from the evils which this law portends." Introduction by Mark Hopkins, D.D. Octavo: xxiii, [1], 444 p. Original brown cloth binding, with gilt titles and elaborate blind stamping. Just a hint of foxing to the prefatory and concluding leaves. The cloth is fresh and bright, with a tiny bit of wear to the tips; else near fine. (Inventory #: 77685)