First Edition of an Early Treaties on American Prisons, Inscribed by Thomas Eddy, the Director of the First State Prison of New York
On the Prisons of Philadelphia. By A European.
Philadelphia: Moreau De Saint-Mery, 1796.
. By A European. Philadelphia: Moreau De Saint-Mery, 1796.
Full Description:
[LA ROCHEFOUCAULD LIANCOURT, author]. [EDDY, Thomas, Association]. On the Prisons of Philadelphia. By A European. Philadelphia: Moreau De Saint-Mery, January 1796.
First American edition. printed at the same time as the first edition on French of a treatise on the Philadelphia prison system (Both registered for publication on Jan. 2, 1796). Octavo (7 13/16 x 4 13/16 inches; 198 x 120 mm). 46, [2, blank] pp. With two pages of tables. Title-page with ownership signature of Thomas Eddy, a New York politician charged with the oversight of the construction of the first State Prison in New York and its first Director.
Pamphlet bound in quarter red cloth over marbled boards. Remnants of a bookplate that has been removed to front pastedown. Some general foxing and toning to leaves. Title-page and table leaves trimmed close. Touching Eddy's signature and a portion of the chart. Final three leaves with small tears to upper, outer corners, not affecting text. A one-inch closed tear to leaf B, just touching a few letters but with no loss. Overall a very good copy.
This anonymous treatise is attributed to La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, "a French social reformer who was forced to flee to England in 1792 due to his support of King Louis XVI during the French Revolution. Arriving in America in 1794, La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt toured the northern United States and Canada for several years before leaving for Hamburg in 1797 and returning to France in 1799." He also wrote "Travels through the United States of North America." This work focuses on the economic and social conditions of the United States and Canada. (Lehigh University).
"In the late 1700s, on the heels of the American Revolution, Philadelphia emerged as a national and international leader in prison reform and the transformation of criminal justice practices. More than any other community in early America, Philadelphia invested heavily in the intellectual and physical reconstruction of penal philosophies, and the region’s jails and prisons reflected these evolving principles. Throughout the 1800s, global and local observers looked to Philadelphia—particularly the Pennsylvania system of solitary confinement pioneered at Eastern State Penitentiary—as they modeled penal practices in their communities..." (Annie Anderson, The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia). It is often argued that Walnut Street Prison in Philadelphia is the first prison in the United States.
"One of [Thomas] Eddy’s most noted philanthropic achievements was the reform of New York’s penal laws. In the early 1790s, he began a campaign to end branding, whipping, and solitary confinement in the state prisons. In 1796, he shepherded a bill through the state legislature that established new standards for the penitentiary system. He was appointed to oversee the construction of the first state prison and served from 1797 to 1801 as its first director."
Evans 30674. Sabin 39054.
HBS 69290.
$2,250.
Price: $2,250.00
Item #69290