Acts & Law Massachusetts,Colonial Print Boston 1714!

Acts and laws, of Her Majesties province of the Massachusetts-Bay in New-England. Boston in New-England : Printed by B. Green, printer to His Excellency the governour & Council, for Benjamin Eliot and sold at his shop on the north side of King’s Street, 1714. Bound with [The charter granted by Their Majesties King William and Queen Mary, to the inhabitants of the province of the Massachusetts-Bay in New-England. Boston : B. Green, 1714].

A rare opportunity to own an original copy of the colonial laws of Massachusetts under King William and Queen Mary -- the earliest obtainable copy of these laws -- printed in Boston almost 300 years ago – and 62 years before the Declaration of Independence! It is the second issue, with "Re-printed, by order of His Excellency the governour, Council and Assembly. Isaac Addington, secr. Boston, October, 1713." on the verso of the title page. It includes session laws passed between 1692 and 1713 --including  the famous "Scarlet Letter" law, made famous in Nathaniel Hawthorne's book (see below).

This scarce copy of the acts and laws for the early American pre-Revolutionary "province" of Massachusetts includes acts regulating the Militia, repairing the Boston townhall and highways, acts enabling the Treasurer to discharge "Publick Debts". Also included is the "Scarlet Letter" law – that any person convicted of the offense of adultery "shall ever after wear a Capital A of two Inches long and proportionable bigness, cut out in Cloth of a contrary Colour to their Cloaths, and sewed upon their upper Garments, on the outside of their Arm, or on their back, in open View." It contains as well an Act against Piracy and Robbing upon the Sea, along with an Act for the Encouragement of Making Salt, within this Province, which gives an interesting glimpse into the problems of life in the colonies at the turn of the 17th century:

For as much as the Inhabitants of this Province are brought into great Straits by reason of the Dearness and Scarcity of Salt, Many of our Vessels employed in fetching of it from Tartooda, and other Places, being taken by Privateers, and others discouraged from Undertaking such Voyages during this time of War. And whereas Elisha Cook, Elisha Hutchinson, an John Foster, Esqrs, have informed this Court that Proposals having been offered them of the possibility of making Salt here, after the manner as it is made in France..."

The Acts cover such items as what to do about "stray beasts", suppressing disorders in public houses, the relief of poor prisoners for debt, regulating cattle fences, a list of fees to be paid for various services, times and manner for various courts to be in session, an act for the "Suppressing and Punishing of Rogues, Vagabonds, Common Beggars, and other Lewd, Idle and Disorderly Persons," an Act for preventing fire by building in Boston with brick or stone; an act "against Jesuits and Popish Priests", and another for the regulating of prisons; an "Act for preventing Abuses to the Indians", and another act forbidding the sale of leather or skins to any country but England; and an act regulating trials in civil cases; an act establishing a Naval Office; an act establishing a Commissioner of Sewers; an act to "prevent Fraud in Cord-Wood exposed to Sale" and an act making it a whippable offence for a "Negro or Molatto Mann" to "commit Fornication with an English Woman" and also forbidding marriage between the same; an Act for erecting a powder-house in Boston; an act regulating the ferry over the Charles River between Boston and Charlestown; an Act "against Intemperance, Immorality and Prophaneness"; an act prohibiting the importation of any Indian servants or slaves; an act for erecting a new town named Pembrooke; an Act for the relief of creditors against bankrupts; and an Act making it unlawful to sell rotten fish; and much, much more.

An exciting piece of early American history and early American printing, in its original binding, with ownership inscriptions from a 1700s Massachusetts family.

Condition of this scarce colonial document is fair. The original leather boards are scuffed and worn with some cuts and heavy scratches to the leather, corners and edges are worn away, hinges are cracked, bottom of spine is gone. The Acts start with page 5 and end at page 240 or May 1713 (should be 1714), followed by the Charter which begins with page 3 and ends with page 13, as called for. (Evans 1686) All blanks are missing, and the Table (or index) is also missing. The book is a folio, 12" x 7.5". The book was used for penmanship practice and for some genealogy recording by younger members of the Houghton family of Lancaster, Worcester County, Mass (names include John, Jacob, Simon, William, Sam, Ann, Polly, among others). There are a number of Houghton families in Lancaster, Mass., in the 1700s with these names, but it would take further research to identify the correct group. Most of the penmanship practice is in the margins, but there are occasional inkblots and marks affecting text. There is browning and staining throughout, some pages are coming loose and have tears at the gutters (see particularly pages 54-57). Edges of the pages are crisp with some thinning and chipping. Paper for the charter at the rear is more fragile than that used for the Acts and there is more damage – greater wear at edges, pulling away at the gutters and chipping, bottom of page 10 is torn away at the edge with some loss to text. Most leaves in the book are proud and extend beyond the edge of the covers. This is a very scarce book: in our sources we find only one copy sold at auction in the last 60 years. The only other copy available for sale now that we could locate is priced at over $9000. All in all, a very scarce copy of one of the most important documents of colonial America, printed in Boston 62 years before the Declaration of Independence was written, nearly 300 years ago.