John Archer’s Copy. Bell, Benjamin. A System of Surgery. Illustrated with Copper Plates. Edinburgh: Printed for Charles Elliot and G. Robinson, 1783-1789 6 volumes, the first five are first editions (1783-1787) and the last is third edition (1789); has all 99 plates and the advertising leaves at the ends of Volumes 2, 4-6; almost uniform (the last volume not an exact match but very similar) full brown leather with red leather spine labels; bindings rubbed with some joints split and both sides of the last volume detached, one label missing, some lack free endpapers; general age toning to text, age stains with a few dark but text never unreadable, last leaf of first volume corner chipped with no loss, a few leaves and plates margin chipped or margin tattered but also no loss and paper not fragile, one plate on first volume is placed incorrectly and two in the third volume are reversed but all are present; Garrison Morton 5579 John Archer (1741-1810) was the first person to receive a medical diploma in the New World, a Batchelor of Medicine awarded by the College of Philadelphia in 1768, he was part of a class of ten but as his name was first alphabetically he was the first to actually receive the diploma in his hand. Patriot, Major in the Continental Army, statesman, both in his home state of Maryland as a member of the first state Constitutional Convention in 1776 and as a member of Maryland House of Delegates and also on the national level as a United States Congressman, his signature is surprisingly rare. Here ten signatures are present, at least one in every volume, there are variations in style with the one on the title leaf of the fifth volume dated 1788 and an almost exact match to the example held by the Historical Society of Harford County. The last volume also has a signature of Samuel Parkhurst dated 1792 and two hand stamps of A. Bradford. A classic work and an important association copy.