Bidspirit auction | An Early 19th Century American

An Early 19th Century American Edition of 'Public Characters, or Cotemporary Biography,' 1803 - An early 19th-century book titled ”PUBLIC CHARACTERS, OR COTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY, ” published in Baltimore in 1803 by Bonsal and Niles, with additional publishers listed in Philadelphia and New York. The title page specifies the content as ”MEMOIRS of the following personages, ” including Charles James Fox, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington. The book is bound in full brown leather with a black spine label displaying ”PUBLIC CHARACTERS” in gilt lettering. Internally, a printed bookplate reads ”PRIVATE LIBRARY...of...Rev. John K. Coolidge, ” and a handwritten inscription ”Geo W. Allen” is present. The book is housed in a modern, dark fabric-covered slipcase. Book: 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) tall, 4 inches (10.2 cm) wide, 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) thick. Slipcase: 7 inches (17.8 cm) long. The full brown leather binding exhibits significant wear, including surface loss, scuffs, and abrasions across the covers and spine. The gilt lettering on the black spine label shows some wear. Internally, the paper pages show general age-toning and foxing throughout. The modern, dark fabric-covered slipcase appears to be in good condition.