Acts of the General Assembly of the Province of New-Jersey…

Folio, contemporary sheep, rejoined and crudely rehinged, viii, 493, [1], 6, 6, 4, 4, [1], 15 pp. Binding is very worn, especially at the extremities, despite hinge repairs, back cover is detached and top cover a bit loose, browning and aging, marginal dampstaining affecting appendices, early ownership signatures, including Belmont Perry and Thomas Hendry on title and elsewhere, bookplate on front pastedown. Samuel Allison (1739-1791) was a Burlington attorney who had an interest in both politics and the law. In 1762 he was commissioned as one of the surrogates for West Jersey, and was put to work compiling a new edition of provincial laws, which is the current volume, and covers the period from 1702 to 1776. Allison was a Quaker, who opposed slavery and secession from the British Empire. He worked throughout his life to end slavery, and became a spokesperson for a sizeable Quaker community in New Jersey. The present work includes coverage of relief of the poor, raising money for public buildings, preventing the waste of timber, and the regulation of slaves. There are several manuscript corrections to the text in this copy, which according to Felcone appear to be the rule for all copies. New Jersey in the American Revolution. Felcone 158. Evans 14911. Sabin 53046.