(9 3/4 x 8 inches). Complete first edition: [2] [i]-[viii] [1]-408 [20]. pp.436. 56 total plates including 2 color fold-out maps of the United States and New York; 6 portraits; 11 fold-out plates; 3 black and white maps; and 9 lithograph autograph fascimiles. Two of the plates, "Boat Builders Association and Ball Badge" and "Bakers Benefit," are scarce and uncalled for. Three plates after George Catlin, numerous by A. B. Durand and Anthony Imbert. Contemporary full calf presentation binding with New York City seal blind stamped on front and back boards, both of which are elaborately gilt, the front board reading "Presented by the City of New York to Henry Rutgers Esq. As a Tribute of Respect to His Public & Private Virtues." Six raised bands forming seven compartments on spine, with elaborate gilt foliate designs in second, fourth, and sixth compartments, and gilt titling in third and fifth compartments. Gilt dentelles, tan marbled endpapers, marbled edges Provenance: Henry Rutgers (1745-1830): New York politician and the namesake of Rutgers University. W. B. Crosby, executor of Rutgers's estate, signed the title page in ink manuscript One of the earliest works with lithograph illustrations in the United States; a copy presented by the City of New York to Henry Rutgers in an elaborately gilt calf presentation binding. The first book with an illustration by George Catlin. Published upon the completion of the Erie Canal, Colden's Memoir describes the route of the canal, the history of canal development, and the navigable waterways of the Northeast. The Erie Canal was the greatest feat in early American engineering history. It connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, and required 400 miles or more of canal-building. It was first proposed in 1699, formally begun in 1819, and opened on October 26, 1825. The Grand Canal Celebration on November 4, 1823 is comprehensively illustrated herein. The calf extra presentation binding on the present copy is a spectacular and elaborate souvenir of these extravagant celebrations surrounding the official completion of the monumental Erie Canal. The canal proved to be the key that unlocked an enormous series of social and economic changes in the young nation, spurred the first great westward movement of American settlers, gave access to the rich land and resources west of the Appalachians, and made New York the preeminent commercial city in the United States. The lithographs in this volume hold an important place in the history of American printmaking. The scenes of Buffalo and Lockport are the first lithograph town views published in the United States, and are the earliest examples of the work of George Catlin (1796-1872), best-known for his North American Indian Portfolio (1844). Interestingly, the work includes a description and history of the lithograph process on pages 349-351, among the earliest such descriptions in America. All of the lithographs were executed by Anthony Imbert, who Harry Peters called the "pioneer lithographer of New York City." Particularly noteworthy is the fold-out illustration showing the canal's complete route in cross-section. The book also contains nine "Autograph Facsimiles" of letters from both Adamses, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Lafayette, and others. New York City politician, wealthy landowner, and philanthropist Henry Rutgers's personal copy of Colden's Memoir, published to celebrate the opening of the Erie Canal. Rutgers served in the New York State Assembly from 1783-84, the New York Board of Education Regents from 1802-26, and was a Presidential elector in 1808, 1816, and 1820. Rutgers owned considerable property in Manhattan, and donated numerous parcels of land for the use of schools, churches, and charities. He is remembered for his donation of a $5,000 bond to what was then called Queen's College in New Brunswick, New Jersey, which saved the school from permanent closure. In gratitude, the trustees of the college renamed the institution in his h
