8vo (216 x 131 mm). (Marginal paper flaw affecting ca 5 lines of text p.v, diagonal paper flaw crossing ca 7 lines of text p.115, light marginal fraying to title-page, dampstaining, some browning and spotting.) ORIGINAL BOARDS UNCUT AND UNOPENED (covers detaching, lacking paper spine covering, overall wear). Provenance: Michael Jenifer Stone (signature, "M. J. Stone" on title-page).

FIRST EDITION, A MARYLAND STATESMAN'S COPY. Michael Jenifer Stone (1747-1812), an American planter and statesman from Charles County, Maryland, represented Maryland in the United States House of Representatives. In 1788, Stone was a delegate to the states convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution. Stone was the first representative from the 1st District of Maryland, elected in 1789 and serving through 1791. The present volume records the final session of the Continental Congress, which sat through November 1788; the new federal government was initiated in April 1789; included in the appendix is the United States Constitution, which was created September 17, 1787 and ratified June 21, 1788. Evans 21526.