George Washington

I own an original 1812 copy of THE VALEDICTORY ADDRESS OF WASHINGTON TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, in pristine condition, published by the "Washington Benevolent Society of Massachusetts". It is crimson red, hardback, slightly smaller in size to one of those small bibles people use to carry in their vest pockets (~2" X 4"). There are 62 printed pages and the cover (not the edge) has the word "WASHINGTON" imprinted in gold leaf. On the faceplate is hand-written, :"Mary E. Lincoln, from her uncle F.W.E." On the backplate is hand-written," F.W. Eliot May 1814" and on the opposing page is hand-written, "Washington Benevolent Society May 1814"

Correspondence, letterbooks, commonplace books, diaries, journals, financial account books, military records, reports, and notes from the approximately 65,000 items in the collection accumulated by Washington from 1741 through 1799. First release consists of 41 letterbooks (about 8,000 pages). Can be searched by keyword or browsed by series. Includes a time line, essays about the George Washington papers, and a selected bibliography.

"Our nation's first president is not usually thought of as a man of words. Yet Washington was keenly aware of the power and importance of language. From the time of his entrance into the public arena at the age of twenty to his death forty-seven years later, he produced a steady stream of letters, reports, memoranda, addresses, messages, and speeches designed to express his views and to persuade people to them. Here is the authoritative selection of Washington's thoughts and observations culled from his public discourse and private correspondence."--BOOK JACKET.

xiv, 80 p. : 23 cm

The Papers of George Washington, a grant-funded project, was established in 1968 at the University of Virginia, under the joint auspices of the University and the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, to publish a comprehensive edition of Washington's correspondence. Letters written to Washington as well as letters and documents written by him are being published in the complete edition that will consist of approximately ninety volumes. The work is now (2011) more than two-thirds complete. The edition is supported financially by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, the University of Virginia, and gifts from private foundations and individuals. Today there are copies of over 135,000 Washington documents in the project's document room. This is one of the richest collections of American historical manuscripts extant. There is almost no facet of research on life and enterprise in the late colonial and early national periods that will not be enhanced by material from these documents. The publication of Washington's papers will make this source material available not only to scholars but to all Americans interested in the founding of their nation. - Publisher.