Charter of Privileges de PENN, William - 1741

First Edition of The First Collection of Laws for the Thirteen Colonies and the Basic Document for the Separate Government of the Three Lower Counties [FRANKLIN, Benjamin]. Charter of Privileges, Granted by William Penn, Esq; to the Inhabitants of Pensilvania and Territories. Philadelphia: B. Franklin, 1741. First edition. Folio (11 5/8 x 7 inches; 295 x 178 mm). 8 pp. [With] [FRANKLIN, Benjamin]. Laws of the Government of New-Castle, Kent and Sussex Upon Delaware. Philadelphia: B. Franklin, 1741. First edition. Folio (11 5/8 x 7 inches; 295 x 178 mm). [1]-282, [3, table], [1, blank] pp. We could only locate one copy of either of these titles at auction in the last 40 years. Both volumes bound together in full speckled calf. Boards tooled and ruled in blind. Spine with red morocco spine label, lettered in gilt. Spine stamped in gilt. Board edges tooled in gilt. Old paper repairs to side margin of title-page of Charter as well as top margin of all four leaves of Charter, not affecting text. Title-page of Charter with old ink ownership signature. Second leaf of Charter with old ink signature to top margin and old red bookseller (E.Ellery) stamp on outer margin. Final leaf of the "Table" trimmed about 1/3 up from the bottom, no loss of text. Some old ink marginalia throughout Laws. Some foxing and toning throughout, the worst of it in Laws, between signatures ZZ-Sss2. Overall a very good copy, housed in a full morocco clamshell. "The Charter of Privileges granted by Penn in 1701, but printed in 1741, is the basic document for the separate government of the Three Lower Counties, which as political entity had a separate existence as a Crown colony under laws of its own assembly from 1704 till the Revolution. The Laws, here bound with the Charter, is the first collected laws of the Three Lower Counties, and is as well the first collection of laws of one of the original thirteen states." (Streeter 953). "Emphasizing local government, democratic processes, and religious toleration, Penn's charter paved the way for thousands of Pennsylvanian residents to practice their beliefs and participate in government. The charter would serve as the colony's state constitution until the Revolutionary War, and it would provide a foundation on which the Constitution and the Bill of Rights would be built in 1787." (The Historical Society of Pennsylvania) Evans 4782. Howes. Sabin 59971. Streeter 953. HBS 67609. $75,000