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Copies of the Declaration first arrived in London on August 10, 1776. The Westminster Magazine was one of several London periodicals to include the Declaration in their August issue, printed in September; the full text appears on pages 431-32, without comment.

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident; that all Men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

[DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE]. The Westminster Magazine; or, The Pantheon of Taste, August 1776. London: Thomas Wright, [1776]. Folding engraved map; lacking an engraved view and a piece of music, 52 pp. (395-448), 5? x 8 in.

Inventory #26146       Price: $2,800

This publication, like all other British printings we have seen, silently alters some of the Declaration text to avoid publishing direct personal attacks against the king, which could be prosecuted. In the comparisons below, the self-censored Westminster text appears in italic, and the Declaration’s actual text, where it differs, is in brackets:

• “[The History of the present King of Great Britain] The present History of Great Britain is a History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations; all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid World.
• “[He] It has refused [his] its assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.” (p431)
• “[A Prince] A Government whose character is thus marked by every act which may define [a Tyrant] Tyranny, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People.” (p432)

The issue opens with “A Concise Account of the British Colonies in America,” accompanied by an engraved, fold-out “Map of the present Seat of War in North America,” which provides a brief geographic description of each colony, including Newfoundland, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and East and West Florida.

Excerpts from more than three pages of “American Intelligence” (p442-45).

General William Howe letter to Lord George Germain, July 1776, Staten Island:

“the Rebels...are numerous, and very advantageously posted with strong intrenchments, both upon Long Island and that of New York, with more than 100 pieces of cannon for the defence of the town towards the sea, and to obstruct the passage of the fleet up the North river, besides a considerable field train of artillery.” (p442/c2)

“I propose waiting here for the English fleet or for the arrival of Lieut. General [Henry] Clinton, in readiness to proceed, unless by some unexpected change of circumstances, in the mean time, it should be found expedient to act with the present force.” (p443/c1)

“Governor Franklyn [Benjamin Franklin’s son, William Franklin], who for a long time maintained his ground in Jersey, has been lately taken into custody at Amboy, and is at this time detained a prisoner in Connecticut: And the Mayor of New-York [David Mathews] was confined a few days ago upon a frivolous complaint of sending intelligence to Governor [William] Tryon, brought to trial, and condemned to suffer death; but, by the last intelligence, the sentence was not carried into execution.

“Notwithstanding these violent proceedings, I have the satisfaction to inform your lordship, that there is great reason to expect a numerous body of the inhabitants to join the [British] army from the provinces of York, the Jerseys, and Connecticut; who, in this time of universal oppression, only wait for opportunities to give proofs of their loyalty and zeal for Government.... Several men have within these two days come over to this island, and to the ships, and I am informed that the Continental Congress have declared the United Colonies free and independent States.” (p443/c1)

Additional Content
This issue also includes a variety of short articles: “The Pleasures of Poverty: or, Adventures in a Coffee-House” (p405-6); “The Anxieties of Irresolution” (p406-7); “An Essay on the Variety of Opinions, Whence It Proceeds, and the Uncertainty of Human Knowledge” (p413-15); “On the Varieties, Uses, &c. of Potatoes” (p419-20); and “Biographical Memoirs of William King” (p422-26); and original poetry (p433-41).

The Westminster Magazine; or, The Pantheon of Taste(1773-1785) was a monthly literary magazine published in London. Among its publishers over its twelve-year run were William Goldsmith (d. 1796); William Richardson (1701-1788) & Leonard Urquhart; Thomas Wright (d. 1797); John Cooke (1731-1810); John Fielding & John Walker; and John Walker.

Condition: Some soiling at top margin; disbound.