The American Clerk's Companion, and Attorney's Prompter, A Collection.
First Edition of a Successful Layman's Manual by a New England Renaissance Man Fessenden, Thomas G[reen] [1771-1837]. The American Clerk's Companion, and Attorney's Prompter: A Collection of the Most Useful and Approved Forms of Legal Instruments, Precedents in Pleading, &c. With Observations Relative to the Varieties of Practice, Introduced or Sanctioned by the Statutes and Courts of Different States. Brattleboro, VT: Published by John Holbrook, 1815. [iv], [13]-377 pp. Complete. 12mo. (6-1/2" x 4"; 16.5 x 10.2 cm). Contemporary sheep. Moderate rubbing and a few shallow scuffs to boards, heavier rubbing to extremities with wear to spine ends and corners, front joint just starting at foot, hinges cracked, endpapers partially detached and edgeworn, early owner signature to head of rear free endpaper, illegible due to chipping. Moderate toning and faint dampstaining to interior, tiny chips to corners of a few leaves. A good unsophisticated copy. $100. * First edition. Immediately popular, this layman's guide went through seven later editions, all with a title beginning A Valuable Assistant to Every Man: Or, The American Clerk's Magazine. It became a staple legal and business manual for the common citizen, providing templates for deeds, wills, and contracts. Under the biting pseudonym Christopher Caustic, Fessenden wrote satirical poems such as Terrible Tractoration! (1803), which mocked the medical establishment and various "pseudo-scientific" gadgets of the era. A true Renaissance man, he founded The New England Farmer, which brought Enlightenment-era scientific rigor to American agriculture, moving it away from "folk" traditions toward more efficient, systematic methods, and was deeply involved in the practical application of heat, holding patents for specialized boilers and steam-related heating apparatuses. Fessenden is often remembered by literary historians for his friendship with Nathaniel Hawthorne, who actually lived in Fessenden's house for a time and wrote a warm biographical sketch of the "Doctor" after his death. Cohen, Bibliography of Early American Law 8010.
Price: $100.00
Book number 86018