Records of the Continental Congress – Philadelphia, 1776 – "Cartridge Paper" Edition of 80 Copies – Early ...

Records of the Continental Congress – Philadelphia, 1776 – "Cartridge Paper" Edition of 80 Copies – Early References to Jews in America
The Journals of the Proceedings of Congress, held at Philadelphia, from January to May, 1776. Philadelphia: R. Aitken, 1776. English. "Cartridge Paper" edition.
A rare edition of the records of the Continental Congress – the legislative body of thirteen American colonies at the eve of the Declaration of Independence.
The Congress, of which members many were among the Founding Fathers of the USA, was active during the years 1774-1789 and its decisions shaped, to a large extent, the image of the USA to this day: the unification of the thirteen colonies, the establishment of the Continental Army, the appointment of George Washington as the commander in chief of the army, the adoption of the Articles of Confederation (which were later replaced by the USA Constitution) and most important, the Declaration of Independence of the Unites States of America.
The records before us were printed during the months of January-April 1776, in the midst of the War of Independence and a short while before the establishment of the United States, and they contain important documentation of the Congress' activity during this time. The records include references to letters from the commander of the army George Washington, letters from Benjamin Franklin, allocation of resources to the various fronts, appointments and additional matters. Jewish figures who took part in the war are also referred to: a record from 7.2.1776 refers to David Franks, the representative of the British Crown in Pennsylvania, who took upon himself to provide food to the prisoners-of-war in the city of Reading; another record from 10.4.1776 refers to the brothers Barnard and Michael Gratz, suppliers of the Continental Army and among the first to trade with the population of Native-Americans, who are asked to arbitrate a dispute with White Eye, chief of the Lenape people.
When the records were published, the number of Jews in the United States was very small: in the late 18th century, only approx. 2000 Jews lived in the USA.
The brothers Barnard (1738-1801) and Michael (1740-1811) Gratz were born in Lagendorf, Germany. During the 1750s, they immigrated to the USA and settled in Philadelphia. Together, they engaged in trade, among others with the Native-Americans, and provided the USA government with Native-American goods. The Gratz brothers established trade routes between New Orleans and Quebec and due to the political climate, also did business in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Kentucky. Among other things, they signed the 1765 Non-Importation Resolution – a regulation against the importation of goods from Britain, which was declared in protest against the Stamp Act of 1765, imposed by the British parliament on the American colonies that same year. About a decade later, the Gratz Brothers served as suppliers of the Continental Army. Barnard Gratz was the first leader of the Mikveh Yisrael community in Philadelphia.
David Franks (1720-1794), a Jewish merchant born in New-York, was one of the supporters of the British Empire in America (the Loyalists). During the French and Indian War, he was appointed by the British Army to supply food to the soldiers and after the defeat of the forces in his place of residence, Pennsylvania, he succeeded in raising approx. 5000 pounds for the defense of the settlement. In 1765, he was among the signatories of the Non-Importation Resolution – a regulation against the import of goods from Britain; yet after the outbreak of the war, returned to support the English and became their representative in Pennsylvania. Franks was imprisoned several times after the war due to his support of the enemy and for a short time even moved to Britain. Eventually, however, he returned to the USA and renewed his business. He died at the age of 74 from Yellow Fever.
[1], 93, 70, 73-237 pp, 21.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Blank cardboard binding. Stains and creases. Small tears to margins. Handwriting on the upper margin of the front binding, the title page and two additional pages [ownership inscriptions of Theo B. Booraem(?)]. Stamp on the inside of front and back bindings. The front binding is detached. Spine missing.
The records of the Continental Congress from January-April 1776, which were named "Cartridge Paper", were printed for the internal use only of the members of the Congress and are considered the rarest edition of the records of the Congress before the Declaration of Independence. In April 1776, the Congress ordered the printer Robert Aitken to stop printing this edition and print a new one instead. 80 copies of the first edition were sold and the rest were given to the army and were used for making paper cartridges for firearms (thus the name). See: American Bibliography by Charles Evans, no. 15145.
Today, only a few copies are known of.