Historical View of the Commission for Enquiring Into the Losses, Services, and Claims, of the American Loyalists, at the Close of the War Between Great Britain and Her Colonies, in 1783: with An Account of the Compensation Granted to Them by Parliament in 1785 and 1788
London: J. Nichols, Son, and Bentley, etc. 1815. First Edition. Fold-out plate. Marbled paper over boards with leather spine and fore corners. Octavo. viii, 203, [i] pages.
Detailed account of the British government's efforts to compensate American Loyalists after the Revolutionary War, including an examination of the work of the commission established in 1783 to assess the claims of Loyalists who had suffered losses due to their allegiance to Britain.
Includes a fold-out engraving after Benjamin West's allegorical painting "Reception of the American Loyalists by Great Britain in the Year 1783," followed by a 2 page description of the work and the figures represented therein. The original painting by West has been lost, so its imagery only survives in engravings such as this one.
A scarce book with but a handful of copies in OCLC and just 1 or 2 in the United States.
Ref. SABIN 104591.
Very good. Some exterior scuffs and peeled strips to binding but hinges sound. Moderate foxing to folding plate. Scattered old light pencil marginalia, some abrasion to front pastedown. Overall a sturdy, clean, and sound copy of this rather uncommon book.
Item #1824
Price: $675