The History Of The State Of Maine; From Its First Discovery, A.D. 1602, To The Separation, A.D. 1820, Inclusive. By William Williamson. In Two Volumes, Hallowell: Glazier, Masters & Co. 1832. Dated 1832 on the copyright page, which makes this a first edition set. (The dates on the title page and copyright page match, and there are no other printings mentioned, so this is a first edition set; the second edition was published in 1839, which confirms this as a first edition set too.) With gilt titles on black and burgundy labels on the spine, brown boards, blank endpapers, “R Eugene Ashley” written in pencil on the front paste-down of both volumes; Ashley was probably the owner of the two books. Then a two-page Preface and a two-page List of the Authors cited in this history, followed by six pages of Contents, then an Introduction and 650 pages of text and a ten-page Appendix at the rear of Volume I, six pages of Contents in Volume II, followed by 705 pages of text and an eight-page Appendix at the end of Volume II, and both volumes have marginalia by the printer. William Durkee Williamson (1779 - 1846) was the second Governor of the state of Maine, and one of the first congressmen from Maine in the United States House of Representatives. He was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party and one of Maine’s first historians, writing this two-volume History of the State of Maine in 1832; this stood as the standard reference on early Maine history for the rest of the 19th century. Besides his writings, his other legacy was to exonerate white people in their role of forcing native Americans off their native lands, and justified it based on white supremacy. The two books measure 9 1/4 x 5 5/8 in. wide and show wear on the boards and along the spines, there are creases, browning, stains and offset in both volumes, and the second volume has a detached board. There is only one other set offered online and it is rather expensive; if this set were in better condition, we would be asking for a higher starting price, but we are starting it low because of the condition, and the set is still a rare and important history of Maine. #58 #1708