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 The work spells out an important and, for its time, very modern philosophy of liberal education in the vernacular. Gerry, a graduate of Harvard, assembled a large library in his Cambridge estate – Elmwood House – previously the home of Governor Andrew Oliver, and now owned by Harvard University. Books from Gerry’s library are rare.
Elbridge Gerry. Signed Book. Charles Rollin, The Method of Teaching and Studying Belles Lettres, or, An Introduction to Languages, Poetry, Rhetoric, History, Moral Philosophy, Physics, Etc., With Reflections on Taste; and Instructions with regard to the Eloquence of the Pit, the Bar, and the Stage. London: Hitch and Haws, 1758. 6 5/8 x 3 7/8", 392 pp. Vol. 4 (of 4). Signed "E Gerry" on front free endpaper.
Inventory# 21870 $2,000
Historical Background:
Elbridge Gerry was a member of the Second Continental Congress, a close associate with John Adams, and a Signer of the Declaration of Independence from Massachusetts. He later served as congressman, vice president, state governor. He is also famous for having the word "gerrymandering" – redistricting to benefit one’s political party – named after him, and for having chosen not to sign the Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention because of its lack of a Bill of Rights.
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