Burns — Alexander Wilson. 93 



Also another Brewer edition, practically the same as (m), but 

 with the impring T. L. Magaguos & Company, New York, 1854, 1(5 

 Beekman St., as publishers. It also contains a few plates not from 

 Wilson. 



I have recently had the very great pleasure of examining 

 valuable manuscript relating to Wilson, collected by the late 

 Joseph M. Wade, and now in the hands of Mr. Frederic B. 

 McKechine, who, while reserving the bulk for future publica- 

 tion, has kindly permitted me to c|uote certain portions of the 

 Hazard and Lawson letters. It enables me to confirm the ex- 

 istence of a Philadelphia edition of Brewer's Wilson, 1856, by 

 quoting the publisher: " My connection with Wilson was this: 

 As a publisher in Philadelphia, Harrison Hall who had form- 

 erly been the publisher of Wilson in 3 Vols. 8vo of text and 1 

 Vol. -ivo of plates [1828-1829 [, who succeeded Laval and 

 Bradford, the former publishers [Vol. IX of the 1824-25 re- 

 print]. Pie used frequently to be in my store on Chestnut 

 St. between 7th and 8th Sts., and being a very old man. and 

 desiring of selling the plates, induced me to buy the coppers, 

 which were all he had of the work, except a number of odd 

 printed impressions, plain and colored, and a few copies of the 

 edition of Wilson and Bonaparte in 1 Vol. 8vo edited by Brew- 

 er of Boston, and which was out of print. I used to buy all 

 the copies of this letter press I could pick, up, and print off 

 some plates and color them and thus sell the work. Wlien I 

 went out of business, I sold the plates to Porter and Coates."^ 

 The latter publishing- house made use of them in their 1871 

 edition, when Mr. Hazard was manager for the firm and 

 doubtless superintended this work, and the late Henry T. 

 Coates informed me that he in turn transferred the plates to 

 The John C. Winston Co., successors to Henry T. Coates and 

 Company ; therefore I believe the original coppers are still in- 

 tact after serving five editions. Mr. Hazard does not state 

 that the title page of the letter press was replaced by one of 

 his own. but I regard this as extremely probable, as well as 

 his own or a close friend's authorship of the notice in Alli- 



' Willis P. Hazard MS. 



