Volumes I and II. [blank leaf], [2], xxxi, [1], [3]-292 pp., [blank leaf]; [2], 451 pp., blank leaf. (8vo) 20.7x12.2 cm (8¼x4¾"), rebound in buckram, spines lettered in gilt. First Edition.

The first two volumes of the full three-volume set of the defense by John Adams of the new U.S. Constitution - the first volume was printed first, and issued separately, and the two subsequent volumes were published later in 1787 (Vol. II) and in 1788 (Vol. III). They were sold separately or together during that period, and incomplete sets and stray volumes do appear. But the 1787 Dilly printing of Volume I is the first edition, whether issued separately or in tandem with the subsequent volumes. The work comprises an important series of letters from the American patriot and second President, defending the U.S. Constitution from European criticisms of the doctrine of legislative balance. Adams compares the constitutions of the various states of the Union, and of the Union itself, with those of foreign countries and ancient cultures. Adams wrote these works while Minister to Britain, admiring their parliamentary system, but praising the U.S. Constitution as "admirably calculated to preserve the Union". Vols II-III were printed for C. Dilly and John Stockdale. Inkstamps of Bromley Library Institute to the bottom margins of title pages. Bookplates of Laurence Sears. Howes A60; Sabin 234. Leaf B1 in Vol. I not present, as seems to be the norm; initial blank in Vol. II not present.