![Lot 37 The Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents - Complete 20-Volume Book Set [1918]](https://cdn.rrauction.com/auction/723/3501854_1.jpg)
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Monumental 20-volume book set: The Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, Vols. I–XX, Edited by James D. Richardson. Third printing. New York: Bureau of National Literature and Art, [1918]. Hardcovers bound in black pebbled cloth with gilt designs and lettering to spine and boards, the latter bearing embossed presidential seals, with the front highlighted in gilt, as are the edges, 6.5 x 9.75, totaling 8582 pages, with the Vols. XIX and XX containing the Encyclopedic and Biographic Indexes. In overall fine condition, with trivial wear to the textblock and covers.
Richardson's purpose in compiling this massive work was to amass in one place what he considered ‘among the most interesting, instructive, and valuable contributions to the public literature of our Republic. [The Messages and Papers] discuss from the loftiest standpoint nearly all the great questions of national policy and many subjects.’ Included are inaugural addresses, important speeches before Congress, messages to the American public, and proclamations from George Washington through Woodrow Wilson.
The initial set of The Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents was copyrighted in 1897 by James D. Richardson, a representative from the state of Tennessee, and was published in 1911 by the Bureau of National Literature and Art. The private copyright of these public documents became a political dispute known as the Richardson Affair, and the copyright of such works was prohibited in 1895, eventually leading to a comprehensive prohibition on copyright of works of the federal government. The original first edition was printed in 1899 by the Government Printing office in Washington D.C. Only 6,000 copies were printed and presented to members of Congress and the Senate for reference. Two thousand for the use of the Senate and four thousand for the use of Congress. In 1911, there was a third printing and contained 20 volumes.
