[Paul Revere Woodcut Masthead, Major General Nathanael Greene's Movements]. Boston Gazette. And the Country Journal. Watertown, Massachusetts; March 19, 1781. Printed by Benjamin Edes and Sons. Number 1386. Four pages of a bifolium, 10" x 15.25". Unpaginated and printed in three columns. A report of Major General Green, hot on the trail of British General Cornwallis. This newspaper features a beautiful masthead from the hand of Paul Revere, first used January 1, 1770. The masthead reads "The Boston-Gazette and Country Journal", divided by an illustration of a woman seated adjacent to a large tree, with a laurel wreath on her brow, a liberty pole with a cap at her side, and the shield of Britain at her feet; she is depicted opening the door to a birdcage and releasing a dove with a town visible in the distance. Beneath the image the text reads "Containing the freshest Advices, Foreign and Domestic" followed by the date. While Paul Revere is best remembered for his "midnight ride" of April 18-19, 1775, he was an engraver and silversmith by trade. "Although frequently termed woodcuts, the cuts for eighteenth-century newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, and broadsides were almost invariably engraved on type-metal, which was an alloy of lead, antimony, and tin. Revere undoubtedly made his own metal cuts by combining the proper proportions of lead, antimony, and other compounds, so that the result would take cutting and not be too brittle," (Brigham). This particular edition of The Boston Gazette also contains news on the Revolutionary War front, particularly concerning the movements of Major General Nathanael [Nathaniel] Greene in creating a light infantry offensive unit in anticipation of reported movements of Cornwallis and the British Army. Also, with an accompanying steel engraved portrait of Greene. "As soon as Gen. Greene was informed of the movements of Lord Cornwallis, he put the army in motion on Pedee, and, leaving it under the command of Gen. Auger, set out to join the light infantry, in order to collect the militia and embarrass the enemy, until he could affect a junction of his forces." Greene served throughout the war with high commendations, particularly for his adaptable and decisive tactics in the South, and emerged one of Washington's most trusted and honored officers. This paper was issued just days after the Battle of Guilford Court House, March 15, 1781, which, despite an American retreat, resulted in substantially greater British casualties. This issue further covers a number of military movements in the South, with extracts of letters from General Marion, "The Swamp Fox", and Col. Campbell (reporting on his expedition against the Cherokee people) with a short introduction by Thomas Jefferson as Governor of Virginia, signed in type. Reference: American Antiquarian Society, Illustrated Inventory of Paul Revere's Works. Brigham Plate 67. Condition: Rough edges with minor chipping to edges, not affecting text; stab holes from prior stitch binding in the left margin. Creased and starting to split along old folds, central horizontal fold reinforced on pages [2] and [3] with archival tape. .5" closed tear extending into masthead image. Light scattered soiling. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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