Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana

8vo. (Light spotting and toning.) Mid 20th century faux leather gilt. Provenance: Ralph W. Yarborough (1903-1996), American politician and lawyer (gilt-lettering on upper cover); Lone Star Autographs, Special Catalogue No. 943, The Yarborough Collection (notation on clipped catalogue note laid in, dated 4 April 2003: "According to Michael Minor, Senator Yarborough kept this volume in his bedroom as one of his favorite pieces").

ONE OF THE EARLIEST OBTAINABLE PRINTINGS OF THE FIRST ILLINOIS CONSTITUTION. The constitution was first printed in installments in the Illinois Intelligencer beginning 2 September 1818 (Vol. 3, No. 1). Blackwell & Berry, printers to the state in Kaskaskia, were originally commissioned to print a draft of the constitution, but no copies of that printing are known to have survived. They were later commissioned to print the final version in an edition of 500 copies. "This document was not submitted to the electors for their approval or rejection. It became operative when Illinois was admitted into the Union by congressional resolution on December 3, 1818" (Byrd). The present copy is the second printing, issued the same year as the Kaskaskia issue. The first printing has not appeared at auction in over 50 years (Streeter Sale), and this second printing is nearly as scarce, having surfaced only once in the last 40 years.

"The 1818 State Constitution consists of eight articles and was modeled after the state constitutions of New York, Kentucky and Ohio. It was considered very liberal at the time, allowing all white males who had lived in the state for six months the right to vote with no property restrictions and no requirement that they be U.S. citizens. It also severely limited the powers of the governor and set aside land in every township for schools. The Constitution was not submitted to the voters but became operative when Congress approved statehood. In Congress, 34 members of the House voted against admitting Illinois to the Union because they believed the Constitution did not go far enough to prohibit slavery. Nevertheless, both the House and the Senate approved statehood for Illinois and President James Monroe signed the legislation on December 3, 1818" (Giannoulias, 100 Most Valuable Documents at the Illinois State Archives 5). Byrd 13 (Kaskaskia issue).

Ralph W. Yarborough was a progressive Democratic U.S. Senator from Texas who served from 1957 to 1971. Known for his strong support of civil rights, labor, and education, he was one of the few Southern senators to vote for every major piece of civil rights legislation in the 1960s. Yarborough had a close friendship and political connection to John F. Kennedy, notably riding in the Dallas motorcade on 22 November 1963—just two cars behind Kennedy’s—when the president was assassinated.