NICHOLAS PIKE FIRST U.S. MATHEMATICS BOOK AUTOGRAPH BOSTON ALS SFL LETTER 1788

Description

Type:
Autograph letter signed (ALS) / Stampless Folded Letter (SFL)
Autograph / Author:
“
Nicholas Pike”
[(1743-1819); Educator & Mathematics Author]
Letter Subject:
On the publishing and sale of the first American mathematics textbook -
“A New and Complete System of Arithmetic: composed for the use of the citizens of the United States.
”
(1788)
Origin:
Newburyport, Massachusetts
Recipient:
Dudley Woodbridge [(1747-1823), Northwestern Territory Pioneer, Judge, and Merchant]
Destination:
Norwich, Connecticut
Date:
January 1, 1788
Postmark:
“BOSTON”
(liner handstamp)
“7 IA”
(franklin mark)
Pages:
1 1/4 pages of manuscript letter, 1 cover page
Paper Watermark:
S. Lay C
Size:
6 1/8 x 7 1/4 inches
History:
Nicholas Pike was born in New Hampshire and a Harvard graduate (1766). Pike would ultimately settle in Newburyport, Massachusetts, where he was a school teacher, magistrate and selectman. Pike authored the first major American mathematics textbook in 1788 –
“A New and Complete System of Arithmetic: composed for the use of the citizens of the United States.”
The book was printed and sold by John Mycall, Newburyport. In 1793, Pike produced an abridgement, and both books went through numerous editions through the first half of the 19th century. The book was popular and was endorsed by numerous Ivy League educators and political leaders such as George Washington (1732-1799).
Dudley Woodbridge was a member of the Committee of Safety and the first postmaster in Norwich, Connecticut.
Woodbridge was also an early settler in Marietta, Ohio, where he became a commission merchant and judge.
Condition:
Tears at the folds junctions (mostly on the cover page), edge wear/bumping/tiny tears, one large tear hole on cover page fore edge, and some soiling/discoloration. See pictures.
References:
“George Washington Papers, Series 4, General Correspondence: Nicholas Pike to George Washington.”
Library of Congress.
“Pike, Nicolas 1743-1819.”
Worldcat Identities
“Early American Arithmetics”
by E.R. Sleight. National Mathematics Magazine,
Vol. 10, No. 1, October 1935 (pg. 9-12).
“A Survey of the City Schools of Marion, Illinois”
by Walter S. Monroe. Bulletin No. 21. Bureau of Educational Research College of Education. University of Illinois, 1924. (pg. 88)
“Dudley Woodbridge II (1747-1823).”
WikiTree
Item Number:
G00101