You are bidding on an antique hardcover book titled Police Records and Recollections; or Boston by Daylight and Gaslight For Two Hundred and Forty Years. By Edward H. Savage. Published in Boston by John P. Dale & Company, 1873. This is the scarce and collectible First Edition.
Title: Police Records and Recollections; or, Boston by Daylight and Gaslight for Two Hundred and Forty Years
Author: Edward H. Savage
Publisher: John P. Dale & Company
City: Boston
Year: 1873
Printing Information: First Edition
Binding Style: Hardcover
Pagination: 400 pages
Width: 5.5" Height: 8.25"
Book Details: From the Preface: "The author of this volume has been in the service of the Government of Boston as a Police Officer a large number of years, and has very good reasons for feeling a deep interest in the history and welfare of his adopted city. Under this influence, and with opportunities offered through the courtesy of numerous friends, the writer has devoted much of his leisure time for some years past, in collecting material for a Chronological History of the Town and City of Boston . . . From these records have been borrowed the materials that compose the "Chronological History of the Boston Watch and Police."
The author, Edward Savage, served as a police officer in the Government of Boston for many years. Upon retirement, with the encouragement and cooperation of many friends, he went about collecting material for this volume from the official records of the Boston Police Department, going back an astounding 240 years! For this book Savage selected material that he believed would not, in general, be objectionable to the reading public. He made no attempt to draw upon his imagination, believing that truth is not only stranger, but more profitable than fiction. The events depicted are the observations of a plain man, told in a plain way, and are but every-day transactions in city life.
The first section of the book (pp. 7-106) is a Record of the Boston Watch and Police. The rest of the volume is a series of vignettes on some of the more famous and/or unusual crime events. A sampling of the fifty (50) topics includes A Charm Game; A Chapter on Hats; A Wedding in the Tombs; Beggars; Church Robbery; Cholera in 1854; Destruction of a Beehive; Fight with John Welch; Little Ragged Nell; Noah's Ark; Rat Pits; The Lost Treasure; Woman's Revenge; Watchman's Battle; etc.; etc. With six (6) engraved plates.
Condition / Notes: This antique volume is a first edition. It is bound in green cloth, with gilt lettering and decoration to the front cover, and gilt lettering to the spine. Moderate rubbing and some staining are visible to the volume's exterior. The spine edges are lightly frayed. The text block displays minor age toning. The paste-downs of this volume show minor rippling, and the flyleaves have been replaced. An abrasion is present on the blank preliminary page, repaired with tape. This abrasion extends minimally onto the title page. Underlining is present to the first few pages of text, and the interior is otherwise free of markings. A few pages show creasing or small bumps at the upper forecorners. This volume is preserved in an acetate dust jacket.
A very scarce book from 1873 and NOT a modern reprint.
Great gift idea!
(Inventory: 292A)