THE MASSACHUSETTS MAGAZINE OR MONTHLY MUSEUM, Boston, September, 1789  

* President George Washington
* Benjamin Franklin

The first article takes over a full page and is titled: "Description of Charles River Bridge". The plate called for is not present.
Other articles include: "Marriage Ceremonies Among the Tschouwasches, a Finnish Nation"; the conclusion to the article: "The Way to Wealth" signed in type: Richard Saunders (pen name of Benjamin Franklin); a full page: "Letter from Dr. Franklin to the late Dr. Mather" signed by him in type: B. Franklin;  "...Extracts on the Slave Trade, from Governour Jefferson's Notes on Virginia";  "Memoirs of the Marquis De La Fayette" which takes 2 1/2 pgs.; and "Account of the Marriage of Two Dwarfs".
Near the back are various domestic news reports which include: "The President of the United States has been pleased to nominate...to appoint Alexander Hamilton, Esq., of New York, Secretary of the Treasury...Gen. Henry Knox, Secretary at War..." and more.
Complete in 64 pages, 5 by 8 1/4 inches, scattered foxing, nice condition.

Background: The September 1789 issue of The Massachusetts Magazine serves as a primary source "time capsule" documenting the structural birth of the United States government and the intellectual landscape of the early Republic. Its historical significance lies in its real-time reporting of President George Washington’s first cabinet appointments, specifically Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury and Henry Knox as Secretary at War, marking the transition from a loose confederation to a functional executive branch. Beyond politics, the issue illustrates the American Enlightenment through the inclusion of Benjamin Franklin’s moral philosophy in "The Way to Wealth" and Thomas Jefferson’s complex discourse on slavery via Notes on the State of Virginia, highlighting the era's deep contradictions between the pursuit of liberty and the reality of chattel slavery. Furthermore, the detailed description of the Charles River Bridge underscores the period's obsession with internal improvements and engineering as symbols of national progress, while the "Memoirs of the Marquis de Lafayette" connects the American struggle for independence to the burgeoning revolutionary fervor in France. Together, these 64 pages provide a comprehensive snapshot of a nation defining its identity, economy, and moral compass in the first year of its constitutional existence.

 Eighteenth century American magazines are increasingly scarce in today's market. This title was published by the famed Isaiah Thomas, the patriot printer from the Revolutionary War & founder of the American Antiquarian Society.