NILES' WEEKLY REGISTER, Baltimore, Nov. 26, 1831

• Mordecai Manuel Noah
• Ararat, City of Refuge

An inside page has a nice report on the ceremonies of the laying of the cornerstone of the city of Ararat. This was the project of Mordecai M. Noah, who is acknowledged to be the first American born Jew to rise to national prominence. His city of Ararat was to be a Jewish homeland in America, and was situated on Grand Island in the Niagara River. This report takes about three-quarters of a page.

Just above this report is one headed: "Domestic Slave Trade" which has a list of slaves imported into New Orleans, by port, during a mentioned week.

Sixteen pages, 6 1/4 by 9 3/4 inches, nice condition.

Background: The November 26, 1831 issue of Niles’ Weekly Register holds exceptional historical and collectable value due to its rare, nearly full-page report documenting the cornerstone-laying ceremony for the City of Ararat—one of the earliest and most unique attempts to establish an autonomous Jewish refuge in the United States. Conceived in 1825 by Mordecai Manuel Noah, the first American-born Jew to achieve national prominence as a diplomat, editor, and playwright, the ambitious project aimed to transform Grand Island in the Niagara River into a haven for persecuted European Jews. While the grand spectacle of the dedication featured Noah clad in theatrical gubernatorial robes alongside Masonic rites and cannon salutes at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Buffalo, the utopian city ultimately failed to attract settlers and never came to fruition, leaving behind only its famous cornerstone now housed in the Buffalo History Museum. Periodical accounts of Noah's extravagant vision from primary news outlets like Hezekiah Niles' nationally influential publication are remarkably scarce today, making this 1831 printing a prized primary source artifact that captures a pivotal moment in American religious freedom and pre-Zionist Jewish history.

As noted in Wikipedia, this title: "...(was) one of the most widely-circulated magazines in the United States...Devoted primarily to politics...considered an important source for the history of the period."