THE MASSACHUSETTS MAGAZINE, Boston, May, 1793

• Original Chain Bridge (Massachusetts)
• Newburyport - Merrimack River

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.
One of the best aspects of this issue is that the full page plate is still present, being: "Newbury Bridge over Merrimack River" which is accompanied by a nearly full page: "Description of the Plate" (see). Only rarely are plates of American scenes still found in such magazines. Typically they were removed years ago. The plate is in very nice condition with some foxing in the margins.
Other articles include: "Description of Cracow, in Poland" "Masonick - Social Influence of Free Masonry" & much more.
Near the back is: "Domestick Occurrences" with the latest news including such headings as: "Counterfeit Dollars" "Federal City Lottery" "Frontier Army" "Indian Depredations" & more.
Complete in 64 pages, 5 by 8 inches, full title/contents page, very nice condition.

Background: The May 1793 issue of The Massachusetts Magazine stands as a rare and historically significant artifact of early American publishing because it retains its original, intact full-page copperplate engraving of the "Newbury Bridge over Merrimack River" along with its accompanying descriptive essay. Published in Boston by pioneering printer Isaiah Thomas and his partner Ebenezer T. Andrews, this post-Revolutionary periodical aimed to cultivate a national visual and literary identity. The plate itself captures a landmark moment in early American civil engineering: the Essex Merrimack Bridge (completed in 1792 by master builder Timothy Palmer), which utilized an innovative wooden arched truss design across Deer Island to span the river—a technological feat celebrated across the young republic. Because 18th-century engraved plates were routinely excised by 19th-century collectors for framing or scrapbooking, finding an issue with its plate still bound in fine condition—with only minor foxing in the margins—offers an extraordinary, unblemished window into post-Independence infrastructure, craftsmanship, and print culture.