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Liberty Bell is erected in Philadelphia...
Liberty Bell is erected in Philadelphia...
Item # 721609
THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE, London, July, 1753 Near the back is a terrific--yet inconspicuous--report which is part of various news items under the heading: "America" and dateline of Philadelphia, June 7.
It reads: "Last week was raised and fixed, in the State-House Steeple, the great bell, weighing 2080 lb. cast here, with this inscription, 'Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, to the inhabitants thereof'".This is how they reported the installation of which would become known as the Liberty Bell. Terrific item from long before it would become a treasured piece of American history.
Additional news items from America include a report from Charles Town (Charleston), South Carolina telling of the crops that season, and of the troubles with the French Indians who: "...killed some of our people, but after several smart skirmishes, in which one of their chiefs was killed, our militia obliged them to retreat."
Other reports concerning Indians in America as well.
There are several prints within the issue as shown in the photos, one of which is a view and article headed: "An Account of the City of Pozzuoli, & of the Antiquities in its neighborhood". Pozzuoli is a suburb of Naples.
There are several prints within the issue as shown in the photos, one of which is a view and article headed: "An Account of the City of Pozzuoli, & of the Antiquities in its neighborhood". Pozzuoli is a suburb of Naples.
Complete in 48 pages, 5 by 8 inches, full title/contents page, nice condition.
Background/Context/Significance:
Early Echoes of an Icon: The Liberty Bell’s First Mention…
For collectors of early Americana, few discoveries are as compelling as finding the Liberty Bell referenced before it carried any symbolic weight. This brief report in the July 1753 issue of The Gentleman’s Magazine is precisely that—a modest notice that, in hindsight, captures the birth of a national icon. Tucked within the “America” news, the item simply records that Philadelphia has raised “the great bell…with this inscription, ‘Proclaim liberty throughout all the land…’.” At the time, it was just a functional addition to the State House steeple. Yet today, this understated mention represents one of the earliest printed acknowledgments of what would become a cornerstone of American identity.
What makes the piece truly remarkable is how ordinary the installation seemed in 1753—long before the bell would crack, long before it would be embraced as a symbol of independence, abolition, and unity. For collectors, this is the Liberty Bell before the legend.
Over the next century, the bell’s voice—and its silence—would mark defining moments in American history. Among them:
• July 8, 1776: The bell summons citizens to hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence.
• October 19, 1781 (celebration in Philadelphia): Ringing marks Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown, signaling victory in the Revolutionary War.
• 1835: The bell tolls at the funeral of Chief Justice John Marshall—its iconic crack appearing soon after.
• 1840s–1860s: Abolitionists adopt the bell as a symbol of the anti-slavery movement, giving it the name “Liberty Bell.”
This early report captures the moment the bell first took its place—quietly—before history made it thunder.
Category: The 1600's and 1700's
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$280.00
