“Arms of the United States” The Columbian Magazine, or Monthly Miscellany
Philadelphia, September & October 1786 - 8vo; [4], 98, [2] pages
 
Early American publication featuring engraved plates by James Trenchard illustrating the Arms of the United States and the Great Seal of the United States, issued just four years after the adoption of the national seal. The imagery, centered on the American eagle bearing the olive branch and arrows with a shield of thirteen stripes and a constellation of stars, represents one of the earliest printed disseminations of the nation’s official iconography. Publications such as The Columbian Magazine played an important role in popularizing these symbols during the formative years of the early republic.
 
Condition: Newly bound; clean pages with very light wear; excellent.