Kelley, Hall J.:

$400 · Offered by William Reese Company

THE AMERICAN INSTRUCTOR, SECOND BOOK. DESIGNED FOR THE COMMON SCHOOLS IN AMERICA; CONTAINING THE ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE; LESSONS IN ORTHOGRAPHY AND READING, AND THE PRONUNCIATION OF ... "Second edition." A curious early American speller, compiled by a pioneer western land promoter. Kelley eventually dreamed up several western land schemes, including one in Oregon near the mouth of the Columbia River. A dialogue beginning on page 149, "The Colonists," includes the statement, "I will be the founder of colony and you shall be people of different trades and professions," apparently foreshadowing his western schemes. They came to naught for Kelley himself, but he continued to write books and pamphlets encouraging settlement in the Northwest for the remainder of his life. Streeter had a copy of this work, also described as a second edition, but printed in Concord, New Hampshire.

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