1842 An Address Before the Tilghman Literary Society — Western University of Pennsylvania — John A. Wills — Early Pittsburgh Imprint

Rare early Pittsburgh educational pamphlet titled An Address Delivered Before the Tilghman Literary Society of the Western University of Pennsylvania on the 12th October, 1842, The Twenty-First Anniversary, by John A. Wills. Printed by A. Jaynes, Franklin Head, Third Street, Pittsburgh, 1842.

The 32-page booklet contains Wills’ oration delivered at the university (now the University of Pittsburgh), touching on literature, orthography reform, and education in early 19th-century America. Includes the original society correspondence printed at the beginning.

Sewn binding intact; uncut edges; moderate foxing and toning throughout; light edge wear and a few small spine splits, consistent with age. Faint ink inscription on cover (“M. Eddy” or similar).

Scarce surviving example of early Pittsburgh printing and antebellum collegiate literature. Copies are recorded in a handful of institutional collections but seldom appear for sale.