George Mason's Roman History

Virginian George Mason, a statesman and American Revolutionary later known as the “Father of the Bill Rights,” acquired this volume of ancient Roman history by the author and historian Livy (Titus Livius) in 1769. Mason and other members of America’s founding generation were careful students of history. They looked to the example of ancient Rome for guidance on the structure and operation of republican government. After George Mason died in 1792, his son, Thomson Mason, added his own signature and the year of his father’s passing to the title page. Also visible is the faded ink inscription “Gunston,” the name of the Mason home on the banks of the Potomac River south of George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

Object Details

• Titi Livii Historiarum Volumen Septimum
  Printed by J. and R. Tonson and J. Watts
  London, England
  1749
  Paper, Leather, Ink
  Museum of the American Revolution
  2003.00.0665