The Statutes at Large have been published by the government beginning with Volume 18 (1873-75). The earlier volumes were issued by private publishing houses with official authority under the titles Laws of the United States and Statutes at Large. The earlier volumes are known as the Folwell Edition, the Bioren and Duane Edition, and the Little and Brown Edition.
The first collected edition of the laws of the United States was the so-called Folwell edition. Entitled Laws of the United States, this set eventually comprised twelve volumes, printed by various publishers, covering the first 13 congresses (1789-1813). Only the first four volumes (covering the 1st-5th Congresses, 1789-1799) were printed by Richard Folwell, a printer in Philadelphia, under the authority of the act of March 3, 1795 (1 Stat. 443).
A list of the editions of the several volumes with the names of the publishers is given in the Checklist of United States Public Documents, 1789-1909, p. 963 (Ref JK411 .C572x). The University of Delaware Library lacks printed copies of most volumes of the Folwell edition. Many of the volumes are listed in Charles Evans, American Bibliography (Ref Z1215 .E92) and Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker, American Bibliography: A Preliminary Checklist (Ref Z1215 .S48) and have been microfilmed as part of the two Early American Imprints series. The following table provides the Evans or the Shaw and Shoemaker number used to locate a particular volume in Early American Imprints (1639-1800) or Early American Imprints, Second Series (1801-1819) (Microfiche S 269 and Microfiche S 269.5 respectively). There are DELCAT records for many of the volumes published after 1800, with the series designation Early American Imprints. Second Series, followed by the Shaw and Shoemaker number.
| Folwell Edition | ||
|---|---|---|
| Citation | Evans or Shaw/Shoemaker Number | Notes |
| Laws of the United States, v. 1 [1st Congress, 1st-3d sessions, 1789-91]. Philadelphia: Printed by Richard Folwell, 1796. | Evans, 31356 | |
| Laws of the United States, v. 2 [2d Congress, 1st and 2d sessions, 1791-93]. Philadelphia: Printed by Richard Folwell, 1796. | Evans, 31356 | |
| Laws of the United States, v. 3 [3d Congress, 1st and 2d sessions, and 4th Congress, 1st and 2d sessions, 1793-97, with index]. Philadelphia: Printed by Richard Folwell, 1796 [1797]. | Evans, 32973 (Evans, 32974) | A printed copy of The Laws of the United States of America: Containing the Acts of the Fourth Congress (Philadelphia: Printed by Richard Folwell, 1797) is shelved in Special Collections (JX1706 .A3 1796) |
| Laws of the United States, v. 4 [5th Congress, 1st-3d sessions, 1797-99]. Philadelphia: Printed by Richard Folwell, 1799. | Evans, 36523 | |
| Laws of the United States, v. 4. Philadelphia: Printed for M. Carey, W. M'Culloch, printer, 1799. | Evans, 36524 | |
| Laws of the United States, v. 4. Philadelphia: Mathew Carey, 1804. | Shaw & Shoemaker, 7511 | |
| Laws of the United States, v.5 [6th Congress, 1st and 2d sessions, 1799-1801]. Philadelphia: Mathew Carey, 1803. | Shaw & Shoemaker, 5321 | |
| Laws of the United States, v.5. Philadelphia: Mathew Cary, 1804. | Shaw & Shoemaker, 7512 | |
| Laws of the United States, v.6 [7th Congress, 1st and 2d sessions, 1801-1803]. Philadelphia: Mathew Cary, 1804. | Shaw & Shoemaker, 7513 | |
| Laws of the United States, v.8 [9th Congress, 1st and 2d sessions, 1805-1807]. Washington City: Printed by R. C. Weightman, for Wm. Duane, Phila., 1807. | Shaw & Shoemaker, 13936 (Shaw & Shoemaker, 13937) | |
| Laws of the United States, v.9 [10th Congress, 1st and 2d sessions, 1807-1809]. Washington City: Printed for the Department of State, 1809. | Shaw & Shoemaker, 18915 | |
| Laws of the United States, v.9. Washington City: R. C. Weightman, 1809. | Shaw & Shoemaker, 18916 | |
| Acts Passed at the First-Third Session of the Eleventh Congress of the United States [Laws of the United States, v.10]. Washington City: R. C. Weightman, 1811. | Shaw & Shoemaker, 24080 | |
| Acts Passed at the Third Session of the Eleventh Congress of the United States [Laws of the United States, v.10]. Washington City: Dept. of State, 1811. | Shaw & Shoemaker, 24081 | |
| Acts Passed at the 1st Session of the Twelfth Congress of the United States [Laws of the United States, v.11]. Washington City: Printed for the Department of State, 1813. | Shaw & Shoemaker, 30007 | |
| Acts Passed at the Second Session of the Twelfth Congress of the United States [Laws of the United States, v.11]. Washington, 1813. | Shaw & Shoemaker, 30010 | |
| Acts Passed at the Second Session of the Twelfth Congress of the United States [Laws of the United States, v.11]. Washington City: Printed for the Department of State, 1813. | Shaw & Shoemaker, 30011 | |
| Acts Passed at the First Session of the Thirteenth Congress of the United States [Laws of the United States, v.12]. Washington, 1813. | Shaw & Shoemaker, 30008 | |
| Acts Passed at the First Session of the Thirteenth Congress of the United States [Laws of the United States, v.12]. Washington City: Printed by Roger C. Weightman, 1813. | Shaw & Shoemaker, 30009 | |
The second edition of the Laws of the United States, known as the Bioren and Duane edition, resulted from the act of April 18, 1814 (3 Stat. 129). This edition, like the Folwell edition, also went back to the beginning of the government but was continued to include the 28th Congress (1789-1845). It embraced ten volumes, only five of which were printed by Bioren and Duane. A list of the editions of the several volumes with the names of the publishers is given in the Checklist of United States Public Documents, 1789-1909, pp. 964-65 (Ref JK411 .C572x).
| Bioren and Duane Edition | ||
|---|---|---|
| Citation | Shaw and Shoemaker Number | Notes |
| Laws of the United States of America from March 4, 1789 to March 4, 1815. 5 vols. Philadelphia: John Bioren and W. John Duane; and Washington City: R. C. Weightman, 1815. | Shaw & Shoemaker, 36275 | Volume 1 contains documents, treaties, and reprints from the journals of the Continental Congress. Volume 2 contains the laws, 1789-97 (1st-4th Congress) as in the Folwell edition, vols. 1-3. Volume 3 contains the laws, 1797-1805 (5th-8th Congress) as in the Folwell edition, vols. 4-7. Volume 4 contains the laws, 1805-1815 (9th-13th Congress) as in the Folwell edition, vols. 9-12, excepting the 3d session of the 13th Congress, which is not in the Folwell edition. Volume 5 is the general index. |
Later volumes of the Bioren and Duane edition were published between 1822 and 1845 and beyond the scope of the Early American Imprints, Second Series microfilm.
The Library has a printed copy of the Bioren and Duane edition ( 5vols.) in Government Documents, at the SuDocs call number S 7.8.
The third edition of the laws, published by Little, Brown and Company, was authorized by the joint resolution of March 3, 1845 (5 Stat. 798). This edition also went back to 1789 and continued to the end of the 42d Congress (1873). The title of this edition is Statutes at Large, which is used for all citations. The last volume was 17. The act of June 20, 1874 (18 Stat. 113), provided for the publication of the Statutes at Large by the government, and the official edition was made a continuation of the earlier private one. Volume 18 was the first in the set to be printed by the government.
The Library has a copy of the Little and Brown edition of the Statutes at Large on microfiche. It is located on the Lower Level, in the Government Documents, at U. S. Docs Microfiche S 7.9.
Online access to the Little and Brown edition is provided at the Library of Congress' A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation Web site.
In 1874 Congress discontinued the contract with Little, Brown, and Company and directed the Secretary of State to publish the Statutes at Large. The volume numbering that begin with Little and Brown was continued. The first volume of Statutes at Large that was published by the State Department was v. 18, pt. 3, containing the legislation of the 43d Congress (1873-1875).
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