ACTS PASSED AT THE FIRST CONGRESS & other publications by Francis Childs & John Swaine
Francis Childs and John Swaine were prominent New York City printers that published several works from the first Congress that met in New York.
In addition to various individual bills and the Journal of the House of Representatives, Childs and Swaine printed in book form the entire complied set of Acts of the First Congress, including the text of the Constitution along with the first 12 proposed amendments that were submitted to the states. For the next decade, Childs and Swaine continued to print congressional acts and records through 1798 (during the period that Congress was located in New York and Philadelphia).
While Childs and Swaine published The House Journal for the first and second sessions of the first Congress, John Frenno was the early publisher for the Senate. When Congress relocated to Philadelphia in 1790, both publishers moved along with Congress to its new location.
The cost of early Congressional publishing was not insignificant. In 1794, Congress allocated $10,000 for printing, including such expenses as firewood and stationary. GPO, Keeping America Informed, The U.S. Government Publishing Office: A Legacy of Service to the Nation p. 4 (2016)
Other publications by Francis Childs & John Swaine (click on the links below):
• Acts of First Congress (John Adams’ copy)
• Acts of Second Congress (John Adams’ copy)
• Acts of Third Congress (John Adams’ copy)
• Acts of First Congress (Thomas Jefferson’s copy as Secretary of State)
• Journal of the House of Representatives (1789)
George Washington’s personal, annotated copy was sold by Christies at auction for $9,826,500.
