I wouldn't have expected to be able to acquire this title anytime soon, but thanks to an Amazon seller thinking he had a broken set (the second volume of Prince's work wasn't published until 1755), I ended up with a deal I couldn't let slip by. This copy, as with most copies of Prince's work still in their typical binding (the binding on my copy is almost identical to Thomas Gillan's copy, pictured here) isn't in the absolute best of shape, but I rather like books that seem to have been read and used, and most copies of Prince seem to have that feel about them.
The subscriber list for Prince's book was massive (it takes up nearly twenty pages in the text, with many subscribers ordering more than one copy) so it's not surprising that this book (and in fact many copies still extant) appears to have belonged to a subscriber. The inscription on the verso of the front flyleaf of my copy is quite faded (enhanced image here) but may be that of one Samuel Hendly, merchant of Charlestown, who subscribed for two copies (it looks more like "Heaney" to me, so I've got to see if I can track down a Hendly signature and compare the two).
On the rear flyleaf is another interesting notation (images here and here) which is also very faded and difficult to make out, but appears to say "June 24, 1775 Doct Call," followed by two lines of text that say I'm-not-sure-what (but are followed by prices or costs). If anybody wants to take a whack, let me know and I'll send the images. Finally on the rear pastedown is the inscription "Thos. Fosdick Book" (image); there appear to be several gentlemen by that name, so another one to try and track down.
There's definitely a project out there for somebody to check out the surviving copies of Prince's work and look at evidence of early readership, or do a study of the subscribers - it's quite a fascinating work, and I'm happy to have a copy on my shelves.
