[George II.] Autograph manuscript, drafted by the Duke of Cumberland. Secret instructions for General Braddock relating to his command in North America. 25 November 1754.

In 1754, George II issued orders for Major General Edward Braddock to go to Virginia to command all British forces in North America against the French. Accompanying these orders were secret instructions, actually drafted by King George's son, the Duke of Cumberland. These instructions, on display, order Braddock to conduct a multi-objective campaign against the French forts on the Ohio, the falls and passes of the Niagara, Crown Point on Lake Champlain, and Fort Beauséjour in Nova Scotia. On July 9, 1755, during a battle near Fort Duquesne, Braddock met defeat at the hands of the French and their Indian allies and was mortally wounded.

Edes and Gill's North-American Almanack, and Massachusetts Register, for the Year 1770. Boston: Sold by Edes and Gill in Queen-Street; and T. & J. Fleet at the Heart and Crown, in Cornhill, 1770.

The North-American Almanack was published by Benjamin Edes and John Gill, two outspoken patriots who also published the pro-independence newspaper Boston Gazette and Country Journal. Edes and Gill had been the official printers to the Massachusetts colonial government for a time, but their anti-British activities cost them the appointment. The Boston Tea Party participants are said to have assembled at their shop before setting forth on their raid.

In addition to the practical information and entertaining articles characteristic of eighteenth-century almanacs, this issue features a view of Boston harbor engraved by Paul Revere. Revere produced many engravings for Edes and Gill, including the masthead for the Gazette and a number of illustrations for that paper.