catalogue two hundred ninety - four
A Tribute to
Wright Howes
on the 50th Anniversary
of U.S. iana :
Part I
“b” or Better
W illiam R eese C ompany
409 Temple Street
New Haven, CT 06511
(203) 789-8081
A Note
This catalogue is the first of a two-part tribute to the great Americana bookseller and
bibliographer, Wright Howes, and his bibliography U.S.iana, celebrating the 50 th anniversary of the publication of the definitive second edition in 1962. Even in the age
of the internet, U.S.iana remains the single quickest reference source for thousands
of books and pamphlets in American history from 1650 to 1950 due to its collations,
lists of editions, and ease of handling; the compact, sturdy, well-designed volume is
easy to use and bring along. It remains the single reference source which sits by my
desk in easy reach.
This is the fourth series of Howes tribute catalogues this firm has done. Our first,
catalogues 50 and 52, came out in 1987 and were essentially an alphabetical list of
our stock of Howes titles at the time. In 1991, we did it again in three parts (94, 96,
97), but could no longer cover all of our holdings. In the spring of 2001 catalogue
202 was devoted to items rated “b” or better in Howes’ value rating scheme. Now,
in the spring of 2012, this catalogue is a similar “b” or better greatest hits catalogue,
with 100 important titles. Of these, 64 are “b”, 22 are “c”, 10 are “d”, and 4 are “dd”.
Catalogue 295 will explore some of the stranger titles in stock which appear in Howes.
We now have more than 2500 Howes titles in stock, which can be explored on our
website at www.reeseco.com.
Available on request or via our website are our recent catalogues 287, Western Americana;
288, The Ordeal of the Union; 290, The American Revolution 1765-1783; 291, The United
States Navy; and 292, 96 American Manuscripts, as well as Bulletins 24, Provenance; 25,
American Broadsides; 26, American Views, and many more topical lists.
Some of our catalogues, as well as some recent topical lists, are now posted on the
internet at www.reeseco.com. A portion of our stock may be viewed via links at www.
reeseco.com. If you would like to receive e-mail notification when catalogues and lists
are uploaded, please e-mail us at info@reeseco.com or send us a fax, specifying whether
you would like to receive the notifications in lieu of or in addition to paper catalogues.
Terms
Material herein is offered subject to prior sale. All items are as described and are considered to be on approval. Notice of return must be given within ten days unless specific
arrangements are made. Connecticut residents must be billed state sales tax. Postage
and insurance charges are billed to all nonprepaid domestic orders. Overseas orders are
sent by air unless otherwise requested, with full postage charges billed at our discretion.
Payment by check, wire transfer or bank draft is preferred, but may also be made by
MasterCard or Visa.
William Reese Company
409 Temple Street
New Haven, CT 06511
www.williamreesecompany.com
Phone: (203) 789-8081
Fax: (203) 865-7653
E-mail: amorder@reeseco.com
Front cover: 9. Colles, Christopher: A Survey of the Roads.... [New York]. 1789.
Rear cover: 87. Thomas, Gabriel: An Historical and Geographical Account.... London. 1698.
One of the Most Important Accounts of Pre-Revolutionary Texas
1. Almonte, Juan: NOTICIA ESTADISTICA SOBRE TEJAS. Mexico: Ignacio Cumplido, 1835. 96pp. plus three folding tables and two index
leaves. 16mo. Original publisher’s printed wrappers. Wrappers dampstained
and soiled, spine partially perished. Later blue pencil inscription in Spanish on
p.10 noting that in 1900 there were 3,000,050 inhabitants in Texas. Moderate
soiling on initial ten leaves, a few other light instances of soiling. A very good
copy. In a half morocco and cloth box, spine gilt.
According to Streeter, “The Noticia Estadistica is based on a visit made to Texas by
Almonte in the spring of 1834, at the order of the Mexican government, to hear
the complaints of the Texans and to gain time for the government to devote its
attention to Texas matters....Almonte arrived at Nacogdoches by way of New Orleans in May, 1834, and had reached Monclava on the way back to Mexico City in
September, 1834. His work was published in February, 1835....It is an invaluable
account of Texas as it appeared to an intelligent observer in 1834.”
A rare and important work, being the most complete observations by a Mexican
official on the situation in Texas on the eve of the Revolution.
RADER 125. RAINES, p.8. STREETER TEXAS 816. BASIC TEXAS BOOKS 2. HOWES A186,
$15,000.
“b.”
Early History of Arizona and New Mexico
2. [Arizona and New Mexico]: [Riezgo, Juan Miguel, et al]: MEMORIA
SOBRE LAS PROPORCIONES NATURALES DE LAS PROVINCIAS INTERNAS OCCIDENTALES, CAUSAS DE QUE HAN
PROVENIDO SUS ATRASOS, PROVIDENCIAS TOMADAS
CON EL FIN DE LOGRAR SU REMEDIO, Y LAS QUE POR
AHORA SE CONSIDERAN OPORTUNAS PARA MEJORAR SU
ESTADO, E IR PROPORCIONANDO SU FUTURA FELICIDAD.
[Mexico City]: D. José Maria Ramos Palomera, 1822. 62pp. Small quarto.
Modern speckled calf, red gilt morocco label. Old ink stain on titlepage, not
affecting text; two small worm holes, each about typeface size throughout.
Else near fine.
On April 11, 1822 the last Spanish flag flying in Mexican territory was removed
from the plaza at Monterey. Iturbide’s declaration of independence, and the subsequent bloodless transfer of power, left the new government in Mexico in dire need
of information regarding the various regions of the new nation. The present book,
submitted to the administrative authorities in Mexico City on July 1, 1822, only
two months after independence, attempts to communicate such information as was
needed to govern the western provinces, most notably Sonora and New Mexico. It
contains far-reaching recommendations on how to administer the region politically,
militarily, and economically. The report begins with a description of the provinces
and their capitals, including Santa Fe. The essential recommendation is for greater
local control over the regions. Riezgo proposes that the military chiefs live within
the provinces under their jurisdiction, and that they have wide discretionary powers
within the limits of the constitution. Locations for regional governmental centers
are suggested, and recommendations are made for increased military fortifications.
Riezgo discusses the trade between Santa Fe and St. Louis, recommends that New
Mexico be exempt from taxes on trade for a period of five years, and assesses the
threat to trade posed by Comanche raids. He also makes suggestions concerning
the role of the clergy in the region, and reforms in the educational system.
“An extremely rare work in full description of the regions at the time of Independence, with much on the natural resources, settlements, Indians, future possibilities,
etc.” – Eberstadt. We cannot trace another copy of this work in the marketplace.
It contains more detailed information than the more famous accounts of Pino and
Escuerdo, one published a decade before, the other published a decade after, this
work. Neither Thomas W. Streeter nor Everett D. Graff were able to secure a
copy of this report.
A wide-ranging early Mexican administrative report, and an exceptional southwestern rarity.
EBERSTADT 138:514. HOWES R287, “b.”
$15,000.
The Articles of Confederation Bind a Nation Together
3. [Articles of Confederation]: ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
AND PERPETUAL UNION BETWEEN THE STATES OF NEWHAMPSHIRE, MASSACHUSETTS-BAY, RHODE-ISLAND AND
PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS, CONNECTICUT, NEW-YORK,
NEW-JERSEY, PENNSYLVANIA, DELAWARE, MARYLAND,
VIRGINIA, NORTH-CAROLINA, SOUTH-CAROLINA AND
GEORGIA. Lancaster, Printed; Boston, Reprinted by John Gill, printer to
the General Assembly, 1777. 16pp. Folio. Loose gatherings. Old fold lines,
some minor loss at center along fold. Light foxing and toning. About very
good. Untrimmed. In a half morocco and cloth box, spine gilt.
One of the most basic documents in the history of the United States, the first official
binding together of the states of the Union, and a State paper ranking in importance with the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Northwest
Ordinance, in the process of creating the Federal Union.
Congress appointed a committee to draft the Articles of Confederation even
before the Declaration of Independence, on June 12, 1776. The drafters were
dominated by John Dickinson of Pennsylvania, and the first drafts of the document
are generally attributed to him. His first draft was published in secret, for the use
of the delegates only, in July 1776, and survives in a unique copy at the Library of
Congress. There were many objections to the document, and a revised draft, now
surviving in three copies, was issued in August. That draft also met with opposition
on many points, and no agreement was reached. The issues were debated off and
on for over a year, during which period Congress was forced to flee Philadelphia
and move to Baltimore and Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
In October 1777 agreement was reached on most major points, and a committee
of Richard Henry Lee, James Duane, and Richard Law was appointed to complete
a new draft and propose any additional articles. The final document they produced
was vastly different from the 1776 drafts, retaining little of the original language
and altering many of the basic concepts of the Dickinson drafts. Consideration
of the new text was completed on November 13, and a committee appointed to
arrange publication reported an agreed-upon draft on November 15. Two hundred
copies were printed, evidently on November 16, and Congress sent copies to the
states on November 17, 1777.
The first edition of the Articles is so rare as to be virtually unobtainable. Many
states republished the Articles as soon as copies arrived, to distribute to the population
and for the use of the legislatures in ratification. Before the end of 1777, editions
appeared in Newbern, N.C., Williamsburg, Annapolis, New London, Providence,
Exeter, N.H., and Boston. All of these reprint editions are rare, many scarcer than
even the Lancaster original. We have done exhaustive work toward a census of the
various editions. The great Americana collector, Thomas W. Streeter, owned a copy
of this Boston edition. He called it “one of the great documents in our history.”
EVANS 15619. Merrill Jensen, The Articles of Confederation (Madison, 1940). STREETER SALE 787.
CHURCH 1142. SABIN 2142. HOWES A345, “b.”
$75,000.
The First History of Virginia by a Native
4. [Beverley, Robert]: THE HISTORY AND PRESENT STATE OF
VIRGINIA, IN FOUR PARTS...By a Native and Inhabitant of the
Place. London: Printed for R. Parker, 1705. [12],16,[4],104,40,64,83pp. plus
additional engraved titlepage, folding table, and fourteen plates. Modern calf,
raised bands, with gilt spine, boards, and inner dentelles. A few minor wear
marks on rear board. Remnants of bookplates on front pastedown. Internally
very clean. A fine copy.
The first edition of the first history of the Virginia colony written by a native historian, and one of the most reliable and informative accounts of the early period.
Beverley covers all aspects of life in Virginia, including produce both natural and
cultivated, early plantations, and history up to the time of writing. Beverley was
a clerk of the council of Virginia about 1697, when Andros was governor. “After
John Smith, the first account of this colony, the first one penned by a native and the
best contemporary account of its aboriginal tribes and the life of its early settlers” –
Howes. “A valuable first hand account of conditions, written by a self consciously
American observer of nature, the Indians, political and social life” – Vail. The finely
executed plates are based on the engravings found in the first part of Theodor De
Bry’s Grand Voyages, a volume devoted to Hariot’s late 16th-century work regarding
Virginia. The images are based on the original drawings produced by John White.
CHURCH 821. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 705/21. HOWES B410, “b.” FIELD 122. VAIL 297.
ARENTS 456. SABIN 5112. STREETER SALE 1098. PILLING, ALGONQUIAN, p.43.
$10,000.
By an American Hero of the French and Indian War
5. [Bradstreet, John]: AN IMPARTIAL ACCOUNT OF LIEUT. COL.
BRADSTREET’S EXPEDITION TO FORT FRONTENAC. TO
WHICH ARE ADDED, A FEW REFLECTIONS ON THE CONDUCT OF THAT ENTERPRIZE, AND THE ADVANTAGES RESULTING FROM ITS SUCCESS. By a Volunteer on the Expedition.
London: Printed for T. Wilcox [et al], 1759. [4],60pp. Modern half calf and
marbled boards, gilt morocco label. Near fine.
A scarce and important account of the French and Indian War, probably written by
Bradstreet himself, a rising officer in the British Army. This work gives a detailed
account of his most famous exploit, an audacious and skillfully coordinated expedition in the summer of 1758 through the New York wilderness and across Lake
Ontario to destroy the French Fort Frontenac, a major turning point in the French
and Indian War. A strong argument is also made that the time was ripe for seizing
control of the Lakes from France, and that British forces needed to take a more
offensive posture, the implication being that British commander James Abercromby
should be replaced. “One of the best contemporary accounts of the war, possibly
written by Bradstreet himself ” – Howes. A copy of this sold at Christie’s in June
of 2011 for $12,500.
HOWES B711, “b.” SABIN 7301. STREETER SALE 1023. SIEBERT SALE 166. TPL 6461. JCB
$12,500.
(1)III:1203.
A Major Wagner-Camp Rarity
6. Campbell, John L.: IDAHO: SIX MONTHS IN THE NEW GOLD
DIGGINGS. THE EMIGRANT’S GUIDE OVERLAND. ITINERARY OF THE ROUTES, FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY,
JOURNAL OF RESIDENCE, etc. etc. Chicago: John R. Walsh, 1864.
52,[53-62 advertisements],[4]pp. advertisements on pink paper. Frontispiece
map. Four woodcuts within pagination. Dbd., lacking wrappers. Some light
wear and dampstaining, especially to outer leaves. Overall very good.
An important guide to the Idaho gold regions and the Montana gold rush, here in
the rare Chicago issue (afforded a “d” by Howes). A New York issue was also produced in 1864, with no proven priority. This Chicago issue is the rarer of the two.
“Excessively rare. The crude map is one of the earliest delineations of the new
Territory (at this time embracing Montana and Wyoming) and the book itself is
one of the first to describe the regions. The author left Chicago with a company
in April, 1863, reached Fort Laramie in June, and journeyed thence over the South
Pass via Lander’s Cut-Off Bear River. He describes the country passed through,
rivers, Yellowstone, Gallatin, etc.” – Holliday sale catalogue. Though undoubtedly
issued for promotional reasons, Campbell’s guide does include minute details on
outfitting a company and a detailed route itinerary. Flake notes that Campbell
records an encounter with the followers of Joseph Morris, and Mintz states that
Campbell travelled to Bannack via South Pass in 1863. Not in the American Imprints
Inventory list of Chicago ante-fire imprints. A choice piece of Western Americana,
and the first copy of the Chicago issue that we have handled.
HOWES C97, “d.” WHEAT TRANSMISSISSIPPI V, pp.118-19. SABIN 10253. HOLLIDAY
SALE 167. WAGNER-CAMP 398:2. STREETER SALE 3301. JONES 291. GRAFF 560 (New York
issue).
$14,500.
The Indian Portfolio in the 31-Plate Issue
7. Catlin, George: CATLIN’S NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN PORT-
FOLIO. HUNTING SCENES AND AMUSEMENTS OF THE
ROCKY MOUNTAINS AND PRAIRIES OF AMERICA.... [London: Chatto & Windus, nd, but 1875]. Contents leaf, thirty-one handcolored
lithographs after Catlin and McGahey. Large folio. Expertly bound to style
in half dark blue straight-grained morocco over contemporary marbled paper
covered boards, contemporary morocco gilt label on the upper cover, spine
gilt. Very good.
This edition of Catlin’s famous work on American Indians includes six unnumbered
lithographs, comprising two portraits, a group portrait of Ojibways, two tribal dance
scenes, and a hunting scene. These six plates were evidently executed in the 1840s
when Catlin envisioned a series of Indian “Portfolios,” but they were not printed
and issued until the present edition.
Research by William Reese has demonstrated that the thirty-one-plate plate issue of the Portfolio was not produced until the firm of Chatto & Windus purchased
the copyright to the book from famed bookseller Henry Bohn. According to the
Chatto & Windus records, which survive, these were printed from the original
lithographic stones in 1875. The thirty-one-plate issue is far rarer than any of the
twenty-five-plate issues, and only in this format can the extra six plates be found.
The plates are as follow:
1) “North American Indians.”
2) “Buffalo Bull Grazing.”
3) “Wild Horses, at Play.”
4) “Catching the Wild Horse.”
5) “Buffalo Hunt, Chase.”
6) “Buffalo Hunt, Chase.”
7) “Buffalo Hunt, Chase.”
8) “Buffalo Dance.”
9) “Buffalo Hunt, Surround.”
10) “Buffalo Hunt, White Wolves attacking a Buffalo Bull.”
11) “Buffalo Hunt, Approaching a Ravine.”
12) “Buffalo Hunt, Chasing Back.”
13) “Buffalo Hunt, Under the White Wolf Skin.”
14) “Snow Shoe Dance.”
15) “Buffalo Hunt, on Snow Shoes.”
16) “Wounded Buffalo Bull.”
17) “Dying Buffalo Bull, in Snow Drift.”
18) “The Bear Dance.”
19) “Attacking the Grizzly Bear.”
20) “Antelope Shooting.”
21) “Ball Players.”
22) “Ball-Play Dance.”
23) “Ball Play.”
24) “Archery of the Mandans.”
25) “Wi-Jun-Jon an Assiniboine Chief.”
[26] “Joc-O-Sot, the Walking Bear.”
[27] “Mah-To-Toh-Pah, The Mandan Chief.”
[28] “O-Jib-Be-Ways.”
[29] “Buffaloe Hunting.”
[30] “The War Dance.”
[31] “The Scalp Dance.”
WAGNER-CAMP 105a. HOWES C243, “b.” FIELD 258. ABBEY 653 (ref ). SABIN (25 plates).
McCRACKEN 10. William S. Reese, “The Production of Catlin’s North American Indian Portfolio,
$165,000.
1844-1876.”
A Storehouse of Important Maps
8 . C har le voix, François J.: H ISTOIRE ET DESCRIP T ION
GENERALE DE LA NOUVELLE FRANCE, AVEC LE JOURNAL HISTORIQUE D’UN VOYAGE FAIT PAR ORDRE DU
ROI DANS L’AMERIQUE SEPTENTRIONALE. Paris: Chez PierreFrançois Giffart, 1744. Three volumes. [8],xxvi,664; [4],lxi,[3],xv,[1],582,56;
[4],xix,[1],xiv,543pp. plus twenty-eight maps (most folding) and ninety-six
botanical plates on twenty-two folding sheets. Engraved vignettes on titles,
engraved headpieces. Half title in each volume. Titlepages printed in red and
black. Quarto. Contemporary speckled calf, spines richly gilt with leather labels and raised bands, edges of boards tooled in gilt. Very good. Provenance:
Lionel Damer, Earl of Portarlington (19th-century armorial bookplate); Frank
B. Pidgeon (bookplate).
A lovely set of the first edition of this classic work of Canadian history, including
important material on French settlement in the Mississippi Valley. The journal consists of thirty-six letters, six of which concern the southern colonies. “The principal
work of this great Jesuit traveller and historian and the pre-eminent authority on
the French period in the West” – Howes. “This work is one of the best authorities
concerning various Indian tribes, some of which no longer exist. The laborious
accuracy with which the work was executed can be estimated by the fact that the
maps, dated 1743, are marked with the latest discoveries, in 1742, in the extreme
north of America” – Lande. Most of the maps in this work were drawn by French
cartographer Nicholas Bellin, including his important map of North America, a
frequent source for later mapmakers, as well as some of the most definitive and
up-to-date maps available of Canada.
Besides its great importance as an historical and cartographical work, Charlevoix is also of considerable interest for the section entitled “Description des Plantes
Principales de l’Amerique Septentrionale,” which occupies the first fifty-six pages
of the second volume. Here the author describes ninety-six plants, mainly ones
native to Canada, but including herbs of the Mississippi Valley as well. Most of
the plants described are of medicinal value. The text is accompanied by twenty-two
folding plates illustrating all ninety-six species discussed.
LANDE 125. WHEAT TRANSMISSISSIPPI 120. PILLING, PROOF-SHEETS 756. TPL 4697.
HOWES C307, “b.” MICHIGAN RARITIES 8. CLARK I:59. SABIN 12135. KARPINSKI, p.137.
GREENLY, MICHIGAN 11. SERVIES 377, 378, 379.
$18,500.
The First American Road Atlas: A Legendary Rarity
9. Colles, Christopher: A SURVEY OF THE ROADS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. [New York]. 1789. Two volumes. Engraved
titlepage plus eighty-three single-page maps, engraved on copper by C.
Tiebout, numbered 1-33 and 40-86, plus the 45, 46, and 47 bis plates, as issued. Small quarto. Bound in contemporary brown (first volume) and blue-grey
(second volume) wrappers, string-tied. Both volumes laid into a contemporary
paper-covered boards portfolio with string ties. Original broadside prospectus
for the work affixed to interior of portfolio. Minor repairs to portfolio spine.
Leaves lightly tanned and foxed, occasional offsetting. Overall, in near fine,
original condition. With the contemporary ownership signature of “Edm. Morwood” on the front board of the portfolio.
First edition of a major American cartographic and technological rarity – the earliest American road guide.
As an accurate guide for helping people and goods travel around the new United
States, Colles’ work was of invaluable assistance to commerce and personal mobility. The first parts were published in the year George Washington was sworn in
as the nation’s first president. Colles’ guide was an important step toward national
integration, and was emblematic of so many of his projects, in which he sought to
improve transportation and communication through systems of roads and canals.
In his introduction to a modern edition of the work, Walter Ristow calls Colles’
survey “one of the most detailed and comprehensive historical records of the United
States at the time of its Constitutional establishment.”
Colles map-sheets are in the form of “strip maps,” arranged side by side, two or
three to a plate. The maps are divided into ten series depicting the roads connecting
the major cities from Connecticut to Virginia: New York to Stratford, New York
to Poughkeepsie, Stratford to Poughkeepsie, Poughkeepsie to Albany, Albany to
Newborough, New York to Philadelphia (via Trenton), New York to Philadelphia
(via Allen town and Mount Holly), Philadelphia to Annapolis, Annapolis to York,
and Williamsburgh to Hooe’s Ferry. The total distance covered by the maps is
some 1000 miles. Each map shows twelve miles of road drawn to the same scale
(one inch equalling four-sevenths of a mile) and is keyed to show the locations of
Episcopal and Presbyterian churches, town houses, mills, taverns, blacksmith shops,
bridges, and jails, and gives the names of inhabitants of houses near the road. The
maps are numbered from 1 to 86, with three additional maps numbered 45*, 46*,
and 47; the maps numbered 34 to 39 are not found in any copies, and undoubtedly
were never issued.
The expected advantages of Colles’ Survey are discussed in the broadside Proposals for the work, which is affixed to the interior of the portfolio of this copy:
A traveller will here find so plain and circumstantial a description of the road,
that whilst he has the draft with him it will be impossible for him to miss his
way: he will have the satisfaction of knowing the names of many of the persons
who reside on the road; if his horse should want a shoe, or his carriage be
broke, he will by the bare inspection of the draft be able to determine whether
he must go backward or forward to a blacksmith’s shop....It is expected many
other entertaining and useful purposes will be discovered when these surveys
come into general use.
Colles was able to create these very accurate maps by using a perambulator of his
own invention, which measured mileage by adding up the revolutions of a wheel
trailed behind a carriage. The maps for New York and Connecticut almost certainly
drew on Colles’ own surveys. For the maps in Virginia, Colles drew on manuscript
maps that George Washington’s engineers had made during the Yorktown campaign. Colles’ Maryland and New Jersey maps were derived from the manuscript
maps of Robert Erskine and Simeon DeWitt, whose work was also commissioned
by Washington in 1781. Burdened by a lack of capital, Colles relied on subscriptions to keep his road guide in production, and appealed unsuccessfully to the New
York legislature for funds. Despite the support of the Post Office department, the
United States Congress also denied him funds. Colles produced his maps between
1789 and 1792, a total of eighty-three in all. Cornelius Tiebout, one of the first
American-born engravers, is identified on the titlepage as the engraver of the work,
but it seems evident, due to variations in style and symbolism, that more than one
engraver was employed. In the end, the project was a financial failure.
Born in Ireland, Christopher Colles (1739-1816) worked as an engineer, aiding in
the construction of canals. He arrived in Philadelphia in 1771, advertised his services
as a machine designer, surveyor, architect, and mathematics tutor, and worked at
developing a steam engine. In 1774 he proposed a plan to replace New York City’s
wells and springs with a water system of reservoirs and pipes. Sympathetic to the
American cause, Colles fled New York City when the British occupied it. During
the Revolution he travelled around New York state, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and
Connecticut, likely making personal surveys of the roads he travelled. Colles may
have also instructed a few Continental Army artillery officers in mathematics. In
the early 1780s, Colles unsuccessfully proposed a plan to George Washington for
improving the navigability of the Ohio River, and he is credited with first proposing a system of canals connecting the Hudson River with Lake Erie, which saw its
fruition in the construction of the Erie Canal.
This copy of Colles’ Survey has the original broadside prospectus for the work
affixed to the interior of the portfolio. The Library of Congress copy as well as the
Streeter, Church, and Brinley copies also contain the prospectus. The text of the
broadside in this copy is in the second state, identifying Colles as “of New-York”
and containing an additional paragraph of text (as in the Library of Congress copy).
Ristow, in his census of Colles’ Survey of the Roads of the United States of America
locates only fourteen complete copies, and another nine copies lacking from one to
sixty-six plates. NAIP also locates apparently complete copies at Harvard and Rutgers. There is also an incomplete copy in the David Rumsey collection. The present
copy is complete, as issued, with the full complement of eighty-three maps. “One of
the most valuable historical records of the United States for the Revolutionary War
years and those immediately following. It is not only the earliest American road
book, but ranks also as one of the first private map publishing ventures” – Ristow.
This copy, in remarkable original condition, seems to have been originally owned
by Edmund Morewood (1770-1861), a well-known New York merchant who later
settled in Stamford, Connecticut. Barrett, in the fifth volume of Old Merchants of
New York, writes of Morewood: “He was famous in field sports – shooting, fishing,
&c. and was a most remarkable pedestrian. Even in his old age, he might be seen
in his black spencer pacing off his fifteen or twenty miles.”
An important collection of American maps, the first guide to American roads,
and a great cartographic rarity.
EVANS 21741. NAIP w022401. SABIN 14411 (mentioning only 74 plates). HOWES C584, “c.”
CHURCH 1236. STREETER SALE 3963 (to Sessler, for $3500 in 1969). BRINLEY SALE 4818.
RINK 5376. RISTOW, pp.158-62. SCHWARTZ & EHRENBERG, pp.209-10, plate 130. PHILLIPS
MAPS, pp.867-68. AMERICA EMERGENT 81. VIRGINIA IN MAPS, pp.61, 116-77. PAPENFUSE
& COALE, pp.45, 65. SNYDER, MAPPING OF NEW JERSEY, pp.78-83. Deborah Epstein Popper,
“Poor Christopher Colles: An Innovator’s Obstacles in Early America” in Journal of American Culture
(28:2, June 2005), pp.178-90. Walter Ristow, editor, A Survey of the Roads of the United States of America
(Cambridge, Ma., 1961). Broadside Proposals: EVANS 21740. NAIP w010191. RINK 5375.
$150,000.
Important and Rare Account of Whaling in the Pacific
10. Colnett, James: A VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH ATLANTIC AND
ROUND CAPE HORN INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, FOR THE
PURPOSE OF EXTENDING THE SPERMACETI WHALE FISHERIES, AND OTHER OBJECTS OF COMMERCE, BY ASCERTAINING THE PORTS, BAYS, HARBOURS AND ANCHORING
BIRTHS [sic] IN CERTAIN ISLANDS AND COASTS IN THOSE
SEAS.... London. 1798. iv,[iii]-vi, xviii,179pp. plus six folding maps, and
four plates, including a frontispiece portrait. Quarto. Bound to style in antique
tree calf, spine gilt extra, leather label. Titlepage lightly tanned. Some light
soiling and foxing, primarily at edges of text. All maps and plates backed on
light linen. Very good.
An account of Colnett’s second Pacific voyage in his ship, the Rattler, during
which he opened the South Pacific sperm whale fields and made two visits to the
Galapagos islands. He describes the voyage out via Rio de Janeiro, around Cape
Horn, along the coasts of South America and Mexico, and into the Gulf of California. He did not stop at Hawaii on this visit, though the lengthy preface contains
references to his first voyage, during which he made an extended stay in Hawaiian
waters during the winter of 1787-88. Rattler, a Royal Navy sloop, was purchased
from the Admiralty and altered to suit the whale fishery. The voyage lasted from
1793 until October 1794. This account was privately printed for subscription and
is one of the rarest of Pacific voyage narratives, notable for its fine maps and whaling information. One of the plates shows a diagram of a sperm whale, complete
with scale and labeled segments. The large maps show the Pacific Coast of the
Americas as far as California, the islands of Revillagigedo, Cocos, the Galapagos,
Felix and Ambrose, and Quito.
Colnett first visited the Pacific as a midshipman on Cook’s second voyage. Later
he made several commercial ventures to the Northwest Coast, where in 1789 his
brush with the Spanish commander at Nootka Sound instigated the Nootka Controversy. An account of that incident is also given herein, as is his meeting with
the Spanish commander at the Sandwich Islands. “This narrative is particularly
important for the part Colnett played in the dispute between England and Spain
over claims to the Northwest” – Forbes. Forbes also indicates that all copies he
examined have the same break in pagination, as in this copy.
HILL 3388. HOWES C604, “b.” SABIN 14546. FORBES HAWAII 280. STRATHERN 120.
STREETER SALE 3494. COWAN (I), p.52.
$17,500.
First Constitution of Mexico
11. [Constitutions]: CONSTITUCION FEDERAL DE LOS ESTADOS
UNIDOS MEXICANOS, SANCIONADA POR EL CONGRESO
GENERAL CONSTITUYENTE, EL 4 DE OCTUBRE DE 1824.
Mexico. [1824]. [4],xviii,62,[3],iii,[2],12pp. plus plate. 16mo. Contemporary
Mexican calf, spine gilt. Small worm hole in several leaves (including titlepage
and plate), repaired by tissue. Overall very good.
This is the first constitution of Mexico as a sovereign state, and the constitution
under which the colonization of Texas by Americans took place. “The first constitution for the Mexican Republic under which operated our present southwestern
states, from Texas to California” – Howes. It is bound with the Acta Constitutiva
de la Federacion Mexicana (as usual), which established the provisional government
and the federal system. The attractive plate, by Jose Mariano Torreblanca, depicts
the Mexican coat of arms above a cactus, with the name of each Mexican state
written on the leaves. Scarce.
HOWES E197, “b.” PALAU 59642. SABIN 48379. STREETER TEXAS 1086 (ref ). STREETER
SALE 211.
$6500.
Journal of the First Continental Congress
12. [Continental Congress]: JOURNAL OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF
THE CONGRESS, HELD AT PHILADELPHIA, SEPTEMBER 5,
1774. Philadelphia: Printed by William and Thomas Bradford, at the London
Coffee House, 1774. [2],132pp. Half title. Half antique calf and marbled
boards, spine gilt, gilt leather label. Some browning, else a very good copy.
The Journals of the first Continental Congress, describing its meetings from Sept.
5, 1774 to Oct. 26, 1774, and one of the most basic documents of the American
Revolution. This is the first issue of 132 pages, preceded in publication sequence
only by a very rare misdated state of the titlepage.
Committees of Correspondence resolved to hold a Continental Congress in
June of 1774, and delegates from twelve colonies (none from Georgia) gathered
in Philadelphia in the fall. It included many of the most distinguished men in
America: Samuel and John Adams, Roger Sherman, John Jay, Joseph Galloway,
John Dickinson, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, Edmund Pendleton,
and Henry Middleton, among others. The Congress succeeded in taking numerous
important steps. On Oct. 14 they adopted a Declaration of Rights, and agreed to
an Association governing imports and exports and boycotting British goods. They
also drafted an Address to the People of Great Britain and another Address to the
Inhabitants of the Province of Quebec. They agreed to reassemble on May 10, 1775
for what was to be the fateful Congress that broke with England.
The titlepage bears the famous seal of the Congress, showing twelve hands
representing the twelve participating colonies supporting a column topped with a
Liberty Cap and resting on the Magna Charta.
EVANS 13737. HOWES J263, “b.” NAIP w020577. HILDEBURN 3036.
$50,000.
Key Work on Hudson Bay
13. Dobbs, Arthur: AN ACCOUNT OF THE COUNTRIES ADJOIN-
ING TO HUDSON’S BAY, IN THE NORTH-WEST PART OF
AMERICA: CONTAINING A DESCRIPTION OF THEIR LAKES
AND RIVERS, THE NATURE OF THE SOIL AND CLIMATES,
AND THEIR METHODS OF COMMERCE, &c. SHEWING
THE BENEFIT TO BE MADE BY SETTLING COLONIES,
AND OPENING A TRADE IN THESE PARTS: WHEREBY THE
FRENCH WILL BE DEPRIVED IN A GREAT MEASURE OF
THEIR TRAFFICK IN FURS, AND THE COMMUNICATION
BETWEEN CANADA AND MISSISSIPPI BE CUT OFF: WITH
AN ABSTRACT OF CAPTAIN MIDDLETON’S JOURNAL, AND
OBSERVATIONS UPON HIS BEHAVIOUR DURING HIS VOYAGE AND SINCE HIS RETURN...THE WHOLE INTENDED
TO SHOW THE GREAT PROBABILITY OF A NORTH-WEST
PASSAGE. London: Printed by J. Robinson, 1744. 7 lines of errata at foot
of final page. Folding engraved map “A New Map of part of North America”;
folding leaf inserted at rear with early manuscript index. Quarto. 20th-century
deep red half morocco over marbled paper-covered boards, spine in six compartments with raised bands, spine gilt, t.e.g. Small neat repair to the folding
map and blank margins of F2 and S3, else very good.
First edition of this attack on the Hudson’s Bay Company monopoly in the Americas, with a valuable early account of the search for a northwest passage. Dobbs
was an active opponent of the monopoly of the Hudson’s Bay Company, pointing
out that if they did not alter their policies, the French would quickly occupy the
central plains to the west of their traditional areas of influence (as, in fact, they
did). This and other works on a similar theme by Dobbs led to the investigation of
the monopoly by a British Parliamentary committee in 1749. Dobbs never saw the
Bay, and his information was largely based on French publications and Canadian
sources, particularly that of Métis trader Joseph La France. According to Peter C.
Newman, the account of La France’s exploits is this work’s “most valuable historical
contribution” (Empire of the Sun, [2000], p.213). The second main thrust of Dobbs’
narrative concerns his advocacy of the necessity of searching for a northwest passage:
he gives an account of the early exploration of the area, and of the opportunities
that further exploration would offer. In addition, he fires the opening broadside in
his attack on Christopher Middleton for his leadership of the 1741-42 expedition
in search of a northwest passage. This controversy, played out in print, lasted for
more than three years.
FIELD 433. HOWES D373, “b.” KERSHAW 422. LANDE 1144. NMM 796. PEEL 8. SABIN
20404. TPL 193. STREETER SALE 3637. VERNER & STUART-STUBBS 21. WAGNER NORTHWEST COAST 549.
$18,000.
First Major American Color Plate Sporting Book
14. [Doughty, John and Thomas]: THE CABINET OF NATURAL HIS-
TORY, AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. VOL. I. [with:] ...VOLUME II. Philadelphia: J. & T. Doughty,
1830-1832. vii,[1],298,[2]; vii,[1],292,[2]pp., plus forty-eight colored lithographic plates, and uncolored engraved portrait of Charles Willson Peale in
first volume and of William Bartram in second volume. Two extra uncolored
engravings bound in. Engraved titlepage in each volume. Quarto. Contemporary three-quarter calf and marbled boards, spines richly gilt and with the
name “John Paine” stamped in gilt at the foot of both spines. Spine and hinges
repaired. Small old institutional ink stamp at upper outer corner of titlepage of
both volumes. A few of the early plates in the second volume a bit wrinkled,
but on the whole the lithographs are brightly colored and in very good condition, showing none of the spotting or browning usually found. Very good.
The first two volumes of this very rare American sporting book, among the first to
be illustrated with lithographic plates. The Cabinet of Natural History..., “an amalgam of natural history, sporting accounts, travel narratives, and practical advice for
the countryman” (Reese), was started by brothers Thomas and John Doughty in
Philadelphia. It was issued in monthly parts and ran from the end of 1830 until
the spring of 1834 when it ceased publication with an abbreviated third volume, not
present here, containing but five more colored lithographs. However, despite its
relatively short life, The Cabinet of Natural History left behind an important legacy:
Bennett calls it the “first major sport print color plate book produced in America,”
the text includes first-hand accounts of hunting expeditions of all kinds and are
amongst the earliest of their kind (some of which were reprinted by the Derrydale
Press in 1928), the plates include the “first colored sporting prints made in America”
(Henderson), and most importantly the work includes a significant number of original
lithographs by one of the great names in 19th-century American art.
The first volume (made up of twelve parts) was certainly the work of both
Doughty brothers, with virtually all the plates being the work of Thomas, but by
the time the third part of the second volume had been issued, the partnership had
been broken up. Thomas had moved to Boston to pursue his career as a painter,
and as of May 17, 1832, John Doughty was the sole proprietor. Evidently Thomas’
input was sorely missed, and by mid-summer John was advising his subscribers that
unless the level of support improved, he would have to discontinue the publication.
In the end the periodical continued for almost another year, with some excellent
images from artists such as M.E.D. Brown and James Goodwyn Clooney, before
John Doughty’s prediction was realized and the publication came to an abrupt halt
with Part IV of the third volume. As a painter Thomas Doughty “holds a place
unique among artists of this country as having ‘initiated the American discovery
of the American landscape’” (Looney). His importance as a print maker has yet
to be fully recognized or adequately defined for though “there are many prints to
which Doughty’s name is attached as artist only, there are only a few for which he
was initially completely responsible...These are the twenty-three lithographs made
specifically for Volume I of...The Cabinet of Natural History...” (Looney).
“Artistically, Vol. 1 is much the most important, for it contains the original
plates by Thos. Doughty, famous painter and founding father of the Hudson River
School” – Bennett. “A mine of information on contemporary sport and natural
history mostly in the East” – Phillips. “The coloured plates are important – being the first coloured sporting prints made in America. There is only one earlier
American book with coloured plates that I know of, and that is a treatise on Medical Botany – published in Philadelphia in 1817. Many of these coloured plates of
animals and birds are charming, the colouring is soft, correct as to details, and all
are well drawn” – Gee. “It marks the beginning of dominance of lithography in
book illustration...” – Reese.
BENNETT, p.35. McGRATH, p.187. PHILLIPS, SPORTING BOOKS, p.69. HENDERSON,
p.37. GEE, pp.48-49. REESE, STAMPED WITH A NATIONAL CHARACTER 12. HOWES D433,
“c.” MEISEL III, p.404 (vols. I & II only). SABIN 9795 (vols. I & II only). WOOD, p.275. Robert F.
Looney, “Thomas Doughty, Printmaker” in Philadelphia Printmaking (West Chester, 1976), pp.130-48.
J.K. Howat, The Hudson River and Its Painters (1972), p.31.
$6000.
A Landmark American Map, Printed by Benjamin Franklin
15. Evans, Lewis: GEOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL, POLITICAL,
PHILOSOPHICAL AND MECHANICAL ESSAYS. THE FIRST,
CONTAINING AN ANALYSIS OF A GENERAL MAP OF THE
MIDDLE BRITISH COLONIES IN AMERICA; AND OF THE
COUNTRY OF THE CONFEDERATE INDIANS: A DESCRIPTION OF THE FACE OF THE COUNTRY; THE BOUNDARIES OF THE CONFEDERATES; AND THE MARITIME AND
INLAND NAVIGATIONS OF THE SEVERAL RIVERS AND
LAKES CONTAINED THEREIN...The Second Edition. Philadelphia: B. Franklin and D. Hall, 1755. Folding handcolored engraved map by
James Turner after Lewis Evans. Quarto. Full tan polished tree calf by Riviere,
covers with a gilt roll tool border, spine in six compartments with raised bands,
red morocco label in the second compartment, the others with an overall repeat
decoration in gilt, marbled endpapers, a.e.g. Map backed on linen. Very good.
One of the most important maps of the British colonies done prior to Independence,
a landmark in American cartography and an important Franklin printing.
Lewis Evans’ map, titled “A General Map of the Middle British Colonies in
America,” shows the east coast of North America from Montreal and New England
to the northern border of North Carolina, and includes the Ohio valley in the west.
The Evans map appeared in 1755, the same year as John Mitchell’s famous map,
with Evans drawing from his original surveys and Fry and Jefferson’s 1753 map
of Virginia. Evans’ map acknowledges French claims to all lands northwest of St.
Lawrence Fort, resulting in criticism from New York, notably the New York Mercury. Despite the controversy, Evans’ work was very popular (there were eighteen
editions between 1755 and 1814), and was famously used by General Braddock
during the French and Indian War.
Evans gives a detailed geographical description of the middle and southern
colonies, particularly notable for an early description of the Ohio country, and
gives a good description of the Carolina back country. He was also eager for the
Item 15.
British to expand into the South, especially West Florida, to challenge the French
and Spanish in the Gulf. According to Governor Pownall, writing in 1776, the map
was the authority for settling boundary disputes in the region, as it so accurately
depicted the area.
The present example is a very fine copy of the second edition, first issue of the
text published by Benjamin Franklin (i.e. without an additional London imprint
below that of Franklin), and contains a rare example of the first issue of the map
(i.e. without “The Lakes Cataraqui” just north of Lake Ontario). Significantly, the
map present in this copy is with lovely full period hand-coloring. Sabin notes that
many copies of Evans’ tract do not include the map, and that only some copies are
fully colored, as is this copy. About this second edition of the text, published the
same year as the first, Miller notes: “This revised second edition of Evans’ analysis
of his General Map of the Middle British Colonies is virtually a page-for-page
resetting of the first edition with sub-titles added on pp. 6 and 11, and the numeral
2 inserted to the left of the signature on the directional line of the first two leaves
of each quire in fours.”
“The map is considered by historians to be the most ambitious performance of
its kind undertaken in America up to that time, and its publication was a milestone
in the development of printing arts in the colonial period” – Schwartz & Ehrenberg.
MILLER 606. CAMPBELL 543. EVANS 7412. SABIN 23175. HOWES E226, “b.” CHURCH
1003. WHEAT & BRUN 298. BROWN, EARLY MAPS OF THE OHIO VALLEY 41. CRESSWELL, “COLONY TO COMMONWEALTH,” pp.53-54, 82. DEGREES OF LATITUDE 34.
GARRISON, CARTOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA, pp.269-74. PHILADELPHIA: THREE
CENTURIES OF AMERICAN ART, pp.64-67. SCHWARTZ & EHRENBERG, p.165. STEPHENSON & McKEE, VIRGINIA IN MAPS, p.82. SUAREZ, SHEDDING THE VEIL 57. THE WORLD
ENCOMPASSED 255. Klinefelter, “Lewis Evans and his Maps” in Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 61, no. 7 (1971). Stevens, Lewis Evans and His Map (London, 1905).
$280,000.
16. Figueroa, Jose: THE MANIFESTO, WHICH THE GENERAL OF
BRIGADE, DON JOSE FIGUEROA, COMMANDANT-GENERAL AND POLITICAL CHIEF OF U. CALIFORNIA, MAKES TO
THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC, IN REGARD TO HIS CONDUCT
AND THAT OF THE SNRS. D. JOSE MARIA DE HIJARS AND
D. JOSE MARIA PADRES, AS DIRECTORS OF COLONIZATION IN 1833 AND 1834. San Francisco. 1855. 104,[1]pp. Contemporary purple sheep, tooled in gilt, gilt title on front board. Bookplate on front
pastedown. Light shelf wear. Very clean internally. Near fine.
This is the scarce first English-language edition of Figueroa’s defense of his conduct in a California colonization plan, following the extremely rare first edition of
1835, which was the first book-length imprint from Agustin Zamorano’s pioneer
California press. Hijars and Padres planned a project of colonizing California in
the early 1830s, which brought to California many families who played a prominent
role in the development of the province. The Mexican government secularized the
missions in 1833, and the expectation was that the families would take possession of
the mission lands. Hijars and Padres themselves expected to be given governmental
positions of importance. Orders from Mexico countermanded the promises, and
Figueroa, governor of California, refused to hand over the lands, for which he was
criticized. This is Figueroa’s defense of his conduct. This edition is considered
quite rare, and Howes affords it a “c” rating.
COWAN, p.210. GREENWOOD 562. HOWES F122, “c.” STREETER SALE 2784. GRAFF 1320.
ZAMORANO 80, 37 (note).
$3750.
17. Filisola, D. Vicente: MEMORIAS PARA LA HISTORIA LA
GUERRA DE TEJAS.... Mexico: Imprenta de Ignacio Cumplido, 1849.
Two volumes. 511,[3]; 267pp. Contemporary roan backed marbled boards,
spines gilt, first volume rebacked in cloth with original backstrip laid down.
Edge wear, rubberstamp on each titlepage, contents tanned. A good set.
“This is the best account by a Mexican contemporary of the American conquest of
Texas. Eugene C. Barker called it ‘the only comprehensive history of the colonization of Texas and the Texas Revolution from the most important sources on Texas
from the 1820’s through 1837’” – Jenkins. The “Rafael edition,” published in 1848,
chronicled affairs in Texas through April 1836. The present edition includes some
material which appeared in the Rafael edition, but is essentially an entirely new
work relating events from March 1836 through July 1837.
The author was a key officer under Iturbide, and at times served as commanderin-chief and as secretary of war. He was second in command to Santa Anna during
the invasion of Texas in 1835, and a commander in the Mexican War. “His account
of the Texas Revolution, especially as given in the Cumplido edition, is particularly
valuable regarding the siege of the Alamo, the invasion of the Texas interior, the
retreat after San Jacinto, and the attempted reinvasion of Texas in the winter of
1836-1837. The volumes...are enriched with scores of original documents and
military orders unavailable elsewhere” – Jenkins.
BASIC TEXAS BOOKS 62. HOWES F126, “b.” PALAU 91612. RAINES, p.82. SABIN 24324.
$6000.
“The most famous and important frontier book of the period” – Vail
18. Filson, John: THE DISCOVERY, SETTLEMENT AND PRES-
ENT STATE OF KENTUCKE: AND AN ESSAY TOWARDS
THE TOPOGRAPHY, AND NATURAL HISTORY OF THAT
IMPORTANT COUNTRY...THE ADVENTURES OF COL. DANIEL BOON, ONE OF THE FIRST SETTLERS...AN ACCOUNT
OF THE INDIAN NATIONS...THE STAGES AND DISTANCES
BETWEEN PHILADELPHIA AND THE FALLS OF THE OHIO;
FROM PITTSBURG TO PENSACOLA AND SEVERAL OTHER
PLACES.... Wilmington, De.: Printed by James Adams, 1784. 118pp. plus
final original blank. Contemporary wrapper, with original side stitching, untrimmed. Contemporary ownership inscription on front wrapper: “Toeb---[?] Hopkins, Book, Discovery and Settlement of Kentucke, 1769.” Two brief
references to passages in the text in a contemporary hand on recto of rear
wrapper. Wrapper worn and soiled. Titlepage worn and soiled, with repaired
tear (affecting half a dozen words). Second contemporary ownership inscription on verso of final original blank, “Connell Israell Angell His Book Thare
was a garl [sic] and she.” A few ink marks in margins of a few pages, upper
outer corner of pp.95-96 torn (no loss). A very good copy. In a green half
morocco and cloth box.
A remarkable copy of this key work of late 18th-century Americana in a contemporary
binding with contemporary inscriptions, and with the text pages untrimmed. According to Vail, Filson’s Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke is the “most
famous and important frontier book of the period.” The first accurate description
of the beautiful country south of the Ohio River and west of the Alleghenies just
beginning to open to American settlement, the work also brought to the American
public for the first time the figure of Daniel Boone, the quintessential American
frontiersman whose adventures are described here in detail. Boone’s experiences
with Indians and his numerous captivities and escapes are covered. Filson himself
was later murdered by Indians in Kentucky. Filson’s map, which is described on
the titlepage as accompanying the book, was in fact issued in Philadelphia, and is
virtually never found with the book.
The first edition of ...Kentucke... is of the greatest rarity. One of the key American frontier books, here in a remarkable contemporary binding with contemporary
inscriptions.
STREETER SALE 1621. VAIL 694. EVANS 18467. CHURCH 1202. SABIN 24336. GRAFF 1323.
RINK, DELAWARE 182. HOWES F129, “d.”
$30,000.
Earliest Account of Astoria
19. Franchère, Gabriel: RELATION D’UN VOYAGE A LA CÔTE DU
NORD-OUEST DE L’AMÉRIQUE SEPTENTRIONALE DANS
LES ANNÉES 1810, 11, 12, 13, ET 14. Montreal. 1820. 284pp. Half
title. Contemporary calf, expertly rebacked in matching style, spine gilt,
retaining original leather label. Some minor scattered foxing. Very good.
In a half morocco and cloth clamshell box.
This is the first printed account of the Astoria enterprise. Franchère sailed from
New York in 1810 and spent 1811-14 at Astoria. He returned overland through
Canada and settled in Montreal. He provides the only firsthand account of the
massacre of the crew of the Tonquin on the Northwest Coast, as related to him
by the native interpreter who was the sole survivor, and who escaped after being
held captive by the Indians for two years. Streeter calls Franchère’s narrative “the
first printed account of the overland journey back from Oregon to the east through
Canada.” A British edition published in 1854 is a fairly common book, but this
original Montreal edition has become rare. This copy contains the half title, “a
particularly scarce feature” (Eberstadt).
WAGNER-CAMP 16. GAGNON 1401. GRAFF 1402. HOWES F310, “c.” MONAGHAN
705. PEEL 70. PILLING, PROOF-SHEETS 1323. SABIN 25431. HILL 633. STRATHERN 194.
STREETER SALE 3691. LANDE 1179. TPL 984. FORBES HAWAII 512. TWENEY 21.
$7500.
The Dedication Copy
20. [Francis, Charles Spencer]: SPORT AMONG THE ROCKIES. THE
RECORD OF A FISHING AND HUNTING TRIP IN NORTHWESTERN MONTANA. By the Scribe. Troy, N.Y. 1889. [10],134pp.,
printed in double columns, plus forty-eight mounted original photographs.
Three-quarter calf and cloth, with the original cloth; the calf replaces the
original in matching style; spine gilt. A few leaves with slight marginal paper
loss neatly repaired, not affecting text. Very good, with the photographs in
near fine condition.
Only fifteen copies of this wonderful book were made, for private distribution by
the author. The remarkable photographs, which are by the author himself, represent
a vivid and important photographic record of Montana at the time. Included are
photographs of towns, ranches, Indian agencies, Indians, portraits, landscapes, camp
scenes, and other fine views. The text is comprised of twenty-five letters written
by Francis for the Troy Times, of which he was the owner, describing a hunting
trip to Montana in August and September of 1888. “The narrative is of surprising interest, describing the outfitting at Great Falls; the Baker massacre; Trapper
Bill Weaver; Piegan Indians; the Big Horn; Starvation Camp; western horses and
Indian ponies; horse thieves; Blackfoot Agency (including school groups); life
among the Indians; cattle ranges and ranches; Great Falls, its mushroom growth,
future, etc. The volume is a veritable ‘book of the plains’ – a home-made production in make-up and appearance, and one of the most sought of all books relating
to Montana” – Eberstadt.
This copy is the dedication copy, inscribed by the author on the front fly leaf:
“To my manly little son, John M. Francis, Jr. Charles d. Francis, Troy, Aug. 15,
1889.” The printed dedication leaf, immediately after the title, reads: “To my Son,
John M. Francis, Jr., whose love for hunting and fishing and fondness for outdoor
sport, as well as his manly, generous, disposition, will, I trust, make him my companion on similar excursions in search of game and fish, this volume is affectionately
dedicated by The Author.”
A great Montana rarity, and one of the finest of 19th-century photographically
illustrated books of the West.
STREETER SALE 4110. HOWES F311, “b.” EBERSTADT 136:445.
$35,000.
The Extremely Rare First Edition of Franklin’s Electricity
21. Franklin, Benjamin: EXPERIMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS ON
ELECTRICITY, MADE AT PHILADELPHIA IN AMERICA, BY
MR. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, AND COMMUNICATED IN SEVERAL LETTERS TO MR. P. COLLINSON, ESQ; OF LONDON,
F.R.S..... London: Printed and Sold by E. Cave, 1751. [4],86pp. plus folding
plate. Small quarto. Modern speckled calf, ruled in gilt, gilt morocco label,
spine tooled in gilt in six compartments, gilt inner dentelles. Inner corner and
outer quarter of titlepage expertly repaired, with the “nt” at the end of “experiment ” and the “son” in Collinson’s name in fine facsimile. Outer corners
of preface leaf expertly repaired, as well as the outer corners of the first three
leaves of “Letter 1” and the corners of the final leaf of text. Aside from these
issues, a very good copy.
The extremely rare first edition of the foremost work of American colonial science,
and one of the most famous works in the history of science. “America’s first great
scientific contribution” – Howes. “The most important scientific book of 18th
century America” – PMM.
Franklin began his famous experiments on electricity in 1745, demonstrating the
electrical property of lightning and inventing the lightning conductor. This volume
includes summaries of his work with Leyden jars, charged clouds, and lightning rods,
as well as his famous kite and key experiment. Beginning in 1747 he described his
experiments to his London friend and fellow scientist, Peter Collinson, in a series
of letters which outlined his experiments and conclusions, which led to the first
proper understanding of the properties of electricity. Collinson thought Franklin’s
research so important, he published it without obtaining Franklin’s permission.
Supplementary material was published with Franklin’s permission in 1753 and
1754, bringing the length of the work up to a total of 154 pages. This first part is
complete in and of itself.
The work caused a sensation in the scientific world, and ranked in the eyes of
many of Franklin’s contemporaries far beyond any of his political achievements.
Harvard and Yale awarded him honorary degrees in 1753; he received the highest
award of the Royal Society, the Copley Medal, the same year; and he was elected
to the Society in 1756, the first American to be so honored. He subsequently
oversaw numerous editions of ...Electricity... while he was a resident in London
from 1757 to 1774.
HOWES F320, “b.” PRINTING AND THE MIND OF MAN 199. FORD 77. SABIN 25559.
HORBLIT 31a. DIBNER, HERALDS OF SCIENCE 57. NORMAN CATALOGUE 830. NORMAN
$67,500.
SALE 450.
The Best Edition of Fremont, with the Rufus Sage Map
22. Fremont, John C.: NARRATIVE OF THE EXPLORING EXPEDI-
TION TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, IN THE YEAR 1842; AND
TO OREGON AND NORTH CALIFORNIA, IN THE YEARS
1843-44. Syracuse. 1847. 427pp. plus two plates, folding map, and advertisements. Original gilt pictorial cloth. Spine ends slightly frayed. Some minor
brown spots on map. Else a very good, tight copy.
Considered by Howes and other authorities the “best edition” because of its inclusion of Rufus B. Sage’s superb map of the West, which otherwise appeared only
in Sage’s book of the preceding year. It is far more rare than the regular Fremont
map, which it resembles in many respects. Fremont’s narrative is one of the most
important western explorations, chronicling his trip over the Oregon Trail and into
the Great Basin. It was published in numerous editions.
HOWES F370, “b.” ZAMORANO 80, 39 (ref ). MINTZ 165. WAGNER-CAMP 115:9. TWENEY
89, 22 (ref ). GRAFF 1433. STREETER SALE 3132. WHEAT TRANSMISSISSIPPI 527.
$6000.
The Capture of Pensacola During the Revolution
23. Galvez, Bernardo de: DIARIO DE LAS OPERACIONES DE LA
EXPEDICION CONTRA LA PLAZA DE PANZACOLA CONCLUIDA POR LAS ARMAS DE S.M. CATOLICA, BAXO LAS
ORDENES DEL MARISCAL DE CAMPO D. BERNARDO DE
GALVEZ [caption title]. [Madrid. 1781]. 48pp. Dbd. Faint spotting on
the first leaf, else clean and bright. Very good. In a cloth clamshell box,
morocco label.
An important document of the American Revolution in the South, with important
ramifications for the history of Florida. In 1779, Spain joined France in aiding
the Americans against the British in the Revolution; however, Spanish goals were
mainly self-serving, and she particularly wished to regain Florida, lost to Britain in
the Peace of 1763 which concluded the French and Indian War. With this in mind,
the energetic Viceroy Bernardo de Galvez organized an expedition from Havana
against the British base at Pensacola, the capital of the Province of West Florida
(including the present Florida panhandle, southern Alabama and Mississippi, and
Louisiana as far as the Mississippi River).
The expedition set out in November 1780, but was scattered by storms and was
launched again in February 1781. The Spanish secured Baton Rouge, Natchez,
and Mobile before turning on Pensacola. Despite difficulty in coordination (the
Spanish admiral was not under Galvez’ direct command and at first refused to run
the bar at Pensacola under the British guns), Galvez was able to land his forces and
effect a siege, resulting in British capitulation on May 9, 1781. The loss was a major
setback to the British in the South and insured that the Floridas were returned to
the Spanish in the Peace of 1783. Spanish control of the Floridas was a thorn in
the side of the United States until they were sold to the U.S. under the conditions
of the Adams-Onìs Treaty of 1819.
This account is Galvez’ detailed report of the entire expedition, with the last
part dated at Pensacola on May 12, 1781. Also included is the treaty of capitulation and a schedule of troops involved. Medina believed that this pamphlet was
published first in Havana and later in Madrid. We recently compared two copies
which we believe confirms this. While the same in pagination, and indeed with
the same text per page, the line settings within each page vary considerably. One
is crudely printed and looks like Spanish colonial printing; and the other, with a
different type face, is much more elegantly printed. The present copy matches the
latter description, which we believe to be the Madrid printing. The easy way to
tell the two apart is the first (of many) different paragraph settings: on page three,
the first paragraph at the top has five lines in the Havana edition and only four in
the Madrid edition.
Accompanied by a copy of Jose Porrua Turanzas’ (editor) Diario de las Operaciones
Contra la Plaza de Panzacola 1781... (Madrid, 1959).
SABIN 26475. PALAU 96980. MEDINA (HAVANA) 68 (ref ). STREETER SALE 1191. HOWES
$7500.
P59, “b.”
One of the Great Black Tulips of All Americana:
The Author’s Copy
24. [Hall, Linville J., and George G. Webster]: JOURNAL OF THE
HARTFORD UNION MINING AND TRADING COMPANY.
CONTAINING THE NAME, RESIDENCE AND OCCUPATION
OF EACH MEMBER, WITH INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE,
&c. &c. [At sea]: Printed by J.L. Hall on board the Henry Lee, 1849. 88pp.,
with pp.9-20 provided in facsimile. The gathering containing pp.41-44 is included twice herein. Small octavo. Gathered signatures. Several text leaves
with expert tissue repairs at the extremities, but not affecting any text. Pencil
corrections, notes, and emendations in the author’s hand. A very good copy.
In a cloth chemise and half morocco and cloth slipcase, spine gilt. With the
bookplate of Mary Young Moore (nee Mary C. Young) on the pastedown of
the chemise.
An amazing rarity of Western Americana and the gold rush, printed by Linville
Hall on board the Henry Lee as it made the voyage around the Horn and to the
California gold fields in the spring and summer of 1849. It is the first sea journal
of the ‘49 California Argonauts to be published, and the first printed narrative of
a gold seeker, and recounts the voyage in quite vivid style. This copy appears to
have been Linville Hall’s own copy, and contains pencil manuscript corrections in
his hand on forty-three pages, reflecting changes between the text in this 1849 edition and the 1898 second edition, which was also printed by Hall. “It is not only
a very interesting account of the organization and voyage of a company that sailed
to California in its own ship, but it is one of the first books printed in part at San
Francisco” – Streeter. “The first printed narrative of a California gold-seeker and
the best record of an argonaut expedition by sea” – Howes. “Ranks as one of the
most celebrated and interesting of all Gold Rush narratives” – Kurutz.
This copy was sold to Mary Young Moore by the Hudson Book Company (later
Edward Eberstadt & Sons) in 1924, which commissioned the facsimile copies of
pages 9 to 20 from the copy at the Bancroft Library. In a typed note included
here, they assert that this was Linville Hall’s copy, acquired from his descendants.
Warren Howell, in the catalogue description of this copy in John Howell – Books
Anniversary Catalogue of 1982, casts doubt on the likelihood of this, and his assertions have been joined by those of other booksellers.
We believe, however, based on internal evidence, that this was in fact Linville
Hall’s own copy, used by him in creating the second edition of the book in the
1890s. It seems fairly clear that the numerous pencil notes in the text do not simply reflect a later owner’s attempts to make this text conform to that of the 1898
edition. Rather, the marks (on forty-three of this copy’s seventy-six original text
pages) seem to clearly be editorial in nature, changing punctuation and offering
suggestions for additional text that did or did not make it into the 1898 edition.
For example, a paragraph on page 22 of this copy has a long pencil mark beside it;
in the second edition the text of this paragraph has been expanded to comprise three
paragraphs. On page 49 of this copy, the phrase “which is especially uppermost”
appears in pencil in the margin – it appears in print in the text in the appropriate
place in the 1898 edition. Similar occurrences are found on pages 52, 53, and 63,
as well as several other places. In a number of instances on pages 58 and 59, editorial markings appear (e.g. crossing out dashes in favor of semicolons in the 1898
edition), which it seems clear would be made by someone preparing a new edition,
but beyond the efforts or interests of an assiduous later owner of this copy seeking
to rectify the text with the 1898 edition. In other places words, notes, or marks are
penciled in which do not appear in the 1898 edition. For example, on page 84 of
our copy, the words “insert here” appear in pencil in the margin, yet no additional
text is present in the 1898 edition. Again, it would seem that this is the work of a
revising editor – Linville Hall himself – rather than that of a later owner. Someone,
in other words, who was making notes for a revised edition, and then used some
but not all of his penciled notes in the later edition when he actually printed it.
Linville J. Hall, identified in the company roster at the beginning of the text as
“John L. Hall,” was trained as a printer, as were two other members of the Hartford
Union Mining and Trading Company. The journal that Hall printed was kept mainly
by George G. Webster, a Hartford lawyer, and was supplemented by contributions
from the ship’s captain, David P. Vail, by Hall himself, and by others on board. Hall
printed the journal on a press kept in his quarters. He recounted the difficulties of
such an endeavor in his introduction to the 1898 edition of this work:
A dim light filtered through the thick glass mortised in the planks of the
deck. It was with difficulty that I was enabled to see sufficiently well to work,
but before the voyage was ended – seven months, ten days – I was so inured
to semi-obscurity that it inconvenienced me but little. I had to resort to all
manner of make-shifts in fitting up my quarters. I was obliged to construct
my own press, and for originality, it could hardly be surpassed. Two other
printers were on board, and one of them was considerate enough to help me
out for a portion of one day; with the exception of this, the entire work of
printing the journal devolved on me. I was so interested in my self-imposed
task that I gave little attention to my surroundings. When the weather was
unusually stormy I was obliged to abandon my case. However the work was
not devoid of novel and exciting incidents; for instance, when the ship rocked
or careened from the heavy swell, or during the progress of a heavy blow, the
type in my composing stick would be scattered in all directions; at other times,
my galleys half filled with set up matter, would go dancing across the room to
the accompaniment of flying type.
There exists a thirty-two-page copy of this journal, inscribed by Hall to E.A. Upton,
a fellow printer who went on to become a San Francisco resident (see Vail). These
first thirty-two pages are complete in and of themselves, ending with the journal
entry of April 17, 1849. Hall apparently sent another copy of this thirty-two-page
section to the Hartford Courant, likely giving the printed text to an eastbound ship
in Rio de Janeiro. The Courant began publication of portions of the text on June
2, 1849. This first thirty-two-page portion would seem, then, to constitute the
“first issue” of this text. In his anniversary catalogue of 1982, Warren Howell of
John Howell – Books listed what can be called the “second issue.” It is the copy
owned by Thomas W. Streeter, previously owned by Penuel McClure, a member
of the Hartford Union Mining and Trading Company. That copy has the word
“Incidences” rather than “Incidents” on the titlepage, as well as slightly different
titlepage typography. The present copy constitutes the “third issue” of the first
edition, with the titlepage corrected and reset, and slight changes to the text of the
first eight pages. Most bibliographers agree that the titlepage, first eight pages,
and final few pages of text were printed by Hall on board ship in San Francisco
harbor in September 1849.
The journal itself contains a list of the officers and members of the Hartford
Company, and describes the daily activities on board ship and in port from the
time of its departure from New York on Feb. 17 until it arrived in San Francisco
harbor on Sept. 13, 1849. The final three pages of text include a description of
San Francisco as seen from aboard the ship.
We are able to locate only eleven copies of any 1849 printing, in any issue, of
this Journal...: the California State Library; the Society of California Pioneers; the
Huntington Library; the Bancroft Library; Yale; the American Antiquarian Society;
the New-York Historical Society; the Connecticut Historical Society; the Streeter
copy (bought by Warren Howell and listed as item 51 in his Anniversary Catalogue,
now in a private collection); a copy of the thirty-two-page issue, formerly owned by
Dan Volkmann, now in a private collection; and the present copy (listed by Howell
as item 52 in his Anniversary Catalogue). It is incredibly rare on the market. The
present copy, being the personal copy and bearing the manuscript corrections of
the printer whose tireless efforts made this special volume possible, constitutes a
peerless association copy of the first order.
KURUTZ 305a. COWAN, p.259. HOWES W202, “dd.” GREENWOOD 131. WAGNER, CALIFORNIA IMPRINTS 84. FAHEY 124. HOWELL, ANNIVERSARY CATALOGUE 52 (this copy).
EBERSTADT 115:210. LIBROS CALIFORNIANOS (1st ed), p.23. MATTHEWS, AMERICAN
DIARIES, p.317. ROCQ 15846. STREETER SALE 2571. VAIL, GOLD FEVER, pp.25-27. WHEAT
GOLD RUSH 88.
$50,000.
25. Hamilton, Alexander; James Madison; and John Jay: THE FEDER-
ALIST: A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS, WRITTEN IN FAVOUR
OF THE NEW CONSTITUTION, AS AGREED UPON BY THE
FEDERAL CONVENTION, SEPTEMBER 17, 1787. New York:
Printed and sold by John and Andrew M’Lean, 1788. Two volumes. [4],227;
vi,384pp. 12mo. Expertly bound to style in contemporary tree calf, the covers
with a neo-classical Greek-key roll-tool border, the flat spine tooled in gilt,
divided into six compartments with a Greek-key roll, lettered in the second
compartment, numbered in the fourth, the others with an elegant repeat pattern in gilt. Very good. In a full morocco clamshell case.
Rare first edition of the most important work of American political thought ever
written, and according to Thomas Jefferson, “the best commentary on the principles
of government.”
The first edition of The Federalist comprises the first collected printing of the
eighty-five seminal essays written in defense of the newly drafted Constitution. The
essays were first issued individually by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and
John Jay in New York newspapers under the pseudonym “Publius” to garner support
for the ratification of the Constitution. This first collected edition was published
in early 1788: volume I published in March contains the first thirty-six numbers;
volume II published in May includes the remaining forty-nine numbers, together
with the text of the Constitution. Upon its publication, George Washington noted
to Alexander Hamilton that the work “will merit the Notice of Posterity; because
in it are candidly and ably discussed the principles of freedom and the topics of
government, which will always be interesting to mankind” (George Washington,
letter to Hamilton, August 28, 1788).
The genesis of this “classic exposition of the principles of republican government” (Bernstein) is to be found in the “great national discussion” which took
place about the ratification of the Constitution, and the necessity of answering the
salvos in print from the Anti-Federalists and other opponents of a strong federal
government. The original plan was that James Madison and John Jay were to help
Hamilton write a series of essays explaining the merits of their system, whilst also
rebutting the arguments of its detractors. “Hamilton wrote the first piece in October 1787 on a sloop returning from Albany....He finished many pieces while the
printer waited in a hall for the completed copy” – Brookhiser. In the end, well over
half of the eighty-five essays were written by Hamilton alone. Despite the intense
time pressures under which the series was written “what began as a propaganda
tract, aimed only at winning the election for delegates to New York’s state ratifying convention, evolved into the classic commentary upon the American Federal
system” (McDonald).
The Federalist is without question the most important commentary on the
Constitution, the most significant American contribution to political theory, and
among the most important of all American books.
CHURCH 1230. COHEN 2818. EVANS 21127. FORD 17. GROLIER AMERICAN 100, 19.
HOWES H114, “c.” PRINTING AND THE MIND OF MAN 234. SABIN 23979. STREETER SALE
1049. R.B. Bernstein, Are We To Be a Nation? The Making of the Constitution (1987), p.242. R. Brookhiser,
Alexander Hamilton: American (1999), pp.68-69. F. McDonald, Alexander Hamilton: A Biography, p.107.
$225,000.
With the Hawaiian Publication
of David Douglas’ Oregon Journal
26. [Hawaiian Periodical]: THE HAWAIIAN SPECTATOR. Conducted by an Association of Gentlemen. Honolulu. 1838-1839. Two volumes
bound as one, eight numbers in all. viii,440pp. plus two folding maps and
folding table; viii,494pp. Contemporary three-quarter calf and marbled boards,
spine gilt, leather label. Very minor wear to extremities, spine beginning to
crack down the center. Later inscription in ink on front pastedown. Scattered
foxing. Tears repaired on two plates; one map with clean cut along fold. Very
good.
A complete run of this rare Hawaiian periodical, the first attempt at a literary and
topical quarterly in that part of the world. It contains much of interest on Hawaii
and the Pacific of the period.
The first volume contains various articles relating to Hawaiian history, linguistics,
and ethnography, as well as the missionary effort there. Also included is an “Account
of the Russians on Kauai” by Samuel Whitney; “Sketch of Christmas Island” by
Capt. George Benson (accompanied by an engraved map of the island made at the
Lahainaluna Press); a similar article on Ocean Island with a map prepared in the
same fashion; and “Introduction of the Gospel to Northwest America” by Hiram
Bingham (providing a long discussion of the Whitman and Spaulding mission).
The second volume contains a similar miscellany of articles concerning Hawaii
and its peoples, as well as J.J. Jarves’ “Overland Journey in Central America”; and
a description of the voyage of the French frigate, L’Artemise, to Hawaii, and the
imperialist saber-rattling by which it was accompanied.
The larger part of the second volume, however, is devoted to the serial publication of A Brief Memoir of the Life of Mr. David Douglas, with Extracts from His
Letters. This is a complete reprint, in effect the second edition, of a work originally
published by Sir William Hooker in The Companion to the Botanical Magazine in
London in 1836. Robert Becker, in the latest edition of Wagner-Camp, errs in
calling this a publication of the Douglas journal first published in 1914. It is
actually the second edition of his entry 60. McKelvey is in error in stating that
this is a partial printing of Hooker’s work. It is a complete reprint. The errors of
these two authorities suggest that they never saw this Hawaiian edition. Among
bibliographers, only Howes gets it right.
David Douglas was a distinguished botanist who made two trips to the Pacific
Northwest under the sponsorship of the Horticultural Society, first in 1824-27 and
again in 1829-34. His collections and work there laid the foundation for botanical
research in the region, and are justly celebrated and discussed at length in McKelvey.
In 1834 he sailed to Hawaii to continue his research, but shortly after his arrival
he fell in a pit dug to catch wild cattle and was gored to death by a bull which fell
in on top of him. The journals of his second expedition were lost, but those of the
first expedition he had left with his friend, Hooker, during his return to England
in 1827-28, and those Hooker edited, with the addition of letters and biographical
information. They were issued as the ...Memoir... and provide a detailed picture of
Douglas’ travels in Oregon, Washington, and northern California during his first trip.
An important collection of data, combining Hawaiian material which appears
nowhere else, Hawaiian engraved maps, Pacific items, and the Douglas journal in
its rarest format.
FORBES HAWAII 1099. HOWES H624, “b.” TWENEY 89, 15 (ref ). WAGNER-CAMP 60 (note,
but should be his 60:3). McKelvey, Botanical Exploration of the Transmississippi West, pp.299-334. Coats,
$10,000.
The Plant Hunters, pp.304-14.
With the Elusive Map
27. Heap, Gwin Harris: CENTRAL ROUTE TO THE PACIFIC,
FROM THE VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI TO CALIFORNIA:
JOURNAL OF THE EXPEDITION OF E.F. BEALE...IN 1853.
Philadelphia. 1854. 136pp. plus thirteen handsome lithographed plates (some
tinted), folding map, and 32pp. of advertisements. Half title. Original blindstamped cloth. A fresh, very good copy.
Beale and Heap were greatly influenced by Senator Benton in their choice of a
route across Colorado and Nevada. The party travelled from Westport (Kansas
City) southwest on the Santa Fe trail to Bent’s Fort, then to the short-lived Fort
Massachusetts, the Rio Grande Valley, the Grand River, and then to the Uncompahgre. They returned to Taos for supplies, and then continued southwest via
Utah to California. The map, which is present here, was issued with only a few
copies. Wheat lauds the map and spends several pages discussing the journey,
saying that it has received less attention than it deserves. He notes that it is the
earliest published map to show the middle Rocky Mountain region, through what
is now southern Colorado, the first to depict several streams and rivers, and the
first attempt to chart a route through Death Valley. This book is one of the first
detailed examinations of the “Central Route” from Missouri to the Pacific, and a
basic piece of Western Americana.
COWAN, p.273. HOWES H378, “b.” MINTZ 562. SABIN 31175. WAGNER-CAMP 235. FLAKE
3934. RITTENHOUSE 290. WHEAT TRANSMISSISSIPPI 808. STREETER SALE 3177.
$10,000.
The First Book in English Devoted Entirely to Texas
28. Holley, Mary Austin: TEXAS. OBSERVATIONS, HISTORICAL,
GEOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE, IN A SERIES OF LETTERS, WRITTEN DURING A VISIT TO AUSTIN’S COLONY,
WITH A VIEW TO A PERMANENT SETTLEMENT IN THAT
COUNTRY, IN THE AUTUMN OF 1831.... Baltimore: Armstrong &
Plaskitt, 1833. 167pp. plus folding frontispiece map. Original purple cloth
with Texas stamped in gilt on front cover. Spine slightly faded, minor wear
to cloth, hinges neatly repaired. A very good copy. In a half morocco slipcase.
The rare first edition of the first book in English devoted entirely to Texas. This
copy has the copyright notice printed on a separate slip which is pasted to the
lower portion of the dedication leaf. The fine “Map of the State of Coahuila and
Texas” is by W. Hooker and displays the region from just east of New Orleans to
a degree west of Santa Fe, and north from the mouth of the Rio Grande to just
above the 38th parallel.
Mrs. Holley was the cousin of Stephen F. Austin, to whom the book is dedicated,
and Jenkins states that it was written with his assistance. Mrs. Holley travelled from
the mouth of the Brazos River to Bolivar to aid her brother, Henry, in making his
home there. She found Texas “very like a dream or youthful vision realized.” Her
work on this book was followed closely and approved by her brother and cousins.
The book is, in the words of Thomas W. Streeter, “one of the Texas classics.” Copies with the map are rare indeed.
STREETER TEXAS 1135. BASIC TEXAS BOOKS 93B. RAINES, p.116. HOWES H593, “b.”
SABIN 32528. CLARK III:56. DOBIE, p.51. RADER 1912. GRAFF 1934.
$20,000.
“Best handbook...[of ] the time” – Howes
29. Horn, Hosea B.: HORN’S OVERLAND GUIDE, FROM THE U.S.
INDIAN SUB-AGENCY, COUNCIL BLUFFS, ON THE MISSOURI RIVER, TO THE CITY OF SACRAMENTO, IN CALIFORNIA.... New York: Published by J.H. Colton, 1852. 83,[1],18pp. plus
large folding map. 16mo. Original cloth, stamped in blind and gilt. Cloth a
bit faded and worn. Ex-Essex Institute Library, with their bookplate on front
pastedown, blindstamp on titlepage, and paper label on spine. Front free endpaper torn. A few text leaves wrinkled or creased, faint tideline along lower
edge of text leaves. Overall, in about very good condition. In a cloth clamshell
box, gilt morocco label.
One of two issues of the first edition of the “best handbook for the central route
available at the time” (Howes). This is the issue with the “opinions of the press”
on page 5, and the longer pagination of the main text. Hosea Horn was an Iowa
lawyer who travelled the routes himself and produced this detailed overland guide,
the most popular and best-known of its day. The text consists of a lengthy list of
“Notable Places, Objects and Remarks” and follows the trail in a detailed, stepby-step fashion, with mileage charts, distance between places, etc. The map was
executed by Colton and shows the entire central route, with all the cut-offs, marked
in red. “Especial importance attaches to this work from the fact that it was one of
the few guides which actually measured and described much of the route traversed.
Horn had personally been over all the ‘cut-offs’ and he prepared what is possibly
the most exact account of the ‘Overland Trail’ which has come down to us” – Eberstadt. “One of the best of the guides, as it is one of the few where the distances
were closely measured” – Streeter.
WAGNER-CAMP 214. COWAN, p.292. GRAFF 1952. WHEAT GOLD REGIONS 221. HOWES H641, “b.” KURUTZ 343b. WHEAT GOLD RUSH 105. WHEAT TRANSMISSISSIPPI 751.
SABIN 33021. STREETER SALE 3170. HOWELL 50:529. EBERSTADT 115:1050. MINTZ 238.
$10,000.
The Very Rare Boston Edition of the Most Famous History
of the New England Indian Wars
30. Hubbard, William: A NARRATIVE OF THE TROUBLES WITH
THE INDIANS IN NEW-ENGLAND, FROM THE FIRST
PLANTING THEREOF IN THE YEAR 1607, TO THIS PRESENT
YEAR 1677. BUT CHIEFLY OF THE LATE TROUBLES IN THE
TWO LAST YEARS, 1675 AND 1676. TO WHICH IS ADDED A
DISCOURSE ABOUT THE WARRE WITH THE PEQUODS IN
THE YEAR 1637. Boston: Printed by John Foster, 1677. [14],132,[8],712,[2],88pp., including several pagination errors. Small quarto. Sumptuously
bound in 19th-century blue morocco by Pawson and Nicholson, with elaborately gilt boards and spine, gilt inner dentelles, a.e.g. Bookplates on front
pastedown, early ownership signature and notes (see below). Small chips
at edges of titlepage. Trimmed close, occasionally touching a page number,
running title, or catchword. Occasional staining. One leaf supplied from the
London 1677 edition (see below). Map supplied in facsimile. Withal, still a
very good copy.
The very rare first edition, printed in Boston, of William Hubbard’s crucially important history of the Indian wars of New England, a cornerstone Americanum.
A London edition followed, published in the same year. Hubbard was born in
England and came to the colonies in 1635, eventually becoming pastor of the
church in Ipswich, Massachusetts. He was closely involved in the government of
the colony during King Philip’s War, and this work, along with those of Increase
and Cotton Mather, is the best and fullest account of the events of the struggle
in Massachusetts. Hubbard and Increase Mather differed with each other on
a number of points, and this book seems to have ignited the envy of the latter.
“[Hubbard] was distinguished, in an age and country of bigots, for his liberality,
moderation, and piety, and his narrative has always been regarded as authoritative
by historians” – Church.
This copy is without the incredibly rare map of New England by John Foster,
the first map printed in English America, supplied here in facsimile. Of the fifty
copies of the Boston printing of the book
examined by Randolph G. Adams, more
than half were missing the map. This is
one of the first books printed in Boston,
as all printing in the British colonies up to
1676 had been done in neighboring Cambridge. Most bibliographers refer to two
“issues” of this 1677 Boston edition. This
is the presumed “second issue” of Hubbard’s work, with the twelve-line errata
on the verso of the final text leaf (other
copies are known with a ten-line errata)
and with extra leaves in the M signature
of the first part (see Church for these and
other details). Adams, however, takes the
“issue” question many steps further by
pointing out that there are as many as
twenty-five variant “issues” of the Boston
printing of the text.
The first two pages of the unnumbered eight-page section in the middle of
the text, “A Table shewing the Towns and
Places which are inhabited by the English
in New-England,” have been supplied in
this copy from a copy of the 1677 London
edition. Two leaves from that London
edition have been joined together to make
a new single leaf (resulting in a thicker
sheet of paper), so the text begins on the recto of the leaf signed “*” (rather than
“T” as in the Boston edition), continues onto the verso of the made-up leaf, and
then properly continues onto the leaf signed “T2” of the Boston printing.
This copy has a long and distinguished provenance, bearing the early ownership signature of antiquarian and editor John Farmer on the first page of the text,
and several manuscript notes of a historical nature throughout. It also bears the
bookplates of E. Stanley Hart and Roderick Terry (one of the most famous American book collectors of the early 20th century) on the front pastedown. Randolph
Adams lists this copy in his study of Hubbard’s work, and notes that it was also
owned by printer Theodore Low DeVinne (a founder of The Grolier Club) and
by William W. Cohen. Adams further notes that this copy was probably the one
used by Samuel G. Drake in editing his 1865 edition of the book.
A remarkably important work, one of the earliest such histories written and
published in the colonies, here in the very rare Boston first edition.
EVANS 231. NAIP w013814. CHURCH 650. HOWES H756, “dd.” SABIN 33445. FIELD 731.
STREETER SALE 640. STREETER, AMERICANA BEGINNINGS 14. VAIL 184. Randolph G.
Adams, “William Hubbard’s Narrative, 1677: A Bibliographical Study” in Papers of the Bibliographical
Society of America (Vol. 33, 1939), pp.25-39.
$42,500.
The Earliest General Map of the Trans-Appalachian Country,
Accompanied by the Text of Hutchins’ Work
31. Hutchins, Thomas: A NEW MAP OF THE WESTERN PARTS OF
VIRGINIA, PENNSYLVANIA, MARYLAND AND NORTH CAROLINA; COMPREHENDING THE RIVER OHIO, AND THE
RIVERS, WHICH FALL INTO IT; PART OF THE RIVER MISSISSIPPI, THE WHOLE OF THE ILLINOIS, LAKE ERIE; PART
OF LAKE HURON, MICHIGAN &c. AND ALL THE COUNTRY
BORDERING ON THESE LAKES AND RIVERS. London: Published according to Act of Parliament by T. Hutchins, 1778. Folding map, 36¼
x 44 inches, on four joined sheets, with bright period outline wash color. A
little browning at joints. Library stamp of “Depot de la Marine” at lower right.
Docketed on verso: “N° 128. de la boite / n° 29.” / “Virginie, Pennsylvanie /
&c. / Par Thos. Hutchins. / 1778. (En Anglais.).” Overall a fine copy. Accompanied by the text of Hutchins’ work (see description below).
A remarkable work of American cartography, being both the first true general map
of the American Midwest and the first meaningful large-scale depiction of the
trans-Appalachian Country. This great map extends from western New York in
the northeast, Cape Fear in the southeast, the Wisconsin River in the northwest,
to the Arkansas River in the southwest.
Thomas Hutchins was a seminal figure in the surveying and mapping of the
United States. He began his career as a topographical engineer for the British
Army during the French and Indian War. From 1758 to 1777 he served in the
newly acquired Ohio Valley, designing the fortifications at Fort Pitt in 1763. In
the following year he accompanied Bouquet on his expedition against the western
Indians. The result was his map of the country on the Ohio and Muskingum rivers,
published in London in 1766.
Hutchins was a member of the exploring party sent down the Ohio Valley in
1766 to investigate the territory recently acquired from France, and on this occasion
he conducted “the first accurate map, or more properly, hydrographic survey [of the
Ohio River]” (Brown). Hutchins was stationed at Fort Chartres on the Illinois bank
of the Mississippi from 1768 to 1770. He subsequently went to England, where
he compiled this great map from his exhaustive personal surveys, and information
gathered from many sources. The depiction of the Ohio immediately below Fort
Pitt, for example, seems to be based on a manuscript by John Montresor. Brown
notes that its publication in 1778 represented “the culmination of a long career as
an engineer and mapmaker in the wilderness of North America.”
Hutchins returned to America in 1781 and was appointed “Geographer to the
United States” by Congress. In 1783 he was a member of the commission that
surveyed the Mason-Dixon Line, and in 1785 was appointed by Congress to the
commission that surveyed the New York-Massachusetts boundary. Under the
Ordinance of 1785 he was placed in charge of the surveying of the public lands
in the Northwest Territory. He died in 1789, shortly after completing the survey
of the “Seven Ranges” in Ohio. Hutchins is frequently credited with establishing
the excellent system under which all of the public lands of the United States were
subsequently surveyed and divided into townships, ranges, and sections.
His 1778 map was the foundation document for the mapping of the Ohio
Valley in the late 18th century. The depiction of the trans-Appalachian region
on Thomas Jefferson’s famous map in his Notes on the State of Virginia (1787), for
example, was taken directly from Hutchins. The map shows the western claims of
Virginia and North Carolina based upon their 17th-century royal charters. It is
filled with exhaustive data throughout, with a fascinating series of notes or “legends”
interspersed among the geographical details. “Illinois Country” is shown between
the Illinois and Wabash rivers. Among its other important details, Hutchins’ map
is one of the only printed maps of the period to show the proposed new colony
of Vandalia (here “Indiana”), which was projected to occupy a large portion of the
present state of West Virginia.
This copy of the map is accompanied by Hutchins’ text: A Topographical Description of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina, Comprehending the
Rivers Ohio, Kenhawa, Sioto, Cherokee, Wabash, Illinois, Mississippi, &c..... London.
1778. [2],ii,67pp. plus two folding maps and folding table. Bound in half calf and
marbled paper boards. Ex-lib. with perforated stamp on titlepage and a few other
minor library marks. The text is here in the first edition, second state, with errors
corrected on the titlepage and in the text, and no errata leaf. Of the text Streeter
writes: “Hutchins’ work is one of the most valuable sources on the West during the
British period. It is of particular interest for the Illinois country. The appended
journal by Captain Kennedy describes his voyage up the Illinois River to its headwaters during July and August of 1773.” Hutchins was the most accomplished
geographer in America at the time, and his exact description of the regions west of
the Alleghenies was the best available at the time of the Revolution.
“[B]y far the best map of the west printed to that time” – Streeter. “The best
[colonial] map of the region south of the Great Lakes” – Cumming. A vital American map, and exceptionally rare.
Map: STREETER SALE 1300. PHILLIPS MAPS, p.983. CUMMING, BRITISH MAPS OF COLONIAL AMERICA, p.36. BROWN, EARLY MAPS OF THE OHIO VALLEY, plate 51. SIEBERT
SALE 289. Text: VAIL 655. FIELD 744. STREETER SALE 1299. SABIN 34054. HOWES H846,
“d.” GRAFF 2029. THOMSON 625. CLARK I:258.
$150,000.
The Brinley Copy
32. [Hutchinson, Thomas, et al]: A CONFERENCE BETWEEN THE
COMMISSARIES OF MASSACHUSETS-BAY [sic], AND THE
COMMISSARIES OF NEW-YORK; AT NEW-HAVEN IN THE
COLONY OF CONNECTICUT. 1767. Boston: Printed by Richard
Draper..., 1768. 26,[1]pp. Quarto. 19th-century three-quarter straight-grained
morocco and marbled boards, spine gilt. Binding worn and rubbed. Titlepage
stained and soiled, a few small chips at edges, not affecting text; repair on
verso mending closed tears in titlepage gutter. Otherwise clean and very
good.
The George Brinley copy, with his sale’s
auction ticket on the front pastedown.
An important example of the diplomacy
practiced among British colonies in the
pre-Revolutionary era. This publication
records the proceedings of a conference
held in New Haven to settle a boundary
dispute between New York and Massachusetts in which Massachusetts claimed “the whole territory, within their North
and South limits, from the Atlantic Ocean to the South Sea.” The commissioners
representing New York were Robert R. Livingston, William Smith, and William
Nicol. The Massachusetts commissioners were Thomas Hutchinson, William
Brattle, and Edward Sheaffe. A rare item, printed for distribution to members of
the Massachusetts legislature. This is the issue without the appendix – of which
only eight copies are located by NAIP. A fine example of inter-colonial diplomatic
relations, an under-studied but vitally important aspect of the history of British
North America.
BRINLEY SALE 2751 (this copy). EVANS 10965. HOWES M376, “b.” SABIN 45689. NAIP
w030474.
$6000.
An American Landmark: The First Census,
Signed by Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State
33. [ Jefferson, Thomas]: [Census of 1790]: RETURN OF THE WHOLE
NUMBER OF PERSONS WITHIN THE SEVERAL DISTRICTS
OF THE UNITED STATES.... Philadelphia: Printed by Childs and
Swaine, 1791. 56pp., with additional printed census information affixed to p.51
(Kentucky), and with the delayed results for South Carolina (on p.54) printed
on a separate leaf and affixed to the verso of p.53 (as issued). Contemporary
marbled wrappers, manuscript title on front wrapper. Wrappers faded and
worn, spine largely perished. Later ink notes on front endpapers and first page
of text. A bit of light internal staining. Very good. In a black morocco box.
Signed by Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State on the final page of text. This
copy descended in the family of Gideon Granger, Postmaster General during the
Jefferson administration. The titlepage erroneously states that the Congressional
act authorizing the census was passed in 1791, when it was actually done in 1790;
the titlepage of this copy has been corrected accordingly in an early hand.
The first edition of the first federal census, a landmark government document.
A decennial census was called for in the Constitution, the first instance of a nation
providing by law for a periodic enumeration of its people. The first census was
carried out in 1790, and its results are printed here. It only attempted to count
population, and to enumerate free white males over and under the age of sixteen,
free white females, all other free persons, and slaves. Populations are given by county
or township. The total number of all inhabitants stood at just over four million.
Jefferson signed printed copies of governmental acts and laws with some regularity as part of his duties as Secretary of State, but his signature on a copy of the
first federal census is rare. In the past thirty-five years only three other copies of
the first federal census signed by Jefferson have appeared on the market. The last
one sold for $122,500 in 2010. Highly desirable.
HOWES R220, “b.” A SOCIETY’S CHIEF JOYS 43. EVANS 23916. NAIP w029059.
$125,000.
The True First Edition
34. [ Jefferson, Thomas]: AN ACCOUNT OF LOUISIANA, BEING
AN ABSTRACT OF DOCUMENTS, IN THE OFFICES OF THE
DEPARTMENTS OF STATE, AND OF THE TREASURY. [bound
with:] APPENDIX TO AN ACCOUNT OF LOUISIANA.... [Washington. 1803]. Title-leaf, 48pp., appendix title-leaf; xc pp. plus three folding
tables. Modern half calf and marbled boards, spine gilt. Binding edgeworn.
Slight tanning. Contemporary ownership signature on both titlepages. Two
leaves in the appendix (containing pp. iii-iv and lxxxix-xc) with repaired tears
in the lower margins, the earlier one affecting a few words of footnotes. Very
good.
The true first edition of one of the most important books in Western Americana.
Although the Philadelphia, 1803 edition has been called the first edition of this
work, it is in fact the second, issued after this undated, unimprinted Washington
edition. The Yale copy of this book is inscribed: “Sam. Mitchell Washington Nov
14, 1803.” On the verso of the title the same hand has written: “This pamphlet
was written by Mr. Wagner, chief-clerk in the office of Mr. Madison Secretary of
State; the materials were collected by the President of the U.S. [Mr. Jefferson]
who received them in answer to certain interrogatories put by him to discreet and
intelligent men in Louisiana. The various answers to these executive queries were
put into the hands of Mr. Wagner to be compiled and digested in the Congress by
Mr. Jefferson on 15th November, 1803.” The Appendix bears a similar signature
on the titlepage: “Sam Mitchell Nov. 28 1803.”
The Philadelphia edition was printed from the Washington edition, and in the
next year a flood of second, third, and fourth generation editions from Baltimore,
Providence, Albany, Carlisle, Wilmington, and Raleigh, North Carolina appeared,
indicating the nation’s eagerness to overcome the general lack of previous information on Louisiana. The work deserved to appear in as many editions as it did.
It was the first real account of the vast new western territory to become available
to the American people, and as such, the magnitude of its importance is obvious.
An Account... gives details of geography, inhabitants, Indians, laws, agriculture, and
navigation, while the appendix is mainly devoted to legal matters.
This true first edition is superlatively rare, as fugitive a piece as the Custis and
Freeman report, similarly issued in Washington without imprint four years later.
Wagner-Camp identified only Yale as having copies of both An Account... and the
Appendix, and at the moment we know of only three other sets of both works in
private hands. Howes did not know of this edition and incorrectly dates the Philadelphia edition as 1800. The present edition is probably Shaw & Shoemaker 5199,
who did not evaluate its primacy. It should be a cornerstone of any collection of
Western Americana.
This copy is inscribed “Mr. Bailey S.U.S.” on the top of the first titlepage and
“1803. Theodorus Bailey’s” on the titlepage of the Appendix. This was Theodorus
Bailey of Fishkill, who was U.S. Senator from New York at the time of issue.
WAGNER-CAMP 2b:1, 2b:1a. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 5199. HOWES L493, “b” (Howes’ de-
scription of this is very incorrect – see Wagner-Camp for the truth).
$25,000.
Jefferson’s Report on the Lewis and Clark
and Sibley-Dunbar Expeditions
35. [ Jefferson, Thomas]: MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT...
COMMUNICATING DISCOVERIES MADE IN EXPLORING
THE MISSOURI, RED RIVER AND WASHITA, BY CAPTAINS
LEWIS AND CLARK, DOCTOR SIBLEY, AND MR. DUNBAR.
WITH A STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF THE COUNTRIES ADJACENT. Washington: A. & G. Way, 1806. 171,[7]pp. plus two folding
tables. Dbd. Near fine. In a half morocco box. Lacks the very rare map.
The first official publication to provide any detailed account of the Lewis and Clark
expedition, and the first work to give any satisfactory account of the southwestern
portion of the Louisiana Purchase. The first section consists of material transmitted
to Jefferson by Lewis, giving information on their route, the Indians, trade, animals
encountered, and the geography. Equally important are the accounts of the southern
explorations. “Two letters by Dr. Sibley...one on the Indian tribes of Texas and the
other an account of the Red River and the adjacent country, seem to be the first
accounts of Texas in book form....Sibley gives a careful account of the language,
characteristics, location, and population of the various Indian tribes in Texas, with
some account of their relations with the Spanish and French. The account of Red
River gives a good idea of the physical characteristics of the country” – Streeter.
This is the Senate issue of the report, dated February 19, 1806. This copy lacks
the folding map, which is terribly rare.
This copy bears the ownership signature at the top of the titlepage of Stephen Row
Bradley. Bradley (1754-1830) graduated from Yale and served in the Continental
Army and in a variety of judicial and political posts in Vermont before becoming
the first U.S. Senator from that state, in 1791. He served in that position until
1795, and again in the U.S. Senate from 1801 to 1813, as a Democratic Republican.
HOWES L319, “dd.” STREETER TEXAS 1038. WAGNER-CAMP 5:1. STREETER SALE 290.
GRAFF 4406. SABIN 40824. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 11633.
$25,000.
The Primary Atlas of the American Revolution
36. Jefferys, Thomas: THE AMERICAN ATLAS: OR, A GEOGRAPH-
ICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE WHOLE CONTINENT OF
AMERICA: WHEREIN ARE DELINEATED AT LARGE, ITS
SEVERAL REGIONS, COUNTRIES, STATES, AND ISLANDS;
AND CHIEFLY THE BRITISH COLONIES.... London: Printed
and sold by R. Sayer and J. Bennett, 1776. Letterpress title and index leaf,
otherwise engraved throughout. Twenty-three engraved maps on thirty-one
sheets (eighteen folding, eleven double-page), all handcolored in outline. Folio.
Contemporary marbled boards and antique-style three-quarter calf, retaining
original backstrip and gilt morocco label. Boards stained. Bookplate on front
pastedown. An occasional light fox mark. Outer corner restored on a few maps,
well outside the plate mark. Very good.
The American Atlas... is the most important 18th-century atlas for America. Walter Ristow describes it as a “geographical description of the whole continent of
America, as portrayed in the best available maps in the latter half of the eighteenth
century...as a major cartographic reference work it was, very likely, consulted by
American, English, and French civilian administrators and military officers during
the Revolution.”
As a collection, The American Atlas stands as the most comprehensive, detailed,
and accurate survey of the American colonies at the beginning of the Revolution.
Among the distinguished maps are Braddock Meade’s “A Map of the Most Inhabited
Parts of New England,” the largest and most detailed map of New England that
had yet been published; a map of “The Provinces of New York and New Jersey” by
Samuel Holland, the surveyor-general for the northern American colonies; William Scull’s “A Map of Pennsylvania,” the first map of that colony to include its
western frontier; Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson’s “A Map of the Most Inhabited
part of Virginia,” the best colonial map for the Chesapeake region; and Lieut. Ross’
“Course of the Mississipi,” the first map of that river based on English sources.
Jefferys was the leading British cartographer of the 18th century. From about
1750 he published a series of maps of the British American colonies, that were
among the most significant produced in the period. As Geographer to the Prince
of Wales, and after 1761 Geographer to the King, Jefferys was well placed to have
access to the best surveys conducted in America, and many of his maps held the
status of “official work.” Jefferys died on Nov. 20, 1771, and in 1775 his successors,
Robert Sayer and John Bennett, gathered these separately issued maps together
and republished them in book form as The American Atlas. The present second
edition, issued in 1776, includes “A new Map of the Province of Quebec” in place
of Jefferys’ “The Middle British Colonies,” and a second issue of Samuel Holland’s
“The Provinces of New York and New Jersey...,” published on Dec. 20, 1775. It is
otherwise identical to the first edition
The maps are as follow, many of them on several sheets, and in the Index each
individual sheet is numbered (the measurements refer to the image sizes):
1) Braddock Meade (alias John Green): “A Chart of North and South America,
including the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.” Published June 10, 1775. Six sheets
joined into three, a total of 43½ x 49½ inches. This great wall map was chiefly
issued to expose the errors in Delisle and Buache’s map of the Pacific Northwest,
published in Paris in 1752.
2) “Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg. The Russian Discoveries.” Published March
2nd 1775. One sheet, 18 x 24 inches.
3) Thomas Pownall after E. Bowen: “A New and Correct Map of North America,
with the West India Islands. Published July 15th 1779.” Four sheets joined into
two, 43 x 47 inches. Thomas Pownall updated Bowen’s North America map of
1755. Pownall’s version includes the results of the first Treaty of Paris drawn
up after the end of the French and Indian War.
4) Thomas Jefferys: “North America from the French of Mr. D’Anville, Improved
with the English Surveys Made since the Peace.” Published June 10, 1775. One
sheet, 18 x 20 inches.
5) Samuel Dunn: “A Map of the British Empire in North America.” Published
August 17, 1776. Half sheet, 12 x 19 inches. This updates Dunn’s map of 1774.
6) Thomas Jefferys: “An Exact Chart of the River St. Laurence from Fort Frontenac
to the Island of Anticosti....” Published May 25, 1775. Two sheets joined into
one, 23½ x 37 inches.
7) Sayer and Bennett: “A Chart of the Gulf of St. Laurence....” Published March 25,
1775. One sheet, 19½ x 24 inches.
8) “A Map of the Island of St. John in the Gulf of St. Laurence....” Published April
6, 1775. One sheet, 15 x 27¼ inches.
9) James Cook and Michael Lane: “A General Chart of the Island of Newfoundland....” Published May 10, 1775. One sheet, 21½ x 22 inches. James Cook went
on to gain renown for his Pacific exploration.
10) “A Chart of the Banks of Newfoundland....” Published March 25, 1775. One
sheet, 19½ x 26 inches. Based on the surveys of James Cook (see above), Chabert, and Fleurieu.
11) Braddock Meade (alias John Green): “A New Map of Nova Scotia and Cape
Breton Island with the Adjacent Parts of New England and Canada....” Published
June 15, 1775. One sheet, 18½ x 24 inches. Originally published in 1755, at the
beginning of the French and Indian War, this map “proved to be an important
documenting in evaluating respective French and English claims to this part of
North America” (Ristow). England gained sole possession of the region by the
Treaty of Paris, 1763.
12) Braddock Meade (alias John Green): “A Map of the Most Inhabited Part of
New England.” Published November 29, 1774. Four sheets joined into two, 38¾
x 40 ¾ inches. The first large-scale map of New England. “The most detailed
and informative pre-Revolutionary map of New England...not really supplanted
until the nineteenth century” – New England Prospect 13.
13) Capt. [Samuel] Holland: “The Provinces of New York and New Jersey, with
Part of Pensilvania....” Published August 17, 1776. Two insets: “A plan of the City
of New York” and “A chart of the Mouth of Hudson’s River.” Two sheets joined,
26½ x 52¾ inches. An important large-scale map of the Provinces of New York
and New Jersey, by Samuel Holland, surveyor general for the northern British
colonies. With fine insets including a street plan of colonial New York City.
14) William Brassier: “A Survey of Lake Champlain, including Lake George, Crown
Point and St. John.” Published August 5, 1776. One inset: “A Particular Plan of Lake
George. Surveyed in 1756 by Capt. Jackson.” Two sheets joined into one, 26 x 18¾
inches. This is the second state of Brassier’s terribly important and magnificently
detailed map of Lake Champlain. In our experience it is the first state that is
included in the 1776 edition of Jefferys atlas. This second state illustrates the
very first battle fought by the U.S. Navy – the Battle of Valcour Island, which
transpired near present-day Plattsburgh, New York on October 13, 1775.
15) “A New Map of the Province of Quebec, according to the Royal Proclamation, of
the 7th of October 1763, from the French Surveys Connected with those made
after the War, by Captain Carver, and Other Officers....” Published February 16,
1776. One sheet, 19¼ x 26¼ inches.
16) William Scull: “A Map of Pennsylvania Exhibiting not only the Improved Parts
of the Province but also its Extensive Frontiers.” Published June 10, 1775. Two
sheets joined, 27 x 51½ inches. The first map of the Province of Pennsylvania to
include its western frontier. All earlier maps had focused solely on the settled
eastern parts of the colony.
17) Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson: “A Map of the Most Inhabited Part of Virginia,
containing the Whole Province of Maryland...1775.” [nd]. Four sheets joined
into two, 32 x 48 inches. “The basic cartographical document of Virginia in the
eighteenth century...the first to depict accurately the interior regions of Virginia
beyond the Tidewater. [It] dominated the cartographical representation of Virginia until the nineteenth century” – Verner.
18) Henry Mouzon: “An Accurate Map of North and South Carolina with their
Indian Frontiers.” Published May 30, 1775. Four sheets joined into two, 40 x 54
inches. First sheet [numbered 23], second sheet [numbered 24]. “The chief type
map for [the Carolinas] during the forty or fifty years following its publication.
It was used by both British and American forces during the Revolutionary War”
– Cumming 450.
19) Thomas Jefferys: “The Coast of West Florida and Louisiana...The Peninsula and
Gulf of Florida. Published 20 Feby. 1775.” T wo sheets joined into one, 19½ x 48
inches. A large-scale map of Florida, based upon the extensive surveys conducted
since the region became an English possession by the Treaty of Paris, 1763.
20) Lieut. Ross: “Course of the Mississipi...Taken on an Expedition to the Illinois,
in the latter end of the Year 1765.” Published June 1, 1775. Two sheet joined into
one, 14 x 44 inches. The first large-scale map of the Mississippi River, and the
first based in whole or part upon British surveys.
21) Thomas Jefferys: “The Bay of Honduras.” Published February 20, 1775. One
sheet, 18½ x 24½ inches.
22) J.B.B. D’Anville: “A Map of South America....” Published September 20, 1775.
Four sheets joined into two, 20 x 46 inches.
23) Cruz Cano [etc]: “A Chart of the Straits of Magellan.” Published July 1, 1775.
One sheet, 20½ x 27 inches.
PHILLIPS ATLASES 1166, 1165 (refs). HOWES J81, “b.” SABIN 35953. STREETER SALE 72
(1775 ed). Walter Ristow [ed], FACSIMILE ATLAS. THOMAS JEFFERYS The American Atlas
LONDON 1776 (Amsterdam, 1974) (ref ). HILL 882.
$155,000.
A Key Overland Guide
37. Johnson, Overton, and William H. Winter: ROUTE ACROSS THE
ROCKY MOUNTAINS, WITH A DESCRIPTION OF OREGON
AND CALIFORNIA; THEIR GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES,
THEIR RESOURCES, SOIL, CLIMATE, PRODUCTIONS....
Lafayette, In. 1846. 152pp. Original plain boards, cloth spine. Front hinge
cracked; spine and boards soiled and worn. Light foxing. Good, in original unsophisticated condition. In a half morocco and cloth clamshell case, spine gilt.
One of the earliest and rarest of overland guide books to the Oregon Trail, chronologically the second such guide, preceded only by the Hastings guide of 1845. The
authors went overland to Oregon in 1843. Winter went to California the following year, then returned to Indiana, where he arranged to publish this guidebook
in time for the 1846 emigrant season. The guide provides a detailed account of
the 1843 trip, a long description of Oregon, Winter’s route to California, the Bear
Flag movement, gold at Santa Barbara, and of northern California. The return
route from California is also described, and there is a table of distances in the rear.
Winter eventually settled in the Napa-Sonoma area.
A rarity, afforded a “d” by Howes. A key guide and important work of Western
Americana.
GRAFF 2221. HOWES J142, “d.” SABIN 36260. STREETER SALE 3145. WAGNER-CAMP
122. COWAN I, p.315.
$20,000.
The Earliest Work on New England Natural History
38. Josselyn, John: NEW-ENGLANDS RARITIES DISCOVERED:
IN BIRDS, BEASTS, FISHES, SERPENTS, AND PLANTS OF
THAT COUNTRY.... London. 1672. [4],102,[16]pp. Folding plate woodcut of “Hollow leav’d Lavender” and eleven in-text woodcuts, some full-page.
16mo. Handsomely bound in antique-style paneled calf, tooled and with gilt
ornaments, spine gilt. A few neat, early ink notes. Trimmed a bit close in
upper margin, but not affecting running titles. Near fine.
One of the first extensive descriptions of the natural history of New England,
containing the first woodcuts of native plants of the area to appear. Josselyn came
to New England in 1638, for a year, visiting again from 1663 to 1671. After his
second return he published this account of the animals and plants of the country,
as well as herbal remedies. The work is divided into six parts: birds, beasts, fish,
serpents and insects, plants (the longest section), and minerals. Included are descriptions of the black bear, beaver, the rattlesnake, the sperm whale, the turkey,
and much more. The section on plants discusses scores of specimens and relates
their curative powers.
The final four pages of the regular text contain a description of an Indian squaw,
as well as a poem about her. The final sixteen pages, often lacking, are “A Chronological table of the most remarkable passages, in that part of America, known to
us by the name New-England.” This traces the history of New England from the
voyages of Cabot, but is mostly devoted to New England from the founding of
Plymouth. The folding plate of the lavender plant, often lacking, is present here.
A foundation work of early American natural history.
CHURCH 618. JCB (3)III:241. MEISEL III:333. SABIN 36674. PEQUOT 389. WING J1093.
VAIL 160. HOWES J255, “b.” EUROPEAN AMERICANA 672/156. CLEVELAND BOTANICAL
$25,000.
COLLECTIONS 247.
The Rare English Edition
39. Joutel, Henri: A JOURNAL OF THE LAST VOYAGE PERFORM’D
BY MONSR. DE LA SALE, TO THE GULPH OF MEXICO TO
FIND OUT THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISIPI RIVER.... London:
Printed for A. Bell, et al, 1714. [2],xxi,[9],205,[5]pp. plus folding map. Contemporary paneled calf, expertly rebacked with original backstrip preserved.
Armorial bookplate. Map clean and bright. Fine.
The first translation into English of the version of Joutel’s narrative edited by De
Michel, originally published in Paris the previous year, including the account of La
Salle’s Texas colony and the return of the remainder of his party to Canada via the
Mississippi and Arkansas rivers. Of the three major narratives of the journey, this
record, by La Salle’s closest subordinate, is the most valuable. The party embarked
in 1684, ostensibly to establish a French base at the mouth of the Mississippi as a
headquarters for operations, but also to push as far as possible into the region in
order to gain a foothold against the Spanish. In fact, through a conscious deceit,
the base was established at Espiritu Santo Bay, in Texas, from whence the party
spent two years making excursions into the surrounding territory. When promised
reinforcements failed to appear, La Salle and his men determined to return to Canada
via the Mississippi; however, one of the company assassinated La Salle when they
reached the Trinity River, and the party split up. Some of the survivors, including
Joutel, pressed on, reaching Canada by way of the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers.
Joutel’s account is highlighted by the splendid map based on his own observations.
This is the first map showing the results of La Salle’s journeys, and for its era it
gives very accurate delineations of the course of the Mississippi from its northern
headwaters to its mouth, and of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence, complete
with a beautiful engraved vignette of Niagara Falls. Joutel’s Journal... is one of the
major works of the period on the region, and “of the three narratives of this journey,
those of Joutel, Cavelier, and Douay, the first is by far the best” (Francis Parkman).
HOWES J266, “b.” SABIN 36762. WAGNER SPANISH SOUTHWEST 79a. CHURCH 859.
RAINES, pp.130-31. GREENLY, MICHIGAN, pp.20-21. HARRISSE NOUVELLE FRANCE 750.
EUROPEAN AMERICANA 714/70. CLARK 1:14. GRAFF 2252. JONES 399. STREETER SALE
$17,500.
112.
Classic of American Travel and Natural History
40. Kalm, Peter: TRAVELS INTO NORTH AMERICA. CONTAIN-
ING ITS NATURAL HISTORY, AND A CIRCUMSTANTIAL
ACCOUNT OF ITS PLANTATIONS AND AGRICULTURE IN
GENERAL...THE CIVIL, ECCLESIASTICAL AND COMMERCIAL STATE OF THE COUNTRY. Warrington. 1770-1771. Three
volumes. xvi,400,[1]; [10],[3]-352; viii,310,[14]pp. plus folding map and six
plates. Original blue paper boards, paper spines and labels renewed. Corners
lightly worn. Bookplate on front fly leaf of first volume. Internally clean. Near
fine, in original condition. Untrimmed. In green cloth chemises.
The first English edition, translated by John Reinhold Forster, after the original
Swedish edition published in Stockholm in 1753-61. Kalm was in America in
1748-49, using Philadelphia as his base of operations. Much of the first volume
is devoted to his observations on the country around that city; much of the second
volume relates to his sojourn in the Swedish settlements in southern New Jersey;
and the remaining volume concerns his journey north through New York to Montreal and Quebec, and his experiences there in 1749. “One of the most reliable
18th-century accounts of American natural history, social organization, and political
situation. Kalm gives an especially important account of the American Swedish
settlements” – Streeter.
This is also an important work of natural history and botany. Kalm was a
student of Linnaeus, and he gathered impressive collections during his American
travels. He was also a close friend of American naturalist John Bartram, and travelled with him into New York State. The text is accompanied by an excellent and
large map, “A New and Accurate Map of Part of North America...,” which shows
the northeastern section of North America from Virginia north and west to Ohio.
A beautiful copy of this work, in original boards.
HOWES K5, “b.” STREETER SALE 823. SABIN 36989. Coats, The Plant Hunters, pp.277-79.
LARSON 329. LANDE 482. TPL 214. MEISEL III, p.346. TAXONOMIC LITERATURE 3493.
$10,000.
A Major Western Rarity of the Oregon Country
41. Kelley, Hall J.: A GEOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THAT PART
OF NORTH AMERICA, CALLED OREGON: CONTAINING
AN ACCOUNT OF THE INDIAN TITLE; – THE NATURE OF
A RIGHT OF SOVEREIGNTY...TO WHICH IS ATTACHED A
NEW MAP OF THE COUNTRY. Boston: Printed and published by
J. Howe, 1830. 80pp., plus folding frontispiece map. Dbd. Old institutional
stamp on titlepage. Scattered light foxing. Very good, with the map in lovely
condition. In a half morocco box.
A rare, important, and early call for American colonization of Oregon by Hall Kelley,
who was at the forefront of the movement. Kelley became interested in developing
American settlements west of the Rocky Mountains in the 1810s, and this is his first
(and rarest) tract in support of that goal. The text describes the climate, geography,
soils, Indians, mineral wealth, and flora and fauna of the Oregon territory. Kelley
asserts the right to American sovereignty over the region, especially vis a vis British claims, referring often to the explorations of Lewis and Clark, from which he
drew early inspiration. The attractive map was drawn by Kelley, and shows a large
expanse of the Pacific Northwest, with many capes, rivers, and lakes identified.
Peter Decker’s catalogue of the Soliday collection calls Hall Kelley’s tract an
“exceedingly rare classic of Oregon history, with the first engraved map of Oregon.”
“One of the rarest and most important books relating to Oregon and the West. It
is also a very valuable Indian item, containing material about the Indians in the far
West not to be found in any other source” – Rosenbach. Kelley’s work is quite rare
on the market: since the Streeter copy was sold in 1969, we have been able to trace
only two other copies at auction. A cornerstone work in 19th-century American
emigration to the Pacific coast.
HOWES K44, “c.” WAGNER-CAMP 40a:1. GRAFF 2287. STREETER SALE 3343. SOLIDAY
678. SMITH 5430. SABIN 37261. AMERICAN IMPRINTS 2096. ROSENBACH 5:183.
$18,500.
In Original Wrappers
42. King, Charles: THE FIFTH CAVALRY IN THE SIOUX WAR OF
1876. CAMPAIGNING WITH CROOK. Milwaukee, Wi.: Printed by
the Sentinel Company, 1880. [8],133,[1]pp. Original printed wrappers. Spine
slightly chipped, minute wear to edges, wrappers a bit browned. Contemporary ownership signature on front and rear wrappers. Internally quite clean.
Overall an excellent copy of this rare western classic. In a half morocco and
cloth clamshell box.
This is the rare first edition, of which King states in the preface of the 1890 reprint: “Only enough copies were printed to reach the few comrades who rode the
grim circuit of the ‘Bad Lands’ in that eventful year, and the edition was long ago
exhausted.” King was first lieutenant of the Fifth Cavalry, and served through the
Big Horn and Yellowstone Expedition of 1876. His journal of the expedition is one
of the most interesting narratives of Indian warfare in the Wyoming and Dakota
country ever published. The company left Laramie on June 22 for the purpose of
cutting off the Indians on the South Cheyenne line. On July 7 a courier reached
them with news of the annihilation of Gen. Custer and his favorite companies
of the Seventh Cavalry. The Fifth, with nothing but the clothes they wore and
without supply wagons, started in pursuit of the Indians, trailing and fighting them
through nearly a thousand miles of country in a period of ten weeks, halting only
at the head of the Heart River, when the last ration was gone.
The ownership signature on the rear wrapper appears to be that of J. Hayden
Pardee, dated “Fort Reno, I.T. [Indian Territory] 1880.” Pardee of the 23rd Infantry
served during the Crook Campaign, and his name is underlined on the roster page.
HOWES K147, “b.” GRAFF 2327. JONES 1607. STREETER SALE 1826. JENNEWEIN 63.
$11,500.
The Streeter Copy
43. Kotzebue, Otto von: ENTDECKUNGS-REISE IN DIE SÜD-SEE
UND NACH DER BERINGS-STRASSE ZUR ERFORSCHUNG
EINER NORDÖSTLICHEN DURCHFAHRT. UNTERNOMMEN
IN DEN JAHREN 1815, 1816, 1817, UND 1818. Weimar: Gebrüder
Hoffmann, 1821. Three volumes bound in one. 18pp. subscribers list. Six engraved maps (five folding); twenty aquatint plates (nineteen handcolored, four
folding) after Ludovik Choris, Eschscholtz, and others; two folding letterpress
tables. Quarto. Modern paper-backed blue boards. Text uncut. Very good.
Thomas W. Streeter’s copy of the first edition, colored issue of Kotzebue’s important
second Russian circumnavigation: a cornerstone work of Pacific exploration with
important descriptions of Hawaii, California, and Alaska.
Kotzebue’s expedition in the ship Rurick, sponsored by Count Romanzoff, sailed
from Kronstadt at the end of July 1815, rounded Cape Horn and visited Chile,
Easter Island, the Marshall Islands, Hawaii, and the North American coast, making an unsuccessful search for a northwest passage. The return was made via New
Archangel, California, Hawaii, Marianas, Philippines, and St. Helena.
This famous narrative is particularly important for its descriptions of Alaska
and California (including the first scientific account of the California state flower,
the Golden Poppy). Kotzebue describes the missions in California, and the work is
considered one of the most important early accounts of that state. The work is of
great importance in the early exploration of Alaska. “Rich in early original source
material on Alaska...Kotzebue belonged to that group of outstanding Russian naval
officers of the first half of the nineteenth century, which included Kruzenshtern,
Golovnin, Lisianskii, Sarychev, and others...” – Lada-Mocarski. “It was on this
voyage that Kotzebue discovered Kotzebue Sound in Alaska, thinking for a time
as he sailed east that he had found the long sought north-east passage” – Streeter.
The Hawaiian portion is extensive and contains important observations on life
and customs during the reign of Kamehameha I, whose famous “red vest” portrait
by Choris is one of the illustrations. The account of Albert von Chamisso, the
expedition naturalist, includes important information about flora and fauna, as
well as the Indians and the work of the missionaries. There is also a comparative
vocabulary table for the languages of some of the islanders. As a record of historical import, and as a collection of significant maps and beautiful plates, this work
is one of the prime desiderata of Pacific voyages.
Three distinct issues of the first edition were published: eighty-eight copies
were produced on very fine “Velin papier” with the plates handcolored (issue A);
an issue on regular handmade laid paper, of which a limited number of copies have
colored plates (issue B); and an issue on laid paper with the portrait plates colored,
but the folding plates in sepia aquatint (issue C). The present copy of the work is
a fine example of the second issue with the plates handcolored.
This fine copy of Kotzebue appeared at auction in part six of the famed sale of
the Thomas W. Streeter collection, realizing $550 in 1969.
BORBA DE MORAES, p.438. BRUNET III:693. FORBES HAWAII 525. HILL 943. HOWES
K258, “b.” KROEPELIEN 670. LADA-MOCARSKI 80. LIPPERHEIDE LA 7. SABIN 38284.
STREETER SALE VI:3511 (this copy). COWAN, p.334. ZAMORANO 80, 48.
$17,500.
French Scientific Survey of Louisiana, 1720
44. Laval, Antoine F. de: VOYAGE DE LA LOUISIANE, FAIT PAR
ORDRE DU ROY EN L’ANNEE MIL SEPT CENT VIGNT.... Paris: Chez Jean Mariette..., 1728. xxiv,304,96,191,[9]pp. plus twenty maps and
charts (some folding), and eleven tables (mostly folding). Quarto. Contemporary calf, spine gilt, raised bands; expertly rebacked, with original backstrip
laid down and corners repaired. Old ownership inscription on titlepage, old
library stamp on verso of titlepage. Overall, very good.
This large and impressive book was a product of the first detailed survey made of
Louisiana by the French government, in the course of a scientific expedition under
the command of Vallette Laudun in 1720, three years after the founding of New
Orleans and at the height of enthusiasm over John Law’s Mississippi Company.
Despite considerably reduced expectations for Louisiana by 1728, the survey still
achieved this handsome publication.
Laval, the author, was “Professeur Royal de Mathematiques.” The book “describes at great length the physical geography of the French dominions in Louisiana
and the Mississippi Valley, with particular reference to the ports of New Orleans,
Pensacola, and others” – Clark. The excellent maps are the most accurate cartographical renderings of the Gulf Coast produced to that time. The expedition also
visited Martinique and Haiti, and some of the maps and text relate to those colonies.
A quite rare work, seldom met with, and one of the first major publications
relating to Louisiana.
HOWES L147, “b.” SERVIES, FLORIDA 302. CLARK I:114. BELL L113. SABIN 39276.
STREETER SALE 1178.
$10,000.
Foundation Work of American Natural History
45. Lawson, John: THE HISTORY OF CAROLINA; CONTAINING
THE EXACT DESCRIPTION AND NATURAL HISTORY OF
THAT COUNTRY: TOGETHER WITH THE PRESENT STATE
THEREOF. AND A JOURNAL OF A THOUSAND MILES,
TRAVEL’D THRO’ SEVERAL NATIONS OF INDIANS. GIVING
A PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THEIR CUSTOMS, MANNERS,
&c. London: Printed for W. Taylor...and J. Baker, 1714. [6],258,[1]pp. plus
plate and folding frontispiece map. Small quarto. Late 19th-century red morocco by Bedford, boards gilt-stamped in corners, spine richly gilt, a.e.g. Joints
neatly and unobtrusively repaired. Map with a repaired two-inch closed tear
near the gutter, with no loss and not affecting the cartography. Very clean
internally. A handsome copy.
One of the foundation works of American natural history and southern travel,
identical in every respect to the first edition of 1709, except for the cancel titlepage,
which gives a different title and date.
Lawson came to South Carolina in 1700 and made a thousand-mile trek into
the interior of South and North Carolina, visiting the Indian tribes there and supplying one of the only real accounts of them in this period. A narrative of this trip
makes up the first part of the book, while the second provides a detailed account
of the natural history of the country and the animals found there. The third part
of the work is mainly an account of the Indians of the country. Finally, the book
prints the Charter of Carolina granted by Charles II, and an abstract of the Constitution written by Locke. Lawson became involved in land promotion and was
made surveyor-general of North Carolina. During a survey in 1711 he was taken
captive and burned at the stake by the Tuscarora Indians.
CLARK I:115. HOWES L155, “b.” MEISEL III, p.338. CUMMING 150. STREETER SALE
1114. SABIN 39451. FIELD 897. VAIL 319. PILLING, PROOF-SHEETS 2225. PILLING, ALGONQUIAN, p.301. AYER, INDIAN LINGUISTICS (TUSCARORA) 2.
$37,500.
Ledyard’s Rare Account of Cook’s Third Voyage
46. Ledyard, John: A JOURNAL OF CAPTAIN COOK’S LAST VOY-
AGE TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, AND IN QUEST OF THE
NORTHWEST PASSAGE, BETWEEN ASIA & AMERICA; PERFORMED IN THE YEARS 1776, 1777, 1778, AND 1779.... Hartford.
1783. 208pp. 12mo. Contemporary calf. Boards worn (leather on lower board
loose but holding), corners abraded, outer joints worn. Later ink inscriptions
on front pastedown. Titlepage soiled and worn. Moderately age-toned, soiled,
and dampstained. Lacking the very rare map (as is virtually always the case).
A good copy. In a half morocco and cloth box.
“This is not only the first American book on the Northwest Coast, but also the
first American book on Hawaii...” – Streeter. Ledyard sailed as a corporal of Royal
Marines on Cook’s last voyage, and was on board ship when Cook met his death
on Hawaii. A native of Connecticut, he was with Cook during the first part of the
American Revolution and in England until 1782. Assigned to the North American station, he deserted and returned to Hartford, where this account (evidently
intermixed with the 1781 narrative of John Rickman, probably by an unidentified
editor) was published in 1783. One of the rarest of subsidiary accounts of Cook’s
voyage, and a book of the greatest interest in the history of the Northwest Coast
and its exploration.
HOWES L181, “d.” STREETER SALE 3477. EVANS 17998. SABIN 39691. WICKERSHAM
6556. LADA-MOCARSKI 36. FORBES HAWAII 52.
$25,000.
One of Two Known Complete Copies
47. Lewis, James Otto: THE ABORIGINAL PORT FOLIO, OR A
COLLECTION OF PORTRAITS OF THE MOST CELEBRATED
CHIEFS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. Philadelphia:
Published by J.O. Lewis [1835]-1836-1838. 1p. letterpress “Advertisement to
the First Number” (verso blank); 1p. letterpress “Advertisement to the Second
Number” (verso blank); 1p. letterpress “Advertisement to the Third Number”
(verso blank). Lithographic title with handcolored vignette, eighty handcolored
lithographic plates. Folio. Fine contemporary American red morocco, gilt,
expertly rebacked. Very good.
A legendary rarity: this is only the second complete copy to come on the market
in the past thirty years. This copy includes a title, all three “advertisement” leaves,
and the complete complement of eighty plates.
The Aboriginal Port Folio was published in Philadelphia by lithographers George
Lehman and Peter S. Duval. It was issued in ten parts, with each part containing
eight plates. Given the size of the undertaking the first nine parts were issued
remarkably quickly, and appeared monthly between May 1835 and January 1836.
The reason for this haste was probably that Lewis was aware that the imminent
appearance of the first part of McKenney and Hall’s History of the Indian Tribes of
North America would adversely affect his subscriber numbers. The evidence of the
surviving copies suggests that his fears were well-founded, as there are a number of
sets made up from eight parts (with sixty-four plates), but very few with nine parts
(seventy-two plates), and ten-part sets with the full complement of a frontispiece/
title-leaf and eighty plates are virtually never found: only the Siebert copy is listed
as having sold at auction in the past twenty-five years, and there are only about
a half dozen or so other recorded sets (the present set and the Siebert set are the
only two examples to include the titlepage).
The explanation for the enormous drop-off in numbers between the ninth and
tenth parts is almost certainly the two years that passed between the appearance of
these two final parts. William Reese writes:
There are a number of reasons to believe that...[the tenth] part was issued
significantly later, probably not until 1838. The first, purely circumstantial,
is that Lewis would not have lost all of his subscribers overnight. If he had
gotten the last part out in February of 1836, before McKenney and Hall got
past their first part, we would have more complete copies than the half dozen
or so sets which survive. Secondly, the eight plates in the last part contain five
based on Lewis portraits, with the lithography credited to Lehman and Duval.
But there are three plates by other artists, “Interior of a Sioux lodge” by Peter
Rindisbacher, “Buffalo Hunt on the River Plate” by Titian Peale, and “Abraham
Quarry, the last of the Nantucket Tribe aged 64” by Jerome Thompson. These
plates were credited to Peter Duval alone as lithographer, suggesting they were
executed after the dissolution of this partnership with Lehman....Third, we have
evidence of the...titlepage....It reads, “The Aboriginal Port Folio...Published
1836-38 by J.O. Lewis.” Since the surviving wrappers for the tenth part are all
undated, it is the only direct evidence that the tenth part was not issued until
1838. Of course, it could be objected that eight parts were issued in 1835, not
1836, and so the accuracy of the dates on the title is questionable; but given
other factors, I would argue for 1838 as the date of issue for the last part. This
gap of two years would account for the extraordinary rarity of complete sets,
for most subscribers would have long since given up waiting.
James O. Lewis was born in Philadelphia in 1799, moved west as a teenager, and
had become an engraver and painter by the time he was living in St. Louis in 1820.
In 1823 he moved to Detroit, and painted the first of his Indian portraits at the
request of Governor Lewis Cass of Michigan. He accompanied Cass on four Indian
treaty expeditions in the Great Lakes region in 1825-27 and painted Indians during the course of each. Virtually all of the originals of the images published here
were executed by Lewis in this period. Subsequently, many of the Lewis portraits
were copied by Charles Bird King, and some appeared in the King versions in the
McKenney and Hall portfolio. All of the Lewis originals were destroyed in the
Smithsonian fire of 1865.
BENNETT, p.68. EBERSTADT 131:418. FIELD 936. HOWES L315, “c.” SABIN 40812. REESE,
STAMPED WITH A NATIONAL CHARACTER 23.
$450,000.
The Great Landmark of Western Exploration:
First British Edition
48. Lewis, Meriwether, and William Clark: TRAVELS TO THE
SOURCE OF THE MISSOURI RIVER AND ACROSS THE
AMERICAN CONTINENT TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN. PERFORMED BY ORDER OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, IN THE YEARS 1804, 1805, AND 1806. BY CAPTAINS LEWIS AND CLARKE [sic]. PUBLISHED FROM THE
OFFICIAL REPORT. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown,
1814. xxiv,663pp. plus large folding engraved map, and five engraved plans
on three plates. 1p. publishers’ advertisements at rear. Quarto. Contemporary
calf-backed marbled boards, spine gilt, leather label stamped in gilt. Plain wove
endpapers watermarked 1823. Very good. Lacks the half title.
First British edition of the “definitive account of the most important exploration
of the North American continent” (Wagner-Camp). The book describes the U.S.
government-backed expedition to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase
undertaken from 1804 to 1806 by ascending the Missouri to its source, crossing
the Rocky Mountains, and reaching the Pacific Ocean. In total, the expedition
covered some eight thousand miles in slightly more than twenty-eight months. They
brought back the first reliable information about much of the area they traversed,
made contact with the Indian inhabitants as a prelude to the expansion of the fur
trade, and advanced by a quantum leap the geographical knowledge of the continent.
The narrative was first published in Philadelphia in two octavo volumes in the
same year as the present edition, and it has been reprinted many times since and
indeed remains a perennial American bestseller. The large folding map of the
West (by Neele after the Philadelphia edition map) recalls an extraordinary feat of
cartography, accurately revealing much of the trans-Mississippi for the first time.
Wheat notes that the map is almost identical to the Philadelphia version “except
for a few minor variations.” The observations in the text make it an essential work
of American natural history, ethnography, and science, and it forms a worthy record
of the first great U.S. government expedition.
Copies of Lewis and Clark have become increasingly difficult to find, especially
as Stephen Ambrose’s excellent book, the Ken Burns documentary, and the expedition’s bicentennial have further widened the already broad appeal of the book.
FIELD 929. GRAFF 2480. HILL 1018. HOWES L317, “b.” LITERATURE OF THE LEWIS
AND CLARK EXPEDITION 5A.2. SABIN 40829. STREETER SALE 3128. WAGNER-CAMP
13:2. WHEAT TRANSMISSISSIPPI 317.
$27,500.
A Rare Voyage, with Color Plates of Alaska
49. Lisiansky, Urey: A VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, IN THE
YEARS 1803, 4, 5, & 6; PERFORMED, BY ORDER OF HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY ALEXANDER THE FIRST, EMPEROR OF
RUSSIA, IN THE SHIP NEVA. London. 1814. [2],xxi,[1],388pp. plus
eight colored maps or charts (three folding), and six plates (two of them
aquatint views) including frontispiece portrait. Lacks the Appendix half title
(which would be p.321). List of officers bound out of order. Quarto. Modern
three-quarter calf and cloth, spine gilt. Portrait lightly foxed. Titlepage and
dedication leaf backed by paper; three folding maps backed by linen. A few
leaves with minor marginal repairs; leaves B3 (pages xiii and xiv) and 3D2
(pages 387-388) extensively repaired, but with no loss of text. Very good and
untrimmed, with bookplate or Sir James Campbell of Ardkinglass on front
pastedown.
The first English edition of this very important narrative, which includes an account of Russian expansion into Alaska. Lisianski left the Krusenstern expedition
when it reached Hawaii in 1804 and sailed aboard the Neva to Kodiak, where he
corroborated reports that Indians had demolished the settlement at Sitka. He
then went to Baranov where he took a new hill, naming it New Archangel. After
spending over a year at both Kodiak and Sitka (comprising one hundred pages of
the narrative), he set sail for China, but hit a reef en route, leading to his discovery
of the Hawaiian island which now bears his name. The portion of the narrative
which Lisianski devotes to Hawaii is more extensive than that of Krusenstern,
and his account of the Marquesas is also different. The final part of the account
consists of a detailed description of time spent in Canton. Appendix 3 contains a
“Vocabulary of the Languages of the Islands of Cadiack and Oonalaschca....” The
colored charts show islands and harbors of the Alaska coast, most notably the “Island
of Cadiack” and “Sitka or Norfolk Sound,” as well as a world map. The handsome
aquatint views depict “Harbour of St. Paul in the Island of Cadiack” and “Harbour
of New Archangel in Sitca of Norfolk Sound.”
A rare work on Alaska and the Pacific. The last copy at auction, the Frank
Streeter copy, sold for $42,000.
HOWES L372, “b.” LADA-MOCARSKI 68 (1812 ed: “very important and rare”). WICKERSHAM
6261. HILL 1026. FORBES HAWAII 443. STREETER SALE 3507. PILLING, PROOF-SHEETS
2294. SABIN 41416. ABBEY 4. GRAFF 2506. KROEPELIEN 740. O’REILLY & REITMAN 739.
$25,000.
JUDD 110.
With an Interesting Map
50. [Louisiana]: HISTORISCHE UND GEOGRAPHISCHE BESCH-
REIBUNG DES AN DEM GROSSEN FLUSSE MISSISSIPPI...
GELENGEN HERRLICHEN LANDES LOUISIANA.... Leipzig.
1720. [6],84pp. plus folding map. Modern antique paneled calf, gilt. Faint
stain in upper margin of text, moderate age toning. A very good copy.
The rare first edition of Historische und Geographische Beschreibung, designed to
further the schemes of John Law and the Mississippi Company, riding the crest of
the South Sea Bubble before the crash of that scheme the following year. This is
the first of three editions published in 1720, with the later two entitled Aufsfurliche
Beschreibung. The present copy does not contain the portrait called for by Sabin
and Howes which is present in the copies at Yale, UCLA, and the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, but which is not mentioned in European Americana, and the
copies at Trinity College and the William Clements Library appear to be complete
without it. The map, “Louissana am Fluss Missisippi,” provides a slightly foreshortened cartographic view of the watershed of the Mississippi from around the
Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico. Natchez and other French outposts up the
Mississippi are shown, as well as New Orleans and other settlements on the lower
river. The Illinois River and the French fort on it in what is now central Illinois
are also shown. It is an interesting and significant map.
The book is a general collection of material about Louisiana, drawn from Hennepin and from the promotional claims of the Mississippi Company. It paints a rosy
picture of the prospects for and future of Louisiana and the venture there. The text
concludes with a poem concerning the Mississippi Company. All editions are rare.
SABIN 32104. HOWES H520, “b.” EUROPEAN AMERICANA 720/122.
$12,500.
The Best Work on the French and Indian War
51. Mante, T homas: THE HISTORY OF THE LATE WAR IN
NORTH-AMERICA, AND THE ISLANDS OF THE WEST-INDIES, INCLUDING THE CAMPAIGNS OF MDCCLXIII AND
MDCCLXIV AGAINST HIS MAJESTY’S ENEMIES. London: Printed for W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1772. [4],viii,542pp. plus errata and eighteen
folding engraved maps. Large quarto. 20th-century red morocco, richly gilt,
t.e.g., gilt inner dentelles, by Worsford. Some light shelf wear. Light scattered
foxing to contents. Some maps reinforced or repaired discreetly with linen in
gutter margin. Very good.
The best contemporary account of the French and Indian War, justly celebrated for
its cartography and textual content, and one of the great rarities of colonial Americana, complete with all maps and the elusive errata leaf. Virtually all of Mante’s
account relates to the war in North America, with detailed narratives of Braddock’s
campaign and the other frontier and Canadian campaigns of the conflict. The
work is particularly desirable for its contemporary descriptions of Pontiac’s War, a
campaign in which the author participated as major of brigade to Colonel Dudley
Bradstreet. In addition, the introduction includes an interesting account of young
George Washington’s escape in 1753 from assassination by an Indian who acted as
his interpreter and guide. Mante evidently took great care to gather information
that was both historically and cartographically accurate for the present work.
The maps are praised by all bibliographers as being by far the best relating to
the war, and include several seminal maps which are the most accurate produced
to that time. They comprise:
1) “Fort Beau Sejour, & the adjacent Country Taken Possession of by Colonel
Monckton”
2) “Lake Ontario to the Mouth of the River St. Lawrence”
3) [Map of Lake George and vicinity]
4) “A Plan of Fort Edward & Its Environs on Hudsons River”
5) “Communication Between Albany & Oswego”
6) “Attack on Louisbourg” [by Amherst & Boscawen]
7) “The Attack of Ticonderoga” [by Major General Abercromby]
8) “Plan of Fort Pitt or Pittsbourg”
9) “Guadaloupe”
10) “Attack on Quebec” [by Wolfe & Saunders]
11) “A Sketch of the Cherokee Country”
12) “The River Saint Lawrence from Lake Ontario to the Island of Montreal”
13) “A Plan of the Attack upon Fort Levi”
14) “River St. Lawrence from Montreal to the Island of St. Barnaby...& the Islands
of Jeremy”
15) “A View of the Coast of Martinico Taken by Desire of Rear Adml Rodney”
16) “Part, of the West Coast, of the Island of Saint Lucia”
17) “Plan of the Retaking Newfoundland” [by Colville & Amherst]
18) “Attack of the Havanna” [by Albemarle & Pococke]
Sabin writes of this great rarity: “Copies with all the maps are scarce. It is probable that but few were printed, though the large and beautiful plans and military
maps (which gave it so great a value), must have made its production a work of
much expense.”
CHURCH 1092. HOWES M267, “c.” STREETER SALE 1031. FIELD 1003. SABIN 44396.
$80,000.
One of the Most Famous Classics of Colonial Indian Warfare
52. Mason, John: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PEQUOT WAR: ES-
PECIALLY OF THE MEMORABLE TAKING OF THEIR FORT
AT MISTICK IN CONNECTICUT IN 1637...WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND SOME EXPLANATORY NOTES BY THE
REVEREND MR. THOMAS PRINCE. Boston: Printed & Sold by S.
Kneeland & T. Green, 1736. vi,x,22pp. Several typographical headpieces. Lacks
the half title. Small octavo. Bound to style in antique three-quarter calf and
marbled boards, spine gilt, leather label. A bit of very light foxing. Very good.
First edition of this important firsthand account of the Pequot War, appearing in
print nearly a century after the events it describes. John Mason was commander
of the Connecticut forces, and his history is the most reliable firsthand account
of the Pequot War. The first organized military encounter between New England
settlers and Native Americans, the importance of this conflict cannot not be overestimated. The war featured a force of American colonists, allied with the Mohegan
and Narragansett tribes, against the Pequot Indians of Connecticut. The resulting
bloody conflict nearly wiped out the Pequots. Unsurprisingly, a strong theme of
Mason’s account is that the Puritans’ victory was the divine providence of God.
Mason prepared his manuscript account of the war for the General Court of Connecticut. After his death the text was used by Increase Mather, who drew from it
for his 1677 history of the conflict. Mason’s grandson later gave the manuscript
to clergyman, antiquarian, and historian Thomas Prince, who published it for the
first time in this edition.
Not in Field, who only lists the 19th-century reprint. Not in the Streeter collection, and rated a “d” by Howes. NAIP locates thirteen institutional copies. The
only other to appear on the market in the last fifty years was the Siebert copy in
1999, purchased by this firm on behalf of the Pequot Museum for $51,500. Rare,
and a very important firsthand account of an epochal event in the history of colonial New England.
EVANS 4033. NAIP w030041. HOWES M369, “d.” SABIN 45454. VAIL 392. CHURCH 924.
SIEBERT SALE 143A.
$50,000.
A First Edition of the Greatest History of New England:
A Landmark in Colonial New England History
53. Mather, Cotton: MAGNALIA CHRISTI AMERICANA: OR, THE
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF NEW-ENGLAND, FROM ITS
FIRST PLANTING IN THE YEAR 1620. UNTO THE YEAR OF
OUR LORD, 1698. IN SEVEN BOOKS.... London: Printed for Thomas
Parkhurst, 1702. Double-page engraved map of New England and New York.
Without errata leaves, as usual. Folio. Expertly bound to style in 18th-century
calf, spine gilt in six compartments with raised bands, brown morocco label
in the second compartment, the others with overall repeat decoration in gilt,
marbled endpapers. Expert restoration to title and map, else very good. Provenance: William Clarke (signature on title); Samuel Breck (signature on fly
leaf ).
The first edition of what Howes calls the “most famous 18th century American
book”: a sentiment echoed by Streeter, who describes it as “the most famous American book of colonial times.” Mather’s opus is rightly considered an indispensable
source for the history of New England in the 17th century, both for its biographies
and its history of civil, religious, and military affairs. The seven books include: 1)
the history and settlement of New England; 2) the lives of its governors and magistrates; 3) biographies of “Sixty Famous Divines”; 4) a history and roll of Harvard
College; 5) a history of the Congregational Church in New England; 6) a record of
the remarkable providences revealing God’s direct influence in particular events in
the colonies; and 7) the “War of the Lord” dealing with the devil, the Separatists,
Familists, Antinomians, Quakers, clerical imposters, and the Indians. Much of the
book’s value rests in its incomparable wealth of detail regarding daily life in early
colonial New England. David Hall has referred to it as “a mirror of the 1690s,” the
decade in which most of it was written. Far from being a dull chronicle of events,
the Magnalia... is full of lively biographical pieces, vivid descriptions of the times,
and many surprising sidelights. It has been mined by all modern scholars of social
history for its unsurpassed view of New England at the end of the 17th century.
The map, known as the “Mather map,” is actually titled “An Exact Mapp of
New England and New York.” Labeled “the first eighteenth-century general map
of New England” by cartographic historian Barbara McCorkle, it depicts an area
from Casco Bay, west to the Hudson, then south to Manhattan and northwest past
Long Island to Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod, before heading north again past
Boston to Casco Bay. The information concerning the early roads is particularly
valuable, and the early versions of the spelling of the towns and rivers cast a fascinating light on the early topographic nomenclature of colonial America.
CHURCH 806. GROLIER AMERICAN 100, 6. HOWES M391, “b.” SABIN 46392. STREETER
SALE I:658.
$12,000.
Mather on the Indian Wars, with Other Important Pamphlets
54. Mather, Increase: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WAR WITH THE
INDIANS IN NEW-ENGLAND. FROM JUNE 24, 1675. (WHEN
THE FIRST ENGLISHMAN WAS MURDERED BY THE INDIANS) TO AUGUST 12, 1676. WHEN PHILIP, ALIAS METACOMET, THE PRINCIPAL AUTHOR AND BEGINNER OF THE
WAR, WAS SLAIN. London: Printed for Richard Chiswell...according to
the original copy printed in New-England, 1676. [8],51,8pp. Complete with
the rare half title. Contained in: [SAMMELBAND OF FOURTEEN
EARLY BRITISH PAMPHLETS]. London. 1679-1681. Small quarto. Contemporary calf, gilt leather label. Extremities rubbed, boards lightly
scuffed. Contemporary manuscript table of contents. Scattered light toning
and wear, but generally quite clean and fresh. Very good plus.
One of the classic accounts of Indian warfare in New England in the 17th century,
and one of the primary accounts of King Philip’s War of 1675-76. This is the first
British edition, published the same
year as the superlatively rare Boston
first edition. Few historians could
have been better placed than Mather,
at the heart of the councils of the Bay
Colony, to follow the progress of the
bitter war, the last serious threat by
Indians to the British settlements in
New England. The war ended in
1676 with Philip’s death. This work
is likewise notable for containing one
of the first appearances of the woodcut seal of Massachusetts, showing a
local Indian saying, “Come over and
help us.”
The thirteen other works with
which this pamphlet is bound are
primarily comprised of dialogues on church or political issues, though one of note
discusses travel to Morocco, and one concerns the Gunpowder Plot. The titles are
as follow:
1) Magna Charta, Made in the Ninth Year of K. Henry the Third, and Confirmed by
K. Edward the First.... London. 1680. [8],68,[2]pp. An edition of Magna Carta
published around the end of the reign of Charles II. ESTC R10322. WING M253.
2) [Hawles, John]: The English-Mans Right. A Dialogue Between a Barrister at Law,
and a Jury-Man.... London. 1680. [2],40pp. ESTC 14849. WING H1185.
3) Williams, John: The History of the Powder Treason, with a Vindication of the Proceedings, and Matters Relating Thereunto.... London. 1681. [4],31,[1]; [6],95,[1]
pp. “A reissue of ‘The history of the gunpowder-treason (Wing W2706) and
‘A vindication of the history of the gunpowder-treason’ (Wing W2741) with a
cancel title page for each work. The first cancel is a general title page for the
two works. The cancel title pages were printed as a bifolium and then inserted
as singletons. Final page of ‘Vindication’ bears contents for both parts” – ESTC.
ESTC R27678. WING W2707, W2741.
4) Excommunication Excommunicated: or, Legal Evidence, That the Ecclesiastical Courts
Have No Power to Excommunicate Any Person Whatsoever for Not Coming to His
Parish Church.... London. 1680. 26pp. Two issues are noted by ESTC, this and
one with twenty-four pages. This is the scarcer of the two, with only seven
copies listed. ESTC R205209. WING E3847.
5) Du Moulin, Lewis: A Short and True Account of the Several Advances the Church of
England Hath Made Towards Rome.... London. 1680. 118pp. ESTC R35667. WING
D2553.
6) [Sheeres, Henry]: A Discourse Touching Tanger: in a Letter to a Person of Quality. To
Which is Added, the Interest of Tanger: by Another Hand. London. 1680. 40pp. An
important early English description of travel in Morocco. ESTC R11179. WING S3057.
7) [L’Estrange, Roger]: Citt And Bumpkin, In a Dialogue Over a Pot of Ale, Concerning
Matters of Religion and Government. The Fourth Edition. London. 1680. [2],38pp.
ESTC R5833. WING L1219.
8) [L’Estrange, Roger]: Citt and Bumpkin, the Second Part. Or, a Learned Discourse Upon
Swearing and Lying, and Other Laudable Qualities Tending to a Thorow Reformation. The Third Edition. London. 1680. [6],32,[1]pp. ESTC R235716. WING L1223.
9) The Dialogue Betwixt Cit and Bumpkin Answered in Another Betwixt Tom the Cheshire
Piper and Captain Crack Brains.... London. 1680. [12],27pp. ESTC R5521. WING P17.
10) A Dialogue Between Tom and Dick, Over a Dish of Coffee, Concerning Matters of
Religion and Government. [London]. 1680. [2],35pp. ESTC R27858. WING L1235A.
11) Honest Hodge & Ralph Holding a Sober Discourse, in Answer to a Late Scandalous and Pernicious Pamphlet, Called, a Dialogue Between the Pope and a Phanatick
Concerning Affairs in England. London. 1680. [2],39pp. ESTC R7887. WING H2585.
12) L’Estrange, Roger: A Short Answer to a Whole Litter of Libels. London. 1680.
[2],17pp. ESTC R20535. WING L1307A.
13) The Country Club. A Poem. London. 1679. [2],35pp. ESTC R29276. WING C6525.
HOLMES, INCREASE MATHER 16B. HOWES M400, “c.” EUROPEAN AMERICANA
676/123. SABIN 46641. VAIL 175. CHURCH 643.
$27,500.
A Monument of the Age of Jackson
55. McKenney, Thomas L., and James Hall: HISTORY OF THE IN-
DIAN TRIBES OF NORTH AMERICA, WITH BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES OF THE PRINCIPAL CHIEFS.
EMBELLISHED WITH ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY PORTRAITS, FROM THE INDIAN GALLERY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR, AT WASHINGTON. Philadelphia: Frederick W.
Greenough (vol. I) and Daniel Rice & James G. Clark (vols. II & III),
1838/1842/1844. Three volumes. 120 handcolored lithographic plates after
Karl Bodmer, Charles Bird King, James Otto Lewis, P. Rindisbacher, and
R.M. Sully; drawn on stone by A. Newsam, A. Hoffy, Ralph Trembley, Henry
Dacre, and others; printed and colored by J.T. Bowen and others. Volume III
with two lithographic maps and one table printed on recto of one leaf, 17pp.
of lithographic facsimile signatures of the original subscribers. Folio. Expertly
bound to style in green half morocco over original green moiré cloth-covered
boards, spines gilt in seven compartments with raised bands, lettered in the
second and fourth compartments, the others with repeat decoration in gilt
made up from various small tools, marbled endpapers. Very good.
First edition, second issue of first and second volumes, first issue of third volume.
“One of the most costly and important [works] ever published on the American
Indians” (Field), “a landmark in American culture” (Horan), and an invaluable contemporary record of a vanished way of life, including some of the greatest American
handcolored lithographs of the 19th century.
After six years as superintendent of Indian Trade, Thomas McKenney had
become concerned for the survival of the western tribes. He had observed unscrupulous individuals taking advantage of the American Indians for profit, and his
vocal warnings about their future prompted his appointment by President Monroe
to the Office of Indian Affairs. As first director, McKenney was to improve the
administration of Indian programs in various government offices. His first trip was
during the summer of 1826 to the Lake Superior area for a treaty with the Chippewa, opening mineral rights on their land. In 1827 he journeyed west again for
a treaty with the Chippewa, Menominee, and Winnebago in the present state of
Michigan. His journeys provided an unparalleled opportunity to become acquainted
with American Indian tribes.
When President Jackson dismissed him from his government post in 1839,
McKenney was able to turn more of his attention to his publishing project. Within
a few years he was joined by James Hall, the Illinois journalist, lawyer, state treasurer and, from 1833, Cincinnati banker who had written extensively about the
West. Both authors, not unlike George Catlin, whom they tried to enlist in their
publishing enterprise, saw their book as a way of preserving an accurate visual record of a rapidly disappearing culture. The text, which was written by Hall based
on information supplied by McKenney, takes the form of a series of biographies
of leading figures amongst the Indian nations, followed by a general history of the
North American Indians. The work is now famous for its color plate portraits of
the chiefs, warriors, and squaws of the various tribes, faithful copies of original oils
by Charles Bird King painted from life in his studio in Washington (McKenney
commissioned him to record the visiting Indian delegates) or worked up by King
from the watercolors of the young frontier artist, James Otto Lewis. All but four of
the original paintings were destroyed in the disastrous Smithsonian fire of 1865, so
their appearance in this work preserves what is probably the best likeness of many
of the most prominent Indian leaders of the early 19th century. Numbered among
King’s sitters were Sequoyah, Red Jacket, Major Ridge, Cornplanter, and Osceola.
This was the most elaborate plate book produced in the United States to date,
and its publishing history is extremely complex. The titlepages give an indication
of issue and are relatively simple: volume I, first issue is by Edward C. Biddle and
is dated 1836 or more usually 1837; the second issue is by Frederick W. Greenough
with the date 1838; and the third issue is by Daniel Rice & James G. Clark, dated
1842. Volume II, first issue is by Frederick W. Greenough and dated 1838, and the
second issue by Rice & Clark and dated 1842. Volume III, first issue is by Daniel
Rice & James G. Clark and dated 1844.
BAL 6934. HOWES M129, “b.” SABIN 43410a. BENNETT, p.79. FIELD 992. LIPPERHEIDE
Mc4. REESE, STAMPED WITH A NATIONAL CHARACTER 24. SERVIES 2150.
$165,000.
With the Morris Journal of the Pontiac War
56. Morris, Thomas: MISCELLANIES IN PROSE AND VERSE. London: John Ridgway, 1791. 181,[4]pp. Engraved frontispiece portrait of the
author. Later marbled wrappers. Minor foxing in latter part of text, a few light
dampstains to lower corner. Very good plus. In a half morocco and cloth case.
The Herschel V. Jones-Rosenbach-C.G. Littell-Frank T. Siebert copy, with
the Littell book label. Inscribed by Frank T. Siebert on the slipcase chemise:
“Dr. Rosenbach says the finest copy he has ever seen.”
The seemingly slight title makes no
mention of Captain Morris’ journal,
which he kept while an Indian captive during the Pontiac War between
August and late September 1764.
“On pages 1 to 39, [Morris] gives
his narrative of the incidents of his
hazardous mission to Pontiac, a savage
general, who in a six weeks’ campaign,
overthrew the British authority in
all the territories of the northwest.
Captain Morris accepted the service
at the request of General Bradstreet,
sensible that to place himself in the
power of the vindictive Indian chief,
was little short of a sentence to death.
General Bradstreet, who had the ill
luck to bear a reputation too great
for his capacity, had the additional
misfortune of seldom knowing what
he really wanted. Captain Morris, by
the combined force of good fortune,
and good conduct, escaped the perils
which inclosed his course and seemed
irresistibly to close behind him and
forbid his return to life. With the fire
kindled around the stake to which he
was tied, he was more than once rescued at the last minute” – Field. According to
Dr. Siebert’s note, “Plenty rare.”
AYER 208. FIELD 1095. THOMSON 854. HOWES M833, “d.” SABIN 50876. SIEBERT SALE
964 (this copy). ADVENTURES IN AMERICANA 620 (this copy). LITTELL SALE 756 (this
copy).
$11,000.
The Rare Second Edition of New England’s Memorial
57. Morton, Nathaniel: NEW ENGLAND’S MEMORIAL, OR A
BRIEF RELATION OF THE MOST MEMORABLE AND REMARKABLE PASSAGES OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD
MANIFESTED TO THE PLANTERS OF NEW ENGLAND IN
AMERICA.... Boston: Daniel Henchman, 1721. [10],248,[1]pp. 12mo.
Antique-style half calf, gilt, and contemporary marbled boards, leather label,
spine gilt extra. Small loss to upper outside corner of first two leaves, affecting a few words in title and first line of p.[4]. Lightly toned, minor foxing.
Trimmed closely in spots, affecting several catchwords. A very good copy.
The second edition of one of the most important New England books, possibly rarer
than the first of 1669. Morton was the nephew of William Bradford, governor of
the Plymouth Colony, and much of this book, valuable for its history of the colony,
was drawn from Bradford’s papers which had passed into his possession. Generally considered one of the foundation works of New England history, and the first
secular book published in New England, it is probably also the first secular book
to be reprinted, a tribute to its enduring interest. “This second edition contains a
supplement by Josiah Cotton, register of deeds for the county of Plymouth” – Sabin.
There are two issues of this reprint, revealing of Boston book trade practice of the
time, since one bills the successful bookseller, Henchman, as publisher, the other
his less successful competitor, Nicholas Boone.
The first edition of Morton has become virtually unobtainable, and even the
Siebert collection lacked a copy. This edition is in many ways equally important.
HOWES M851, “b.” VAIL 336. SABIN 51013. EVANS 2267.
$11,000.
With the Rare “Lords Proprietors” Map
58. Ogilby, John [trans. & pub.]: [Montanus, Arnoldus]: AMERICA:
BEING THE LATEST, AND MOST ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW WORLD...COLLECTED FROM MOST
AU THENTICK AU THORS, AUGMENTED WITH LATER
OBSERVATIONS AND ADORN’D WITH MAPS AND SCULPTURES, BY JOHN OGILBY. London: Printed by the Author, 1671.
Engraved frontispiece, thirty-seven plates (six portraits, thirty-one views and
plans [two of these folding, twenty-nine double-page]), nineteen maps (two
folding, seventeen double-page), sixty-six engraved illustrations. Ruled in red
throughout, title printed in red and black. Folio. Contemporary English paneled calf, gilt; covers with paneling tooled with fillets and roll tools, the inner
panels with lozenge-shaped stylized floral-spray tools, expertly repaired; the
spine in seven compartments with raised bands, green morocco labels in the
second and third compartments lettered in gilt; a.e.g. Portrait facing p.60
expertly remargined, some small neat repairs to margins and folds. Very good.
In a tan morocco-backed cloth box, lettered in gilt on spine.
A very fine, large copy of Ogilby’s first edition of this important work, here ruled
in red for presentation and including the rare Lords Proprietors map of Carolina.
The binding, the size, and the rubrication of this copy of Ogilby’s most important publication all suggest that this copy was prepared for presentation. The
ruling in red of a book (an essential part of manuscript production in the middle
ages) had come to be a costly extra process by the second half of the 17th century,
and one that was reserved for copies of books that were intended for presentation.
The McGill University copy of Francis Willughby’s Ornithology (published in 1678)
was edited by John Ray and presented by him to Samuel Pepys (probably when he
was president of the Royal Society); it is ruled in red. From the spine labels on
the present volume, which are lettered “Ogilby’s / Atlas / Vol.3. / America,” it is
clear that this copy formed part of a collection of works published by Ogilby, that
were placed under the general title of “Ogilby’s Atlas” by the 18th-century owner
and would probably have included his volumes on
Africa, Asia, China, and Japan.
The present copy is also unusual in that it
contains the so-called Lords Proprietors map,
“A New Discription [sic] of Carolina By Order
of the Lords Proprietors” – a map that was commissioned by Ogilby for this work but which was
not included in the earlier issues of the book, as it
was apparently not available until, at the earliest,
1672, and possibly as late as 1675. The present
copy is the second issue of the first edition and is
complete. Our definition of the first three issues
of the first edition is as follows:
1) Dated 1671, with both the “Arx Carolina”
plate and the “Virginia pars australis...” map,
without the “Carolina” map, possibly without
the “Barbados” map, and with the plate list
including the “Arx...” and “Virginia...,” but
not “Carolina” or “Barbados.”
2) Dated 1671, with the “Carolina...” map replacing both the “Arx...” plate and the “Virginia...”
map. The “Barbados” map is included, but the
plate list still includes “Arx...” and “Virginia...,”
but not “Carolina” or “Barbados.”
3) Dated 1671, with the “Carolina...” map replacing both the “Arx...” plate and the “Virginia...”
map. The “Barbados” map is include, and
the plate list has been removed and substituted by a reset cancel that no longer
includes either the “Arx...” or the “Virginia...” maps, but probably still does not
include “Carolina” or “Barbados.”
These definitions are somewhat at variance with Cumming’s Geographical Misconceptions, Baer’s Maryland, and European Americana; but they all contradict each other to
some degree as well, and none of them agree with either Sabin or Borba de Moraes.
The work is an English translation of Arnold Montanus’ de Nieuwe en Onbekende
Weereld, but with a number of additions concerning New England, New France,
Maryland, and Virginia. The work is divided into three books or sections and an
appendix: the first gives an overall survey of the most important voyages and expeditions to the Americas; the second book offers a description of Mexico, the Caribbean
Islands, Bermuda, and North America; the third deals with South America; and the
appendix includes a miscellany of information including notes on the “Unknown
South-Land,” the “Arctick Region,” and the search for the northwest passage.
ARENTS 315A. BAER MARYLAND 70A-C (ref ). BORBA DE MORAES, p.626 (ref ). CHURCH
613. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 671/204-207 (ref ). JCB III:227-228. SABIN 50089. STOKES VI,
p.262 (ref ). K.S. van Eerde, John Ogilby and the Taste of His Times, p.107. WING O-165. Carolina map:
CUMMING, SOUTHEAST IN EARLY MAPS 70. DEGREES OF LATITUDE 13. HOWES 041,
$95,000.
“c.”
The Rare First Issue
59. Palmer, Joel: JOURNAL OF TRAVELS OVER THE ROCKY
MOUNTAINS, TO THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER;
MADE DURING THE YEARS 1845 AND 1846: CONTAINING
MINUTE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE VALLEYS OF THE WILLAMETTE, UMPQUA, AND CLAMET; A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF OREGON TERRITORY.... Cincinnati: J.A. and U.P. James,
1847. 189pp. Original printed wrappers. Wrappers quite worn, chipped at
spine and edges, rubbed and darkened. Scattered foxing. Overall good, in
original condition. Untrimmed (a few pages opened roughly). In a cloth slipcase and half morocco and cloth box, spine gilt.
The rare first edition, first issue of one of the classics of Western Americana. This
first issue is distinguished from later ones by the uncorrected reading of “sandy plain”
on page 31 and “The company own from six to eight mills” on page 121 (though
in this copy a contemporary hand has crossed out “six to eight” and written “two”
in the margin. This issue is accorded a “dd” by Howes.
Joel Palmer went to Oregon in 1845, and his is one of the most important
overland narratives of the Wagner-Camp period. “This seems to be the only contemporary narrative, by a participant, of the migration of 1845” – Streeter. “Most
reliable of the early guides to Oregon” – Howes. “The most complete description
of the Oregon Trail that we now possess” – Thwaites. Palmer left his home in
Indiana to make the Oregon trek. He gives a day-by-day account of his overland
journey, then vividly describes the beauties of Oregon Territory. Generally considered one of the best and most important overland narratives, it also contains
one of the earliest printings of the “Organic Laws of Oregon.” This first issue is
superlatively rare, and this is only the second copy that we have handled in thirty
years of dealing in Americana.
WAGNER-CAMP 136:1. STREETER SALE 3146. FIELD 1165. MINTZ 357. GRAFF 3171.
HOWES P47, “dd.” PILLING, PROOF-SHEETS 2886. SABIN 58358.
$16,500.
Primary Source for Early California
60. Palou, Francisco: RELACION HISTORICA DE LA VIDA Y APOS-
TOLICAS TAREAS DEL VENERABLE PADRE FRAY JUNIPERO
SERRA, Y DE LAS MISIONES QUE FUNDO EN LA CALIFORNIA SEPTENTRIONAL, Y NUEVOS ESTABLECIMIENTOS DE
MONTEREY. Mexico: Imprenta de Don Felipe de Zuniga y Ontiveros,
calle del Espiritu Santo, 1787. [28],344pp. plus plate and folding map. Small
quarto. Contemporary vellum, manuscript title on spine. Vellum lightly rubbed,
string ties lacking. Bookplate on front pastedown. Abrasion on top edge of text
block, probably to remove a marca de fuego. Very clean and fresh internally,
and a fine copy overall. In a half morocco and cloth folding box, spine gilt.
First edition, second issue, with “Mar Pacifico” printed on the map (see Wagner).
This is also the issue of the text with “car” instead of “pro” at the end of the index
and with the phrase “a expensas de various bienhechores” preceding the imprint
on the titlepage.
An outstanding book on early California. Cowan (in the 1914 edition of his
bibliography) calls it “the most famous and the most extensive of the early works
that relate to Upper California.” Palou was a disciple of Father Junipero Serra for
many years, and his work is still the principal source for the life of the venerable
founder of the California missions. “The letters from Father Serra to Father Palou
[provide] interesting details on the various Indian tribes and their manners and
customs, together with descriptions of the country....This work has been called the
most noted of all books relating to California” – Hill. “Both a splendid discourse
on the California missions, their foundation and management, and an intimate and
sympathetic biography of the little father-present. Better, by long odds, than the
bulk of lives of holy men, written by holy men” – Libros Californianos. “[The map]
is of interest here because it seems to be the first on which a boundary line was
drawn between Lower and Upper California” – Wheat. The map shows the locations of nine missions (of an ultimate total of twenty-one) and also the presidios at
San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Francisco. The plate is an allegorical
portrait of Serra ministering to Indians.
BARRETT 1946. COWAN, p.472. COWAN (1914 edition), pp.171-172. HILL 1289. GRAFF 3179.
HOWES P56, “c.” LC, CALIFORNIA CENTENNIAL 34. LIBROS CALIFORNIANOS, pp.24,
67. WHEAT TRANSMISSISSIPPI 208. WAGNER SPANISH SOUTHWEST 168. WEBER, p.77.
ZAMORANO 80, 59.
$25,000.
Illustrated with Original Photographs, in Original Wrappers
61. Palou, Francisco: NOTICIAS DE LA NUEVA CALIFORNIA. San
Francisco: Imprenta de Edouardo Bosqui y Cia, 1874. Four volumes: xx,270;
301; 315; 253pp., plus eighteen mounted albumen photographs. Original
printed wrappers. Wrappers lightly edgeworn, spines darkened and creased.
Very clean internally, with only an occasional light fox mark. A very handsome
set, untrimmed and unopened. In a folding cloth clamshell case, spine gilt.
An important history of Upper California and the Franciscan missions, illustrated
with early photographs, and limited to only 100 copies, this being number 45. The
text was first published as part of a series in Mexico in 1857, but this is the work’s
first separate publication.
Father Palou compiled the text before 1784, largely while he was at the Mission Dolores in San Francisco. Palou took his information from correspondence,
diaries, original narratives, and other sources. It contains descriptions of the early
expeditions of Portola, Fathers Serra and Crespi, and many others. “In this work
Palou brought the history of California down to 1784, and although it might be
supposed to be confined to Nueva California it also includes notices of Antigua
California” – Wagner. The photographs in this work are very noteworthy, and
were done by several important 19th-century photographers, including Eadweard
Muybridge, W.W. Stewart, John Jarboe, Bradley & Rulofson, and others. They
show several scenes in San Diego, the missions at San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa
Clara, and San Carlos, as well as banks and other businesses, and constitute an
important photographic record. Gary Kurutz notes that it is one of only twentyone California books illustrated with original photographs before 1890.
The introduction was written by John T. Doyle, a San Francisco lawyer, who has
initialed the limitation statement in the first volume. It was the first publication
of the California Historical Society. The book is quite scarce on the market and
would be an important part of any collection on California history and photography.
This set, in original printed wrappers, is especially attractive.
HOWES P55, “c.” KURUTZ, CALIFORNIA BOOKS ILLUSTRATED WITH ORIGINAL
PHOTOGRAPHS 39. COWAN, p.472. ROCQ 17072. HILL 1290. STREETER SALE 2944. BAUER
SALE 384. PLATH SALE 867. HOWELL 50:182. WAGNER, SPANISH SOUTHWEST 168a.
$11,000.
A Rarity of the Early Indian Wars of New England
62. Penhallow, Samuel: THE HISTORY OF THE WARS OF NEW-
ENGLAND, WITH THE EASTERN INDIANS. OR, A NARRATIVE OF THEIR CONTINUED PERFIDY AND CRUELTY....
Boston: Printed by T. Fleet, for S. Gerrish...and D. Henchman..., 1726.
[2],iv,[2],134,[1]pp., including in-text woodcuts. 12mo. Antique-style speckled
calf, ruled in gilt, spine tooled in gilt, raised bands, gilt morocco label. Titlepage has been backed with paper, expertly repairing a small tear in the center
foredge, with two letters in the date “1725” in fine facsimile. First text leaf
repaired in margins, as are leaves S1 and S2, resulting in loss of a few letters of
text. Text trimmed quite close, occasionally shaving a page number or the outer
letter of a line of text. “Advertisement” (i.e. Errata) leaf in expert facsimile,
as is almost always the case with this book. Still a very good copy overall.
One of the primary sources for the early Indian wars of New England, describing
the fighting on the northern and eastern borders of Massachusetts during Queen
Anne’s War of 1703-13, as well as fighting in 1722-25. Vail calls it an “excellent
history,” and Field adds that Penhallow’s “work on the Indian wars is esteemed as
the highest authority on that subject.” Penhallow, although having gone to Massachusetts as a missionary, became a chief justice of the colony, and as such was in
an excellent position to know about colonial military affairs.
A very rare book, accorded a “c” rating by Howes. Field ranks it “among the
rarest of New England imprints.”
HOWES P201, “c.” CHURCH 904. EVANS 2796. SABIN 59654. FIELD 1202. STREETER SALE
$65,000.
674. VAIL 351.
With the Important Map
63. Perrin du Lac, François Marie: VOYAGE DANS LES DEUX LOUI-
SIANES, ET CHEZ LES NATIONS SAUVAGES DU MISSOURI,
PAR LES ETATS UNIS, L’OHIO ET LES PROVINCES QUI LE
BORDENT, EN 1801, 1802 ET 1803.... Paris. 1805. [4],x,479pp. plus
folding map and folding plate, both on bluish paper. Modern half cloth and
marbled boards, leather label. Light wear to binding. Slight trace of foxing.
Else a near fine copy.
The author arrived in New York in 1801 and travelled to St. Louis by way of the
Ohio, ascending the Missouri River as far as central South Dakota with a fur trading
expedition in the summer of 1802. There is some doubt as to whether Perrin du Lac
himself made this trip or used without acknowledgement the journal of St. Louis
trader Jean Baptiste Trudeau, but the veracity of the account itself is unquestioned.
It is by far the most important published account of the Upper Missouri fur trade
in its early days, including a great deal of information about tribes along the river.
The large map of the Missouri River, beautifully engraved, is unquestionably the
most detailed map of its watershed up to that point. Wheat describes it as “the
earliest published map of the Trans-Mississippi region which can be said to display
even the faintest resemblance to accuracy.” It charts the river as far as the Arikara
villages in central South Dakota. The folding plate illustrates “Mamoth tel qu’il
existe au Musaeum à Philadelphie.”
One of the few major narratives of the trans-Mississippi area prior to Lewis
and Clark. There were two issues published the same year, the other in Lyon, with
the same collations. The English edition of 1807 is an abridgement and contains
an inferior, reduced version of the map.
STREETER SALE 1773. WAGNER-CAMP 3:2. HOWES P244, “b.” WHEAT TRANSMISSIS-
SIPPI 256. CLARK II:52, 114. SABIN 61012. MONAGHAN 1175.
$6750.
The Second American City Directory
64. [Philadelphia]: White, Francis: THE PHILADELPHIA DIRECTORY. Philadelphia: Young, Stewart, and M’Culloch, 1785. 98,[1]pp. Contemporary paper wrappers. Vertical crease, mainly to wrappers. Some browning
and dampstaining; contemporary ownership inscription on titlepage has been
rubbed out with loss to paper but not text. Overall, a very good copy of a
scarce item. In a half morocco slipcase and cloth chemise.
The second separately printed directory in the United States, issued only ten days
after McPherson’s Philadelphia directory. Compiled by Francis White, it lists various notables, including Benjamin Franklin as president of Philadelphia. Scarce.
EVANS 19385. SPEAR, p.273. NAIP w027616. HOWES W351, “b.”
$9500.
First Government Exploration of the Southwest
65. Pike, Zebulon M.: AN ACCOUNT OF EXPEDITIONS TO THE
SOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI, AND THROUGH THE
WESTERN PARTS OF LOUISIANA, TO THE SOURCES OF
THE ARKANSAW, KANS, LA PLATTE, AND PIERRE JAUN,
RIVERS...DURING THE YEARS 1805, 1806, AND 1807. AND A
TOUR THROUGH THE INTERIOR PARTS OF NEW SPAIN...
IN THE YEAR 1807. Philadelphia: Published by C. & A. Conrad, & Co....,
1810. [8],105,[11],[107]-277,[3],65,[1],53,[1],87pp. plus six maps (five folding) and three folding charts. Frontispiece portrait. 19th-century three-quarter
brown morocco and marbled boards, gilt-lettered spine. Slight shelf wear.
Offsetting on titlepage as usual. Minor toning and foxing. Contemporary
armorial bookplate on front pastedown. Overall very good.
The report of the first United States government expedition to the Southwest, and
one of the most important of all American travel narratives, including an account of
Pike’s travels to explore the headwaters of the Arkansas and Red rivers, his earlier
journey to explore the sources of the Mississippi River, and his visit to the Spanish
settlements in New Mexico. Pike’s narrative stands with those of Lewis and Clark,
and Long, as the most important of early books on western exploration and as a
cornerstone of Western Americana. The maps were the first to exhibit a geographic
knowledge of the Southwest based on firsthand exploration and are considered
“milestones in the mapping of the American West” (Wheat). “The description of
Texas is excellent” – Streeter Texas.
The Pike expedition probed at the Spanish borderlands, which Jefferson believed
were ripe for collapse. Ultimately his expedition was captured by a Spanish military
force and expelled from New Spain.
HOWES P373, “b.” WAGNER-CAMP 9:1. STREETER SALE 3125. WHEAT TRANSMISSISSIPPI 297, 298, 299. GRAFF 3290. FIELD 1217. STREETER TEXAS 1047C. HILL 1357. BRADFORD 4415. RITTENHOUSE 467. SABIN 62936. JONES 743. BRAISLIN 1474.
$30,000.
One of the Greatest American Maps, with Superb Original Color
66. Popple, Henry: A MAP OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN AMERICA
WITH THE FRENCH AND SPANISH SETTLEMENTS ADJACENT THERETO. London: Engrav’d by Willm. Henry Toms, 1733 [but
ca. 1735]. Engraved map by William Henry Toms, with very fine full contemporary hand-coloring (with twenty-two integral inset views and plans) on
fifteen double-page and five single-page sheets, mounted on guards throughout, with the double-page key map by Toms, handcolored in outline. With
the contents leaf, laid in. Folio. Expertly bound to style in half 18th-century
russia over original 18th-century coated paper-covered boards, spine gilt, red
morocco label. Very good. In a blue half morocco and cloth box, titled in gilt
on the spine.
A monument to 18th-century American cartography: a highly attractive fully colored
copy of the first large-scale map of North America, and the first printed map to show
the thirteen colonies. Popple maps with full contemporary color are exceedingly
rare; we have handled only one other copy, and the only other comparable example
to have appeared at auction in the past thirty years is the Siebert/Freilich copy.
Popple produced this map under the auspices of the Lord Commissioners of
Trade and Plantations to help settle disputes arising from the rival expansion of
English, Spanish, and French colonies. “France claimed not only Canada, but also
territories drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries – in practical terms, an area
of half a continent” – Goss, p.122. The present copy of Popple’s map, with its full
contemporary hand-coloring, would have been particularly useful in these disputes.
Mark Babinski, in his masterly monograph on this map, notes: “The typical coloring
of fully colored copies...is described best by a contemporary manuscript legend on
the end-paper affixing the Key map to the binding in the King George III copy at
the British Library: ‘Green – Indian Countrys. Red – English. Yellow – Spanish.
Blue – French. Purple – Dutch.’” The careful demarcation of the disputed areas by
color would have made the identification of whether a particular location was in one
or another “zone” a great deal easier. Thus the coloring adds a whole new dimension to a map that is usually only seen in its uncolored state, and perhaps suggests
that the copies with full hand-coloring were originally produced for some as-yet
unrediscovered official use to do with the international land disputes of the time.
Benjamin Franklin, on May 22, 1746, ordered two copies of this map, “one bound
the other in sheets,” for the Pennsylvania Assembly. It was the only map of sufficient
size and grandeur available – and the map is on a grand scale: if actually assembled
it would result in a rectangle over eight feet square. Its coverage extends from the
Grand Banks off Newfoundland to about ten degrees west of Lake Superior, and
from the Great Lakes to the north coast of South America. Several of the sections
are illustrated with handsome pictorial insets, including views of New York City,
Niagara Falls, Mexico City, and Quebec, and inset maps of Boston, Charles-Town,
Providence, Bermuda, and a number of others.
“Little is known of Henry Popple except that he came from a family whose
members had served the Board of Trade and Plantations for three generations, a
connection that must have been a factor in his undertaking the map, his only known
cartographic work” – McCorkle. Babinski has made a detailed study of the issues
and states of the Popple map. This copy is in Babinski’s state 5: the imprint on
sheet 20 reads, “London Engrav’d by Willm. Henry Toms 1733”; and sheet one
includes the engraved figure “1” in the upper left corner just above the intersection
of the two neat lines. The very rare small format table of contents is present. The
key map is in Babinski’s state 1, with only Toms’ name below the border at the
bottom and no additional place names in the 17 small insets.
Mark Babinski, Henry Popple’s 1733 Map (New Jersey, 1998) (ref ). BROWN, EARLY MAPS OF
THE OHIO VALLEY 14. CUMMING, THE SOUTHEAST IN EARLY MAPS 216, 217 (refs).
DEGREES OF LATITUDE 24, state 4 (but with engraved number to sheet 1). FOWBLE, TWO
CENTURIES OF PRINTS IN AMERICA 1680-1880 (1987), 6, 7. JOHN GOSS, THE MAPPING
OF NORTH AMERICA (1990), 55 (key map only). GRAFF 3322. HOWES P481, “b.” LOWERY
337, 338. McCORKLE 21. PHILLIPS MAPS, p.569. SABIN 64140. SCHWARTZ & EHRENBERG,
p.151. STREETER SALE 676. STEPHENSON & McKEE, VIRGINIA IN MAPS, map II-18A-B.
$275,000.
67. Pownall, Thomas: A TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF
SUCH PARTS OF NORTH AMERICA AS ARE CONTAINED
IN THE (ANNEXED) MAP OF THE MIDDLE BRITISH COLONIES, &c. IN NORTH AMERICA. London: J. Almon, 1776. Folio.
Engraved folding map. Expertly bound to style in half 18th-century russia
over contemporary marbled paper covered boards. Very good.
One of the most important cartographical works issued at the time of the American
Revolution, here complete with the rare map partially-printed from the same plate
as the famed 1755 Lewis Evans’ map printed by Benjamin Franklin.
In 1753, Thomas Pownall came to America as the private secretary to Sir Danvers
Osborn, the newly appointed colonial governor of New York. Shortly after arriving,
however, Osborn died, leaving Pownall without a post. Curious about the colonies,
however, Pownall remained in America, travelling widely in the region. Evidently
of great enthusiasm and intelligence, Pownall met many of the most influential
men in America at that time, including Benjamin Franklin. From this relationship, he was able to attend the 1754 Albany Conference and became involved in
Indian affairs in the colony. Through that work and his relationship with Franklin,
Pownall met surveyor Lewis Evans and in 1755, Evans published his famed Map
of the Middle British Colonies, printed by Franklin and dedicated to Pownall. The
map, the most accurate of the region at the time, was enormously influential, with
multiple piracies being issued in London, and famously used by General Braddock
during the French and Indian War.
“A great change came over the fortunes of Evans’ map in 1776. In that year
Thomas Pownall, who had spent much time in America as Governor of Massachusetts Bay and South Carolina, and Lieut. Governor of New Jersey, published a
folio volume entitled, A Topographical Description of Such Parts of North America....
Pownall, after his return from America continued to take the greatest interest in
the welfare of the Colonies....The increasing public interest taken in the affairs of
the Colonies at the outbreak of the Revolution, doubtless prompted the publication
of the Topographical Description. That work may be described as a new and much
enlarged edition of both Evans’ Map and his ‘Analysis’ [the text accompanying the
Evans’ map] of 1755. As to the map, Pownall appears to have been in possession
of the original Evans plate engraved by Jas. Turner in Philadelphia, and he uses it
as the basis of his improved map...” – Stevens.
Indeed, much of the cartography of the western parts of Evans’s original map
remained unchanged in the 1776 Pownall edition, save for the significant addition
of the routes of Christopher Gist and Harry Gordon. This addition is augmented
by the publication in the appendix of Gist’s journal of his 1750-51 journey through
a portion of present day Ohio, Kentucky and on through North Carolina – the first
publication of that important inland exploration.
The most significant addition to Evans original map is east of Philadelphia,
where Pownall has extended the plate to encompass all of New England, with the
coast as far north as Nova Scotia. The cartography of this portion is derived from
a number of sources, but includes Pownall’s own explorations into the interior of
Vermont and Maine, as well as the surveys conducted on behalf of Massachusetts
Colonial Governor Sir Francis Bernard.
Pownall’s Topographical Description and its important map gives the best picture
of the interior of North America as it was understood in the year of American
independence.
HOWES P543, “b.” STREETER SALE 826. BUCK 28a. BELL P470. SABIN 64835. VAIL 651.
$37,000.
68. Reid, John [publisher]: THE AMERICAN ATLAS. New York: Published by John Reid, 1796. Mounted on guards throughout, letterpress title
within decorative border of typographic ornaments, twenty-one engraved maps
and plan on 20 leaves (two folding, seventeen double-page, and two singlepage maps printed on one double-page sheet). Folio. [with:] Winterbotham,
William: AN HISTORICAL, GEOGRAPHICAL, COMMERCIAL,
AND PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA, AND OF THE EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS IN
AMERICA AND THE WEST INDIES. New York: Printed by Tiebout
and O’Brien, for John Reid, [1795-]1796. Four volumes. 7pp. list of subscrib-
ers at the rear of Vol. IV. Twenty-five engraved plates (of twenty-six, comprising four engraved frontispiece portraits, and twenty-one engraved plates),
extra-illustrated with provisional titles to first and second volumes bound at
the rear of the respective volumes. “Plan of Washington” mentioned in the
plate list as being required opposite p.67 here bound in the atlas. Atlas: Bound
to style in half speckled calf over contemporary marbled paper covered boards,
original paper label affixed to the upper cover, flat spine in seven compartments divided by gilt double fillets, red morocco label in the second compartment. Text: Contemporary tree sheep, neatly rebacked to style uniform to the
atlas, original red morocco labels. Fine.
A very fine copy of this rare and important atlas, here including the folding plan
of Washington not found in most copies, and with the first American edition of
the associated text by William Winterbotham. The atlas is among the earliest to
be published in America and is the first to contain a plan of Washington, D.C.
The Reid atlas is one of the rarest and most interesting American atlases, preceded
only by the 1795 Carey and the Clark atlases as the earliest United States atlases.
It includes detailed engraved maps of North and South America, and the United
States; and individual maps of New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont,
Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and
Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee,
and the West Indies. The continent maps, the general map of the United States, and
those of Kentucky and Washington are after maps appearing in London editions of
Winterbotham; the remaining maps are original to this work. Although not found
in all copies, the atlas is noted for containing an exceptional plan of Washington,
D.C. which follows the famed Ellicott plan of 1792; the present copy includes this
plan, here in its first state, dated 1795, with the publishers listed on the plate as
Reid, L. Wayland, and C. Smith.
The text by Winterbotham is the first American edition of what is a key early
history of the United States. Winterbotham was prosecuted for sedition for two
sermons he preached in 1792. He was found guilty and sentenced to two years’
imprisonment and wrote the present work while serving time in Newgate Prison.
It treats the discovery and early settlement of America, the American Revolution,
each of the states of the Northeast and South, the Northwest Territory, Canada,
and settlements in South America and the West Indies. Most of the handsome
plates illustrate birds, quadrupeds, and reptiles found in the West Indies. The
color plate represents the tobacco plant (third volume, opposite page 427) and is
the first color plate regularly published in an American book, here present in a
very good impression.
Reid’s atlas and Winterbotham’s text, intended as a set, are now rarely found
together.
EVANS 31078, 31647. HOWES R170, W581, “b.” NAIP W012698. PHILLIPS ATLASES 1216,
1366. PHILLIPS MAPS, pp.595, 1005. RUMSEY 845. SABIN 69016. SCHWARTZ & EHRENBERG, p.215. STREETER SALE 77. “A Checklist of Printed Plans of Washington, DC 1792-1801”
13.1, in Mapforum issue 1.
$27,500.
The Classic of Southern Overland Narratives
69. Reid, John C.: REID’S TRAMP; OR, A JOURNAL OF THE INCI-
DENTS OF TEN MONTHS TRAVEL THROUGH TEXAS, NEW
MEXICO, ARIZONA, SONORA, AND CALIFORNIA. INCLUDING TOPOGRAPHY, CLIMATE, SOIL, MINERALS, METALS,
AND INHABITANTS; WITH A NOTICE OF THE GREAT INTER-OCEANIC RAIL ROAD. Selma, Al.: John Hardy & Co., 1858.
237pp. Original blindstamped cloth, spine gilt. Spine bit faded and shaken,
rear inner hinge cracked and separated. Front free endpaper and fly leaf excised; bookplate on front pastedown. Occasional fox mark. Still, very good.
In a half morocco and cloth box.
One of the great classic rarities of Southwest Americana, this is Reid’s account of
the journey to explore the Gadsden Purchase and his overland journey to California by the southern route. He left Marion, Alabama in September 1856 with a
party of travellers known as the Mesilla Valley Company, whose main purpose was
to explore the newly acquired territory in the Southwest known as the Gadsden
Purchase. The group travelled through Mobile and New Orleans, then by ship to
Galveston, then on land to San Antonio, Castroville, El Paso, Tucson, San Diego,
and San Francisco. In the beginning of 1857, Reid joined a failed filibustering
expedition into Sonora and Chihuahua led by Henry Crabb, but left for California
by April of that year. He stayed only a short time in California before returning
via Panama, Havana, and New Orleans.
The book contains a wealth of brief and entertaining descriptions of life in the
Mexican cession, including the towns and hamlets visited along the way, German
immigrants, the agricultural promise of the region, desert flora and fauna, and
speculation on the future of the Indians of the Southwest. The description of Reid’s
association with Crabb’s filibusters is most interesting. “Reid’s work is one of the
genuine classics relating to the Southwest; his descriptions of mines and miners,
the natives, in fact all the country through which he passed, are vivid” – Decker.
A most important Southwest rarity, accorded a “d” rating by Howes.
HOWES R172, “d.” WAGNER-CAMP 307. STREETER SALE 176. RADER 2776. RAINES,
p.172. CLARK III:490. COWAN, p.528. GRAFF 3450. DECKER 36:339.
$20,000.
A Pioneering Gold Rush Work: The Streeter Copy
70. Robinson, Fayette: CALIFORNIA AND ITS GOLD REGIONS;
WITH A GEOGRAPHICAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL VIEW
OF THE COUNTRY, ITS MINERAL AND AGRICULTURAL
RESOURCES...WITH A MAP OF THE U. STATES AND CALIFORNIA.... New York: Stringer and Townsend, 1849. 144p. plus frontispiece
engraving and large folding frontispiece map. Modern three-quarter polished
calf and marbled boards, raised bands, gilt morocco label. Very minor foxing, early tear in inner margin of map, professionally repaired. Near fine.The
Thomas W. Streeter copy, with his pencil notes on the front wrapper, titlepage,
and map, and his bookplate on the inside of the rear wrapper.
According to Wheat, “One of the best of the early books on California printed for
gold seekers.” Robinson, who had produced a book on the Mexican War shortly
before, drew on both official and unofficial sources for this book. Kurutz calls
this work “a fine anthology of several of the earliest reports of the gold discovery,
conditions in California, history of the region, and ways to reach the diggings....
The excellent map is important for delineating the various sea and overland routes
to California.” The gold region is usually tinted yellow on the map, as well as on
the inset “Map of the Gold Region,” and the overland routes are drawn in blue.
Among the sources drawn on are reports by Mason, Fremont, Larkin, Emory, and
Kearny, as well as newspaper accounts. Robinson discusses several routes to California, recommending the northern Overland Trail as the best.
HOWES R366, “b.” WHEAT GOLD RUSH 168. WHEAT GOLD REGIONS 70. WHEAT
TRANSMISSISSIPPI 591. GRAFF 3527. COWAN, p.537. KURUTZ 539a. SABIN 72070.
$7500.
The Author’s Two Works Bound Together
71. Rogers, Robert: JOURNALS OF MAJOR ROBERT ROGERS:
CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF SEVERAL EXCURSIONS HE
MADE UNDER THE GENERALS WHO COMMANDED UPON
THE CONTINENT OF NORTH AMERICA, DURING THE
LATE WAR. [bound with:] A CONCISE ACCOUNT OF NORTH
AMERICA: CONTAINING A DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL BRITISH COLONIES ON THAT CONTINENT...ALSO
OF THE INTERIOR, OR WESTERLY PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, UPON THE RIVERS ST. LAURENCE, THE MISSISSIPPI,
CHRISTINO, AND THE GREAT LAKES.... London: Printed for the
Author, and sold by J. Millan, 1765. Two volumes bound in one. viii,236pp.,
followed by 1p. “advertisement” for subscribers to a second volume (which
never appeared), 2pp. publisher’s advertisements; vii,[1],264pp. Half title for
first item. Contemporary speckled calf, spine with raised bands and gilt rules.
Hinges weak with leather cracked along hinges, chipped at spine ends, corners worn. Early ownership signature on titlepage of first volume. Very clean
and fresh internally. Near fine overall. In a half morocco and cloth box, red
leather labels.
First editions of two classics from the pen of Robert Rogers, whose legend was
formed by his actions in the French and Indian War (described in the first volume).
The Journals... is complete with the half title and the two advertisement leaves at
the rear which are not always present, and also features an advertisement for a
second volume of Rogers’ memoirs, which never appeared. A Concise Account... is
the companion work to Rogers’ journal, though in our experience the two are not
often found bound together.
Rogers acted as a scout for the 1755 expedition against Crown Point, and in
1756 became captain of an independent company of Rangers. He made scores of
raids against the French in New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, going as far west
as the shores of Lake Huron. His exploits, detailed in his Journals..., made him
the most romantic and famous figure of the war in America. The book has served
as the basis for much romantic fiction, most notably Kenneth Roberts’ Northwest
Passage. Rogers went on to briefly lead British rangers at the outset of the Revolution, raising recruits to fight against the American rebels.
A Concise Account... was also published in 1765, and it too was “printed for the
author and sold by J. Millan.” This is an important work utilizing Rogers’ knowledge of the western country. It includes detailed descriptions of geography, Indian
tribes encountered, etc. “The first geographical account of the American interior
after England had wrested it from France, and, aside from those of Pittman and
Hutchins, the most accurate of the period” – Howes. “One of the most accurate
contemporary accounts of the interior of North America as it was when England
took it from France” – Streeter.
HOWES R419, “b”; R418, “b.” GREENLY MICHIGAN 16, 17. BELL R366, R365. JCB 1474, 1473.
LANDE 760, 761. WINSOR V, pp.592-93. CLARK II:58, I:301. THOMSON 996. SABIN 72725,
72723. TPL 393, 392. VAIL 563, 526. STREETER SALE 1029, 1028. GRAFF 3555, 3554. FIELD
1315, 1316. GAGNON II:1828.
$16,000.
Root’s Narrative: A Major Overland Rarity
72. Root, Riley: JOURNAL OF TRAVELS FROM ST. JOSEPHS TO
OREGON, WITH OBSERVATIONS OF THAT COUNTRY, TOGETHER WITH SOME DESCRIPTION OF CALIFORNIA, ITS
AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS, AND A FULL DESCRIPTION
OF ITS GOLD MINES. Galesburg, Il.: Gazetteer and Intelligencer Prints,
1850. 143pp. Original printed pink wrappers, backed with pink cloth. Wrappers worn and soiled, with a few small holes in the front wrapper. Scattered
foxing. Overall, a very good copy, in original condition. In a cloth chemise
and half morocco and cloth slipcase, spine gilt.
One of the few journals of the 1848 emigration, and a cornerstone of overland literature. Root crossed the Missouri River at St. Joseph in April and reached Oregon
City on Sept. 13. He then went to California, arriving in the spring of 1849. His
daily journal occupies pages 16-36 and is followed by several pages of very practical
advice to emigrants. The remainder of the work consists of descriptions of Oregon
and California, including a report on the Whitman massacre. The wrapper is known
in several variants (see Wagner-Camp); this copy bears the wrapper imprint “Intelligencer Print” as well as the name of the compositor.
“Root provided his readers with information on the Oregon reaction to the
Gold Rush, geography and geology of the gold district, varieties of gold, mode of
searching for gold, and a general description of California” – Kurutz. “One of the
best overland journals, one of a few covering 1848, one of the earliest describing
the California gold-fields, which he reached from Oregon, May 1849” – Howes,
who affords it a “c” rating.
Very few copies of Root have appeared for sale in the last several decades.
HOWES R436, “c.” GRAFF 3565. WAGNER-CAMP 189. STREETER SALE 3162. COWAN,
p.542. KURUTZ 543a. BYRD 1621.
$27,500.
73. Rumsey, James: A SHORT TREATISE ON THE APPLICATION
OF STEAM, WHEREBY IS CLEARLY SHEWN, FROM ACTUAL
EXPERIMENTS, THAT STEAM MAY BE APPLIED TO PROPEL
BOATS OR VESSELS OF ANY BURTHEN AGAINST RAPID
CURRENTS WITH GREAT VELOCITY. Philadelphia: Printed by
Joseph James, 1788. 26pp. plus final blank leaf. 19th-century three-quarter morocco and marbled boards. Extremities somewhat worn, outer hinges cracked,
chipped at head and toe of spine. Contemporary ownership signature and
touch of dust soiling on titlepage. Else a very good, untrimmed copy, from
the library of Haskell F. Norman, with his bookplate. In a half morocco and
cloth box.
This is one of the pioneering works on steamboats, whose advent bespoke a technological revolution of profound implications. Rumsey, a machinist by trade, was
a trailblazer in steam propulsion. As early as 1784 he exhibited to George Washington a model of a boat for stemming the current of rivers by steam power. A
Short Treatise... initiated a controversy in the late 1780s between Rumsey and John
Fitch over who had priority in the development of their respective steam-powered
boats. Fitch was the first to publicize his invention and obtained a fourteen-year
privilege for the manufacture of steam vessels, giving him a virtual production
monopoly in America. Rumsey issued the present pamphlet as a reply to Fitch’s
Original Steamboat Supported (1788). This is the corrected reissue of Rumsey’s A
Plan, Wherein the Power of Steam is Fully Shewn (1788).
EVANS 21442. RINK 2924. NORMAN 1859. HOWES R499, “b.” STREETER SALE 3961.
$9500.
With the Famous Map
74. [Sage, Rufus B.]: SCENES IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, AND
IN OREGON, CALIFORNIA, NEW MEXICO, TEXAS, AND
THE GRAND PRAIRIES; OR NOTES BY THE WAY, DURING
AN EXCURSION OF THREE YEARS...By a New Englander. Philadelphia. 1846. 303pp. plus folding map. Contemporary blindstamped black
cloth, expertly rebacked. Minor wear to extremities, neatly repaired. Slightly
cocked. Moderate spotting in text and on map. Map with short tear and old
tape repair. Overall very good.
One of the most important overland narratives. Sage set out from Westport in the
summer of 1841 with a fur caravan, later visiting New Mexico, witnessing the disaster
of the Snively expedition, and joining the end of the 1843 Fremont expedition. He
returned to Ohio in time to take a vigorous if futile role in the election of 1844,
supporting Henry Clay. He wrote this book in 1845. The story of the publication
of this work and its subsequent sale is told by LeRoy Hafen in the introduction to
the most scholarly edition of Sage, issued in two volumes by the Arthur H. Clark
Co. in 1956. According to Hafen, the publishers of the original edition felt the
addition of a map would cost too much, and it was only at the author’s insistence
that a map was printed and sold with the book, at a higher rate. The map, based
mainly on the 1845 Fremont map, is usually not found with the book. It is “one of
the earliest to depict the finally-determined Oregon boundary...one of the earliest
attempts to show on a map the evermore-heavily traveled emigrant road to California” (Wheat). It adds interesting notes on the country and locations of fur trading
establishments. Sage was certainly one of the most literate and acute observers of
the West in the period immediately before the events of 1846.
COWAN, pp.548-49. HOWES S16, “b.” RAINES, p.181. MINTZ 402. SABIN 74892. WAGNERCAMP 123. WHEAT TRANSMISSISSIPPI 527. GRAFF, FIFTY TEXAS RARITIES 30. GRAFF
3633. STREETER SALE 3049. MATTES 68. RITTENHOUSE 502. WHEAT GOLD REGIONS
$10,000.
30.
The Bishop of Quebec Reports on the Iroquois
75. [Saint-Vallier, Jean Baptiste]: ESTAT PRESENT DE L’EGLISE
ET DE LA COLONIE FRANCOISE DANS LA NOUVELLE
FRANCE. Paris. 1688. [2],268pp. Original gilt calf, leather label. Rubbed,
front joint broken. Old private library stamp on bottom of titlepage, not affecting printing. Else very good. In a half morocco and cloth box.
An important and rare narrative of Indians and settlers in 17th-century Canada.
“The author was the second bishop of Quebec...before his consecration in 1685 he
visited Canada in order to examine the state of the diocese. On his return to France,
he wrote this account in the form of a letter addressed to one of his friends. It
describes the Indian tribes and their relations with the French settlers” – Lande. “...
Containing an account of the missions there with considerable attention to relations
between the French and the Indians, including troubles with the Iroquois” – Bell.
This work was also issued, using the same sheets but with a new titlepage, as Relation des Missions de la Nouvelle France. Quite scarce, accorded a “c” rating by Howes.
HOWES S 41, “c.” STREETER SALE 3632. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 688/207. BELL S57.
LANDE 773. TPL 98. SABIN 66978. JCB (2)II:1366. CHURCH 707 (note). HARRISSE NEW
$5000.
FRANCE 159.
With Original Mounted Photographs
76. Schmidt, Carl E.: [ Jackson, William H.]: A WESTERN TRIP. [Detroit]: For private circulation only, [1904]. 91pp., including thirty mounted
photographic views (twelve of them full-page color photochrome prints; the
other eighteen are small mounted black and white photographs). Small quarto.
Original gilt pictorial dark brown leather, red silk endpapers. Very minor shelf
wear. A bit of very light foxing. Near fine.
A presentation copy, inscribed by Schmidt to Irving Drew in the year of publication.
Laid in is a typed letter, signed, from Schmidt to Drew describing the book and
presenting it (original envelope included). Drew was the proprietor of the Irving
Drew Company, a shoe manufacturer in Portsmouth, Ohio.
A remarkable book, printed in a very small number for private circulation, and
featuring a number of original photographic prints. Schmidt, his daughter, and
two friends left Chicago for Wyoming and the West in the summer of 1901. They
spent several weeks in Yellowstone, and Schmidt recounts their adventures in great
detail, with descriptions of the park, their hiking expeditions, the characters they
encountered, and more. One chapter is devoted to a fishing trip, and the final chapter
describes a visit to a mine in Montana. The color pictures are photochrome prints
after photographs by William Henry Jackson who, as the official photographer of
the Hayden Survey in the 1870s, took the first photographs of Yellowstone. The
photochrome process was invented in Switzerland, and the American rights were
purchased by the Detroit Publishing Company around 1895. Jackson served as a
director of the newly-created Photochrom Company subsidiary, and praised the
photochrome process in his memoirs as a “process hardly improved today.” The
pictures ably convey the natural beauty of the region that became America’s first
national park. The black and white photographs were taken by Schmidt and his
companions and show the sites they visited, including several candid shots of Yellowstone.
This is the rare first edition of the book, with original mounted black and
white photographs to accompany the mounted photochrome prints. “Printed in a
few copies...An interesting journal of the Yellowstone Country, and because of the
circumstances of its printing, extremely difficult to come by” – Eberstadt. Rare
and quite interesting.
HOWES S170, “aa.” STREETER SALE 4123. EBERSTADT 136:667d. STREETER SALE 4123.
Traveling Thru Wonderland, pp.40-41.
$10,000.
“First consequential work on American geology” – Howes
77. Schöpf, Johann David: BEYTRAGE ZUR MINERALOGISCHEN
KENNTNISS DES OSTLICHEN THEILS VON NORDAMERIKA
UND SEINER GEBURGE. Erlangen, Germany: J.J. Palm, 1787. [14],
194pp. Contemporary boards. Edges somewhat rubbed. Internally fresh and
clean. A very good copy, with the bookplate of George Hunting Williams. In
a half morocco and cloth slipcase.
This copy is from the library of George Hunting Williams (1856-94), a prominent
American geologist and the author of an article on Schöpf ’s importance to North
American geology. A copy of an offprint by Williams on Schöpf is inserted at
the end of the book. Williams, along with Joseph Paxon Iddings, devised a new
system of physiochemical classification of rocks that is still in use today. The volume in hand is the first edition of what has been described as “the first book ever
published on United States geology” (Sargent, Geologists and the History of Geology). Johann David Schöpf was a German-trained physician who served as a field
surgeon attached to the Ansbach regimen of Hessian mercenaries employed by the
British during the American Revolution. After the war ended Schopf stayed an
additional two years in America, travelling along the east coast from New York City
south to St. Augustine, Florida. He was a careful student of natural history, and
was particularly interested in the geology and mineralogy of the region. This very
important book is the product of his geological observations along the east coast.
Schöpf also published an important account of his American travels (Reise Durch
Einige der Mittlern und Sudlichen...Staaten Nach Ost-Florida, Erlangen, 1788). Following is an extract from the above mentioned article by George Hunting Williams:
It may be a matter of some satisfaction to American geologists to know that an
excellent but now almost forgotten work on the geology and mineralogy of the
eastern United States south of New York was published at the time the names
of Werner and Hutton were just beginning to be heard in the scientific circles
of Europe. Its author, a young German, whom the accident of war brought to
our shores, was as well equipped as any of his contemporaries for the scientific
appreciation of the natural phenomena of a new country.
The first 13 chapters deal with the Coastal Plain deposits, and the following twelve with the highly crystalline or granitic belt forming the eastern part
of the Piedmont plateau. In this the Baltimore gabbros are quite correctly
described. Between the granitic belt...and the mountains proper, Schoepf
correctly distinguishes three limestone and two crystalline belts, which, for
the latitude of Maryland, he describes with admirable clearness....Sections 32
to 37...are devoted to the mountains proper, with a special description of the
Kittatinny and accounts of two sections carefully traversed from the Kittatinny
to the Susquehanna at Wyoming and from Shippensburg to Pittsburgh. To
these descriptive portions succeed discussions of the drainage and soils; of the
fossils in the mountains and their significance; of the origin of water and wind
gaps, and of the comparative newness of the Coastal Plain deposits, with proofs
of the sinking of the area east of the granite zone. Many of the conclusions
here set forth are in the main those now generally accepted, and bear witness
to the acumen of their author.
HOWES S175, “b.” SABIN 77754. WARD & COROZZI 1991. George Hunting Williams, “Johann David Schoepf and His Contributions to North American Geology” in Bulletin Geological Society of
America, Vol. 5, 1893.
$9500.
A Revolutionary War Narrative and Indian Captivity
78. Segar, Nathaniel: A BRIEF NARRATIVE OF THE CAPTIVITY
AND SUFFERINGS OF LT. NATHAN’L SEGAR, WHO WAS
TAKEN PRISONER BY THE INDIANS AND CARRIED TO
CANADA DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. Paris, Me.:
The Oxford Bookstore, 1825. 36pp. Contemporary plain stiff wrappers. Ink
stain on lower edge of front wrapper. Scattered foxing, titlepage restored and
laid down on paper. A very good copy. In a half morocco and cloth box.
Nathaniel Segar was a farmer and native of Newton, Massachusetts. All he wanted
was to build a life in the wilderness of Maine. His plans were upset when the
British marched on Lexington and Concord, prompting him to leave his fledgling
farm and volunteer to join the militia assigned to guard Boston. All told, Segar
volunteered for the militia three separate times, taking part in the Canadian campaign of 1775-76; the capture of two hundred Hessian soldiers in Vermont (with a
mention of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys); and the near fatal assault
on Newport, Rhode Island, which was called off when it was learned the British
were lying in ambush. After retiring from the Continental Army for good in 1779,
Segar returned to Maine (then Sudbury, Canada), where he began to clear land
and prepare a farm, becoming one of the first settlers of Bethel. At first the local
Indians were friendly, but they grew increasingly hostile, eventually raiding the
village and taking numerous prisoners, Segar included, on Aug. 3, 1781. After a
forced march through the Canadian wilderness, the captives were turned over to the
British in Montreal, where their captivity continued until November 1782. With
peace imminent, they were returned to Boston by ship. Segar’s narrative of both
the Revolutionary period and his captivity is rich in detail, with numerous accounts
of Indian brutality and courage on the part of the captives.
An extremely rare captivity narrative, with much excellent Revolutionary War
material. Not in Ayer or Streeter. The only copy to appear on the market in recent
times was the Herschel Jones-Frank Siebert copy in 1999.
SABIN 78895. SIEBERT SALE 453. AMERICAN IMPRINTS 22235. HOWES S272, “c.”
$12,500.
Rare Southern Indian Captivity
79. Smith, Mary: AN AFFECTING NARRATIVE OF THE CAPTIV-
ITY & SUFFERINGS OF MRS. MARY SMITH, WHO, WITH
HER HUSBAND AND THREE DAUGHTERS WERE TAKEN
PRISONERS BY THE INDIANS IN AUGUST LAST (1814) AND...
WAS FORTUNATELY RESCUED FROM THE MERCILESS
HANDS OF SAVAGES BY A DETACHED PARTY OF THE ARMY
OF THE BRAVE GENERAL JACKSON, LATE COMMANDING
AT NEW-ORLEANS. Providence: Printed for L. Scott, [1816?]. 24pp.
Folding woodcut frontispiece with light contemporary coloring (now somewhat
oxidized). Original plain wrappers, resewn. Leaves tanned, some staining on
frontispiece. Scattered foxing. Still a fresh, very good copy in original state,
untrimmed. In a cloth clamshell case, leather label. The Littell copy, with his
book label.
Mrs. Smith and her family were taken captive by the Chickasaws near the Yazoo
in 1814. Her husband was used for tomahawk throwing practice and her three
daughters were burned in front of her. She was saved from a similar fate by the
raid of a company of Tennessee troops. This captivity tale was first published in
Providence in 1815. The narrative was apparently a bestseller for its day, as at
least seven editions appeared by 1818, all of which are rare today. The printer,
Scott, produced several twenty-four-page and thirty-two-page editions with a new
woodcut frontispiece and variant titlepages; some include the text about the murder
of thirty people after Mrs. Smith escaped. The present edition was printed after
Jackson’s defeat of the British at the Battle of New Orleans on Jan. 8, 1815, as
reflected in the title.
Very rare. Sabin cites only two copies, of which one is imperfect. Not in Ayer.
HOWES S638, “b.” SABIN 83539.
$12,500.
Large Paper Copy of the First History of New York
80. Smith, William: THE HISTORY OF THE PROVINCE OF NEW-
YORK, FROM THE FIRST DISCOVERY TO THE YEAR 1732....
London. 1757. xii,255pp. plus folding plate. Quarto. Expertly bound to style
in three-quarter 18th-century calf over 18th-century marbled paper boards,
spine gilt, red morocco label. Very good.
William Smith was a graduate of Yale who became a distinguished New York lawyer, and later justice of the province. He was involved in a number of major land
litigation cases in colonial New York, and it is likely that because of this he and
Holland would have become closely acquainted. A Loyalist during the Revolution,
Smith moved to Canada upon its conclusion and there became a chief justice as
well. This history covers the period up to 1736. He wrote a continuation which
remained in manuscript form until it was published by the New-York Historical
Society in 1826. “One of the worthiest examples of historical literature produced
in later colonial times” – Larned.
An important early history of New York. Howes rates this large paper edition
a “d.” This is only the second large paper copy of the work we have encountered.
HOWES S703, “d” (the large paper issue). STREETER SALE 871. CHURCH 1023. SABIN
$12,500.
84566.
First Kansas City Book
81. Spalding, Charles C.: ANNALS OF THE CITY OF KANSAS: EM-
BRACING FULL DETAILS OF THE TRADE AND COMMERCE
OF THE GREAT WESTERN PLAINS.... Kansas City. 1858. 111pp.
plus seven plates. Original cloth, stamped in gilt and blind. Light fraying at
head and toe of spine. Foxed, plates generally clean. Overall just about very
good. In a cloth case.
A key book in Western Americana, both in regard to its importance as a summary
and projection of the history and prospects of Kansas Territory to date, and to
the interesting view it affords of the incidents of western migration: the Santa Fe
Trade, routes of travel and trade in New Mexico, the exodus to California, etc. Also
included is some mention of many of the men who were then playing key roles in
the westward movement. The development of industry and railroads in Kansas and
the region west to the Rockies is scrutinized, as is the status of Kansas City as the
hub of the Texas cattle trails. Two of the plates depict the Catholic Church. It has
been suggested that this work may have been the first book bound in Kansas City.
WAGNER-CAMP 309. HOWES S805, “c.” GRAFF 3918. SABIN 88862. BRADFORD 5145.
STREETER SALE 1870.
$7500.
A Fundamental Firsthand Account of the Revolution
82. Stedman, Charles: THE HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN, PROGRESS, AND TERMINATION OF THE AMERICAN WAR. London:
Printed for the Author, sold by J. Murray, J. Debrett and J. Kerby, 1794. Two
volumes. xv,399; xv,449,[13]pp. plus fifteen engraved maps and plans (eleven
folding). Half titles. Quarto. Contemporary blue boards, with modern paper
spines and labels. Boards rubbed at extremities. Ownership inscriptions on
front fly leaf. Tears in margins. Minor paper loss to p.53 in second volume.
Minor foxing or soiling, but generally quite clean internally. Very good. Untrimmed and partially unopened. In blue half morocco clamshell boxes, spines
gilt.
First edition of a work that is fundamental to any collection of books relating to the
American Revolution. This work is “generally considered the best contemporary
account of the Revolution written from the British side” (Sabin). Stedman was a
native of Philadelphia, a Loyalist who served as an officer under Howe, Clinton,
and Cornwallis, and later became an examiner of Loyalist claims for the British
government. He had firsthand knowledge of many of the campaigns and persons
involved in the effort. He is critical of Howe, and describes all the major theatres
of war, as well as individual battles from Bunker Hill to Yorktown.
The beautifully engraved maps (the largest of which is approximately 20 x 30
inches) constitute the finest collection of plans assembled by an eyewitness. They
depict the sieges of Savannah and Charlestown, plus the battles of Saratoga, Camden, Guilford, Hobkirk’s Hill, and Yorktown.
HOWES S914, “b.” JCB II:372. LOWNDES V, p.2504. SABIN 91057. WINSOR VI, p.518.
$18,500.
A Massive Set of Important Documents
83. Stevens, Benjamin Franklin, editor: B.F. STEVENS’S FACSIMILES
OF MANUSCRIPTS IN EUROPEAN ARCHIVES RELATING TO
AMERICA, 1773 – 1783, WITH DESCRIPTIONS, EDITORIAL
NOTES, COLLATIONS, REFERENCES AND TRANSLATIONS.
London. 1889-1898. Twenty-five volumes. Large folio. Contemporary threequarter morocco and marbled boards. Occasional rubbing and wear, but overall
a fine set.
A truly extraordinary set, reproducing in facsimile over 2100 important documents
relating to the American Revolution drawn from material in European archives,
especially the British. The immense task of assembly and editing was done in a
meticulous fashion by B.F. Stevens, the son of Henry Stevens of Vermont and successor to his father in the family book firm. A tremendous resource for research on
the political, diplomatic, and military phases of the Revolution, since many of the
documents remain otherwise unpublished and can only be seen by visiting London
or Paris, and since the index volume provides an invaluable cross-referencing and
indexing of the inclusive documents which remains of the greatest usefulness. Only
200 sets were produced. A cornerstone of research for the Revolutionary period.
HOWES S954, “c.”
$9500.
The First History of Virginia Printed There
84. Stith, William: THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST DISCOVERY
AND SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA: BEING AN ESSAY TOWARDS A GENERAL HISTORY OF THIS COLONY. [bound
with:] AN APPENDIX TO THE FIRST PART OF THE HISTORY
OF VIRGINIA.... Williamsburg: William Parks, 1747. Two volumes bound
in one, as usual. viii,331pp. (pp.305-341 misnumbered 295-331); v,[1],34pp.
Contemporary speckled calf, red gilt morocco label, ornate gilt spine in six
compartments, label renewed. Minor shelf wear. Faint toning. Signature X
printed on paper that has more foxing than the other signatures, as usual.
Very good. In a half morocco and cloth box.
First edition, third issue of Stith’s book, this issue possibly published as late as
1753. Stith’s text is one of the first American histories to be written and printed in
the British colonies, and the first such in Virginia. Stith, who was well connected
in the colony, had access to numerous important sources, including the library of
William Byrd of Westover, the personal recollections of Sir John Randolph, county
court books, the official records of the London Company, and John Smith’s seminal Generall Historie of Virginia. Printing began in Virginia when William Parks
established his press in Williamsburg in 1730. This is one of the earliest accessible
Virginia imprints, and one of the most interesting.
An appealing copy of a landmark book.
BERG, WILLIAMSBURG IMPRINTS 58. EVANS 6071. SABIN 91860. SWEM 5325. HOWES
S1014, “b.” NAIP w023158. CHURCH 963. STREETER SALE 1100.
$12,500.
The Best Edition, with an Important Map
85. [Stork, William, and John Bartram]: A DESCRIPTION OF EAST
FLORIDA, WITH A JOURNAL, KEPT BY JOHN BARTRAM
OF PHILADELPHIA, BOTANIST TO HIS MAJESTY FOR THE
FLORIDAS; UPON A JOURNEY FROM ST. AUGUSTINE UP
THE RIVER ST. JOHN’S, AS FAR AS THE LAKES. London: Sold
by W. Nicoll...and T. Jefferys, 1769. [4],viii,40,[2],xii,35,[1]pp. plus large engraved folding map and two engraved folding plans. Quarto. Contemporary
three-quarter calf and marbled boards; rebacked to style, spine gilt, leather
label. Very minor foxing and soiling. Very good plus.
The third and by far the best edition of one of the most important 18th-century
works on Florida, with significant additions and fine maps not found in the previous editions.
Great Britain took possession of Florida in the peace settlement of the French
and Indian War in 1763, opening the way to its development and exploration
by the English. Promoter William Stork teamed up with famed naturalist John
Bartram to explore in the eastern part of Florida, up the St. Johns River near present day Jacksonville, in the winter of 1765-66. “The celebrated botanist’s journal
complements Stork’s promotional account, and both are among the most important
sources for the history of East Florida” – Streeter. Stork describes the importance
of East Florida to Great Britain, especially regarding commerce and relations with
the Spanish settlements. Bartram’s journal stresses the botanical findings of the
territory, listing many plants with their descriptions.
This edition, the rarest of the three published, is noted for the plans of St. Augustine and the Bay of Espiritu Santo and a large map of the region, all by Thomas
Jefferys. The map, titled “East Florida from Surveys made since the last Peace,”
depicts the major cities and waterways of Florida, and is particularly notable for
showing the overland route from St. Augustine to St. Mark of Apalache. The map
depicts the peninsula as far north as Savannah and as far west as Pensacola.
A lovely copy of one of the most important 18th-century works on Florida,
significant for its contributions to travel literature, natural history, and cartography.
HOWES S1042, “b.” SABIN 92222. VAIL 600. DE RENNE I:193. SERVIES 480. TAXONOMIC
LITERATURE I:131-132. EBERSTADT 131:283. STREETER SALE 1183 (1766 ed). CUMMING
379 (map). PHILLIPS MAPS, p.280 (map).
$17,000.
Key Revolutionary Work
86. Tarleton, Banastre, Lieut.-Col.: A HISTORY OF THE CAM-
PAIGNS OF 1780 AND 1781, IN THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES
OF NORTH AMERICA. London. 1787. vii,[1],518pp. (including errata)
plus one folding map with routes marked by hand in color, and four plans
(two of which are folding), with positions and troop movements marked by
hand in color. 2pp. publisher’s advertisements at rear. Quarto. Contemporary
mottled calf, the flat spine divided into six compartments by Greek-key and
other roll tools, black morocco label in the second compartment, the others
with overall repeat decoration in gilt. Expertly rebacked with original backstrip
laid down. Very clean internally. Very good.
A standard work concerning the southern campaigns of the American Revolution.
Tarleton, the commander of a Tory cavalry unit, the British Legion, served in
America from May 1776 through the siege of Yorktown. He was infamous for his
brutal tactics and hard-riding attacks. His narrative is one of the principal British
accounts of the Revolution, notable for his use of original documents, a number of
which are included as notes following the relevant chapters. The handsome maps
and plans include “The Marches of Lord Cornwallis in the Southern Provinces...,”
showing the Carolinas, Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware (with routes traced by
hand in color); and plans of the siege of Charlestown, the battles of Camden and
Guildford, and the siege of Yorktown.
HOWES T37, “b.” CHURCH 1224. CLARK I:317. SABIN 94397.
$9000.
A Primary Account of Pennsylvania, in a Contemporary Binding
87. Thomas, Gabriel: AN HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL
ACCOUNT OF THE PROVINCE AND COUNTRY OF PENSILVANIA; AND OF WEST-NEW-JERSEY IN AMERICA.... London: Printed for, and sold by A. Baldwin, 1698.
[8],55,[13],34pp. plus folding engraved map. Contemporary ruled sheep, with 8 leaves of original
printed binder’s waste sheets (probably Wing
G61). Minor wear along front joint, but a near
pristine copy in original binding. In a cloth chemise and half morocco and cloth slipcase. Provenance: Frank T. Siebert (Sotheby’s New York,
May 21, 1999, lot 122); Jay Snider (bookplate).
One of the first extensive promotional tracts for
New Jersey and Pennsylvania, based on the author’s
fifteen years there, and dedicated to William Penn.
An enthusiastic promoter, Thomas describes the
natural products of the country and the extent of
settlement which had already taken place, as well
as giving a good account of the Indian tribes of the
area and specimens of the Delaware Indian language. He particularly encourages poor Englishmen
to move there, and gives one of the first descriptions
of Philadelphia.
“Thomas had lived in America for about fifteen
years, and the information contained in this book is
the result of his own observations and experience.
It was written to induce the immigration of all who
wished to better their worldly condition, and especially of the poor who might
subsist in West Jersey ‘without either begging or stealing.’ He gives an account
of the natural products of the country and the improvements already made and
in progress, as well as of the modes of life among the Indians and the prevailing
intercourse between them and the settlers. In the Preface the author says: ‘Nor
is there the least question or doubt to be made, but this Noble Spot of Earth will
thrive exceedingly’” – Church.
In addition to the geographic and ethnographic information it provides, Thomas’
text also recognizes a nascent population boom that would sustain growth and
development in the region. He writes: “Jealousie among Men is here very rare,
and Barrenness among Women hardly to be heard of, nor are old Maids to be met
with; for all commonly Marry before they are Twenty Years of Age, and seldom
any young Married Woman but hath a Child in her Belly, or one upon her Lap.”
One of the most important early works on Pennsylvania, rich with descriptive
information, in a fine contemporary binding. This copy sold for $40,250 at the
Siebert sale in 1999.
STREETER SALE 946. HOWES T167, “dd.” CHURCH 778. SABIN 95395. JCB (2)II:1550. IVES
992. BAER MARYLAND 188. VAIL 280. BRADFORD 5387. BRINLEY 3102. HUNTINGTON
SALE 1309. ROSENBACH 20-753. SIEBERT SALE 122 (this copy). JONES, ADVENTURES IN
AMERICANA 1492-1897, 143. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 698:214. LAIRD PARK SALE 347.
PILLING, PROOF SHEETS 3847.
$48,000.
The Ohio Country in the French and Indian War
88. [Thomson, Charles]: AN ENQUIRY INTO THE CAUSES OF
THE ALIENATION OF THE DELAWARE AND SHAWANESE
INDIANS FROM THE BRITISH INTEREST, AND INTO THE
MEASURES TAKEN FOR RECOVERING THEIR FRIENDSHIP...TOGETHER WITH THE REMARKABLE JOURNAL OF
CHRISTIAN FREDERIC POST...WITH NOTES BY THE EDITOR EXPLAINING SUNDRY INDIAN CUSTOMS, &c. WRITTEN IN PENNSYLVANIA. London: Printed for J. Wilkie, 1759. 184pp.
plus folding map. Antique-style half calf and marbled boards. Minor toning
and light scattered foxing. Very good. Untrimmed.
A work of the greatest importance for the history of the French and Indian War.
Thomson argues that the arrogance and greed of the colonial government of Pennsylvania caused the rupture between the Pennsylvania Indians and the British, and
temporarily forced the natives to the French side of the fight in the Ohio country.
“Apparently printed at Benjamin Franklin’s expense as part of his campaign to discredit the Proprietary government of Pennsylvania” – Streeter. “It was one of the
most important works on relations with the Indians that had been published up to
that time” – Graff. Christian Post, a Moravian missionary, travelled to the Ohio
country in 1758 to negotiate with the Indians, and won them back to the British
side. His journal of that trip makes up the second part of this book. The map
shows Pennsylvania, with various important western points located.
HOWES T210, “b.” GRAFF 4139. CHURCH 1029. FIELD 1548. VAIL 535. JONES 498.
STREETER SALE 966. SABIN 95562. THOMSON 1145.
$15,000.
Original Collected Edition
89. Thwaites, Reuben G., editor: THE JESUIT RELATIONS AND
ALLIED DOCUMENTS. TRAVELS AND EXPLORATIONS OF
THE JESUIT MISSIONARIES IN NEW FRANCE, 1610 – 1791.
Cleveland. 1896-1904. Seventy-three volumes. Original buckram, t.e.g. Slightly rubbed. Ex-lib. with ink shelf number on spine. Card pocket on front
pastedown, discreet notes on preliminary leaf. Occasional light foxing. Overall,
a very good set.
From an edition limited to 750 numbered sets. The edited Jesuit Relations... was
the first great modern scholarly editing project to be published in the United States,
bringing together a huge mass of material which was previously only in manuscript
form or printed in very rare publications. It is still the basic source for much of
the early history of New France. Besides translating (most for the first time) all of
the narratives of the 17th-century Jesuit missionaries in the wilderness of North
America, it brings together a mass of supporting documentation which has made
it the first point of reference for this phase of American history.
HOWES J107, “d.”
$2500.
One of 200 Sets on Large Paper
90. Thwaites, Reuben Gold [editor]: ORIGINAL JOURNALS OF
THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION 1804 – 1806 PRINTED
FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS...TOGETHER WITH
MANUSCRIPT MATERIAL OF LEWIS AND CLARK...NOW
FOR THE FIRST TIME PUBLISHED IN FULL AND EXACTLY
AS WRITTEN.... New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1904-1905. Seven
volumes bound in fourteen parts, plus atlas volume. Plates (many in color),
facsimiles. Quarto. Original gilt green cloth. Cloth a bit discolored on both
parts of first, fourth, and fifth volumes; most spines sunned; some minor
silverfishing on some volumes. Internally clean and tightly bound. Overall a
very good set, several of the volumes unopened.
One of 200 large paper sets on Van Gelder paper. “The most elaborate work on
this expedition” – Howes. A cornerstone of modern historical research, printing
for the first time many major primary documents which did not appear in the
Biddle edition, including the Floyd and Whitehouse journals, and material from
the Clark-Voorihis papers, along with facsimile manuscripts, maps, portraits, and
other illustrative matter. Also valuable is Victor Paltsits’ bibliography of the Lewis
and Clark expedition, in the first volume. “This edition is notable for its thorough
Introduction, covering the history of the expedition and earlier exploration, and
a detailed account of the original journals and their various editions....In its maps
and numerous illustrations, the Thwaites edition is an outstanding source of visual
materials relating to the expedition” – Literature of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
HOWES L320, “c.” LITERATURE OF THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION 5d.1. WAG-
NER-CAMP 13:7 (note). TWENEY, WASHINGTON 76.
$21,000.
Presentation Copy from the Author
91. Tixier, Victor: VOYAGE AUX PRAIRIES OSAGES, LOUISIANE
ET MISSOURI, 1839 – 1840. Paris. 1844. 264pp. plus five plates including frontispiece. Original printed wrappers. Spine bit cocked and chipped.
Some light scattered foxing. Overall just about very good. In a half morocco
and cloth box.
A presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front wrapper: “À Monsieur
Vignancourt Souvenir affectueux, Victor Tixier.” Tixier arrived in New Orleans
in January 1840, “where he received an invitation from Major Chouteau to visit
the Osages and to hunt buffalo. He arrived in St. Louis on May 12, travelled to
Independence and from there to Papin’s trading post, called Nion-Chou. He accompanied the Osages on a buffalo hunt to the Grand Saline” (Wagner-Camp).
According to John Francis McDermott, who edited the English translation of the
work (University of Oklahoma Press, 1940, a copy of which accompanies the present copy of the original), Tixier’s is a fine account of Osage life on the Plains at
the time of his visit in 1840. The text of the book focuses almost entirely on his
trip to the Plains, and describes only briefly his trip to New Orleans and up the
Mississippi. Also according to McDermott, Tixier’s narrative “has remained one
of the rarest pieces of Western Americana.” This would seem to be borne out by
its scarcity in the marketplace.
A nice presentation copy of a great western rarity.
STREETER SALE 1810. WAGNER-CAMP 114. HOWES T276, “b.” MONAGHAN 1406.
RADER 3139. GRAFF 4159.
$6500.
First Mexican Printing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
92. [Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]: TRATADO DE PAZ, AMISTAD,
LIMITES Y ARREGLO DEFINITIVO ENTRE LA REPUBLICA
MEXICANA Y LOS ESTADOS-UNIDOS DE AMERICA, FIRMADO EN GUADALUPE HIDALGO EL 2 DE FEBRERO DE
1848.... Queretaro: Imprenta de J.M. Lara, 1848. 28pp. printed in Spanish
and English in double columns. [bound with:] ESPOSICION DIRIGIDA
AL SUPREMO GOBIERNO POR LOS COMISIONADOS QUE
FIRMARON EL TRATADO DE PAZ CON LOS ESTADOS-UNIDOS. Querearo [sic]: Imprenta de Jose M. Lara, 1848. 27pp. Modern calf,
spine gilt. Trimmed a bit close at top, affecting a few page numbers but no
text. Signature 6 tanned. Overall, very good.
The first Mexican printing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo – a landmark
American treaty and the document that gave the United States the Southwest and
California. This printing was issued in the wake of the treaty signing, which took
place in the town of Guadalupe Hidalgo, where the Mexican government had retreated in the face of advancing American troops. It is bound here, as is usual and
proper, with the Esposicion..., in which the Mexican signatories to the treaty defend
their cession of New Mexico and California to the United States. The two items
are interesting from a printing standpoint, as the two titles have separate titlepages and are separately paginated, yet the signature markings on the gatherings are
continuous, and the second titlepage is the third leaf in signature 4.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the war between the United States
and Mexico, resulted in the formal cession of the entire Southwest and California
to the United States. Agreements were reached for the withdrawal of American
troops from Mexico, the payment of Mexican claims, and the formal cession of
territory (the U.S. had already occupied all of the land). The theoretical boundaries
were set out and arrangements for boundary commissioners were made. By this
treaty the U.S. obtained an addition of land equaled in size only by the Louisiana
and Alaska purchases. “A document of resounding consequence” – Eberstadt. A
fundamental piece of Western Americana, here in its earliest Mexican printing,
and scarce on the market.
STREETER SALE 281. PALAU 339388. GARRETT, pp.90-91. COWAN, p.252. HOWES M565,
“b.” GRAFF 2775. LIBROS CALIFORNIANOS (2nd ed), p.29. EBERSTADT 162:846. BAUER 481.
$8500.
MALLOY, p.1107.
First Directory of Laramie City
93. Triggs, J.H.: HISTORY AND DIRECTORY OF LARAMIE CITY,
WYOMING TERRITORY, COMPRISING A BRIEF HISTORY
OF LARAMIE CITY FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE
PRESENT TIME, TOGETHER WITH SKETCHES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY.... Laramie
City. 1875. 91pp. Original green printed wrappers, rear wrapper and spine
replaced with matching modern wrapper. Front wrapper repaired in upper
corner. Upper corner of first eight leaves and foredge tear in first six leaves
repaired. Else very good. In a half morocco and cloth box.
A history of the city and promotion for the surrounding country, with much information about its virtues, attributes, etc. The last third of the pamphlet is devoted
to a directory of the city. There are also advertisements for many local merchants
throughout. This is the first directory for any part of Wyoming, and one of the
first book-length works published there. Triggs’ publications are the outstanding
early Wyoming promotional pieces. “A history of the region from the day of first
settlement, in April of 1868. Recognized by students of Western History as probably
the best, most honest and outspoken, most bluntly written and vivid description
extant of the early and turbulent days” – Eberstadt.
AII (WYOMING) 23. ADAMS SIX-GUNS 2239 (“exceedingly rare”). STOPKA, WYOMING
TERRITORIAL IMPRINTS 1875.7. ADAMS HERD 2332 (“very rare”). EBERSTADT 113:434.
HOWES T351, “b.” GRAFF 4191. STREETER SALE 2245. JENNEWEIN 83.
$6000.
Landmark Wyoming Publication
94. Triggs, J.H.: HISTORY OF CHEYENNE AND NORTHERN WY-
OMING EMBRACING THE GOLD FIELDS OF THE BLACK
HILLS, POWDER RIVER AND BIG HORN COUNTRIES....
Omaha: Printed at the Herald Steam Book and Job Printing House, 1876.
144pp. plus folding map. Original printed green wrappers, expertly rebacked
in matching green paper. Wrappers a bit wrinkled, a few small tears in edges.
Faint circular ink stamp on front wrapper and titlepage. Very clean internally.
Very good. In a cloth clamshell box, spine gilt.
A fundamental and very scarce work on the region, based on the author’s twelve years
of residence in the Rocky Mountains and on the plains. He recounts details of the
settlement of Cheyenne, events in its early history, the actions of the vigilantes, the
pioneer press, early commercial endeavors, etc. The thirteen terminal pages of this
work comprise a business directory, including ads for the Union Pacific Railroad,
stage lines, land promoters, merchants, etc. “The work is the result of personal
observation and experiences in the Dakota-Wyoming country extending over a
period of some twelve years on the plains and in the Rocky Mountains. Triggs set
out in June of 1863 from Davenport, Iowa, as Lieutenant of the Seventh Iowa Cavalry. He accompanied the command of General Mitchell on the Sioux-Cheyenne
expedition of 1864, was then assigned to duty at Fort Halleck; joined the staff of
General Curtis at Fort Laramie; fought in the Indian Campaigns of ‘65, retiring as
Captain. From that year onward he devoted himself to prospecting and exploring
in the Wyoming Territory” – Eberstadt (asking $200 for a copy in 1937). Triggs
produced the first directory of Laramie City in 1875. The map, drawn by W.M.
Masi, covers the present state of Wyoming.
As a whole, this work comprises one of the earliest and most important histories of the Wyoming-Dakota region. “Exceedingly rare” – Adams, Six-Guns. “Of
greatest importance” – Midland Notes.
AII (NEBRASKA) 443. HOWES T352, “b.” ADAMS SIX-GUNS 2238. ADAMS HERD 2331.
GRAFF 4192. JENNEWEIN 83. STREETER SALE 2247. EBERSTADT 109:128. SOLIDAY 885.
DECKER 49:273. MIDLAND NOTES 91:530. HOLLIDAY SALE 1102.
$7500.
A Remarkable California Photographic Production
95. Vischer, Edward: VISCHER’S PICTORIAL OF CALIFORNIA
LANDSCAPE, TREES AND FOREST SCENES. GRAND FEATURES OF CALIFORNIA SCENERY, LIFE, TRAFFIC AND
CUSTOMS. San Francisco: Printed by Joseph Winterburn & Company,
April 1870. [4],4,[129]-131 [i.e. six leaves], [10]pp. of text plus 163 albumen
photographs on captioned mounts (a few with two photographs per mount).
Large quarto portfolio in original morocco, elaborately stamped in gilt, spine
richly gilt, raised bands, gilt inner dentelles, a.e.g. Binder’s ticket of Bartling
& Kimball of San Francisco on front pastedown. Binding worn around edges,
some mounts warped (as usual). Light dampstain in lower margin of first front
endpapers and first two leaves, final six mounts a bit tanned, one mount (toward rear) tanned with stain in lower outer corner. Overall very clean inside, in
near fine condition. [with:] Text volume of identical title. [4],132pp. Quarto.
Original printed wrappers. Worn along spine, wrappers lightly soiled, stain on
rear wrapper. Internally clean. Very good. [with:] Vischer, Edward: MIS-
SIONS OF UPPER CALIFORNIA, 1872. NOTES ON THE CALIFORNIA MISSIONS, A SUPPLEMENT TO VISCHER’S PICTORIAL OF CALIFORNIA, DEDICATED TO ITS PATRONS.
San Francisco: Winterburn & Co., 1872. [2],44,viii,iv,[2]pp. Original printed
wrappers. Wrappers foxed and torn. Internally clean. Very good.
Bibliographer Merrill J. Mattes’ copy, with his pencil ownership signature on a
front free endpaper. A singular work of California art and iconography, Vischer’s
Pictorial of California Landscape... stands alone in its depiction of the state in the
second half of the 19th century. Called by Weber “preeminently the greatest artist
in the early history of our state,” Vischer created dozens of drawings of California
scenes and scenery from on-the-spot observations, and reproduced them in albumen
photographs, with accompanying text descriptions. “The drawings, executed in
pencil and wash, cover a wide range of subjects, including the rare commemoration
of the brief introduction of camels to California. Of special importance are the
drawings of the missions which interested Vischer throughout his life” – Howell.
Cowan notes that few copies of Vischer’s work contain precisely the same number
of plates, and that statement is born out by the present copy, which features 163
separate mounted albumen photographs, divided into five sections. This is among
the largest number of photographs of any Vischer album. The first section, on
landscape, is the largest, with sixty-one photographs including scenes in forests
and mining camps, the Sierra Nevada, Lake Tahoe, Truckee, Santa Barbara, Santa
Cruz, several California missions (of great interest to Vischer), Donner Lake, the
San Bernardino mountains, and more. This is followed by a section of twenty-eight
photographs of trees and forest scenes, including giant Sequoias and redwoods, the
Mammoth tree grove, and Cypress trees. Next comes a section of fourteen photographs of “Grand Features” depicting the scenery of Yosemite, the Sierra Nevadas,
Donner Lake, Mount Shasta, and coastal views. A large section follows of forty-six
photographs of scenes depicting the life, traffic, and customs of California, with
views of the Napa Valley, farming scenes, the mission at Santa Barbara, rodeos,
cattle roundups, emigrant camps, mines, and whaleships and Navy vessels in San
Francisco harbor. The final section consists of fourteen reproductions of Carleton
Watkins prints of the Industrial Fair of 1864. Of Vischer’s work, Miles and Reese
say: “...there are no contemporary publications quite comparable to them in their
eccentric combination of media; the confusion is compounded by the bewildering
array of formats, issues, and reissues the artist ultimately produced.” Also included
here is the accompanying text volume of Vischer’s Pictorial..., as well as his text on
the missions of California, published in 1872.
Edward Vischer (1809-78) migrated from Germany to Mexico at the age of
nineteen, working for commercial houses, and acting as the supercargo on trading
voyages to Pacific ports in the Americas and Asia. In the 1840s, Vischer was visiting
California regularly and began producing paintings and sketches of California life,
scenery, and missions. He determined to publish his artwork, and initially began
doing so through lithographs, abandoning this method in favor of photographs of
his drawings, when one of his lithographic stones broke, costing him in time and
effort. He turned to photography, and in 1862 began issuing albums reproducing
his drawings in a variety of formats and issues.
“Because of his Herculean efforts, this sumptuous publication still remains as
an invaluable reference for studying the early iconography of California” – Kurutz.
A remarkable and unique work of American art and photography.
COWAN, p.662. HOWELL 50:914. HOWES V131, “b.” GRAFF 4492. KURUTZ, CALIFORNIA
BOOKS ILLUSTRATED WITH ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS 66. ROCQ 17214. STREETER
SALE 2930, 2936. CURREY & KRUSKA 381. FARQUHAR, YOSEMITE 5c. WEBER, CALIFORNIA MISSIONS, p.103. EBERSTADT 124:16. MILES & REESE, AMERICA PICTURED TO THE
$27,500.
LIFE 21 (note).
With the Rare Panorama Plates
96. Wild, J.C.: PANORAMA AND VIEWS OF PHILADELPHIA, AND
ITS VICINITY. EMBRACING A COLLECTION OF TWENTY
VIEWS, FROM PAINTINGS BY J.C. WILD. WITH POETICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF EACH SUBJECT, BY ANDREW
M’MAKIN. Philadelphia. 1838. [22]pp. plus twenty-four black and white
lithographs. Quarto. Original patterned brown cloth, gilt morocco label on
front board, nicely rebacked in matching style. Corners worn. Closed tear in
titlepage and first text page expertly repaired. The plates and text clean and
fresh. A very good copy. In a folding clamshell box, leather label.
An important and very rare American view book, showing scenes in and around
Philadelphia, primarily notable public works and major public buildings, ranging
from the University of Pennsylvania to the Eastern Penitentiary, U.S. Mint, Naval
Asylum, U.S. Bank, Merchants’ Exchange, and more. This issue also includes four
additional plates, being north, south, east, and west views from City Hall, forming
a panorama. The panorama plates are perhaps the most interesting in the work,
and are often lacking. Wild was well known as a landscape artist and panorama
painter; shortly after this work came out he moved to St. Louis, where he produced
the first lithographically illustrated work issued there, The Valley of the Mississippi
Illustrated. The handsome views in this volume are some of the nicest American
city views of the period.
There are two issues of this book: the present issue, and another with the title,
Views of Philadelphia.... The other issue has only twenty plates, omitting the four
panorama plates present here. Howes accords the Panorama And Views of Philadelphia... a “c” rating, while the other issue rates a “b.” The twenty-plate issue is quite
scarce; the present issue, with the panorama plates, is extremely rare.
HOWES W410, “c.” SABIN 103971.
$9750.
First Published Account of Going Overland
on the Oregon Trail in 1843
97. Wilkes, George: THE HISTORY OF OREGON, GEOGRAPHI-
CAL AND POLITICAL...EMBRACING AN ANALYSIS OF THE
OLD SPANISH CLAIMS, THE BRITISH PRETENSIONS, THE
UNITED STATES TITLE; AN ACCOUNT OF THE PRESENT
CONDITION AND CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY, AND
A THOROUGH EXAMINATION OF THE PROJECT OF A NATIONAL RAIL ROAD, FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN. New York: William H. Colyer, 1845. 127,[1]pp. plus folding
map. Early 20th-century three-quarter morocco and marbled boards, spine
gilt. Lightly shelfworn. Three very small tears in upper central portion of map,
with minute loss, and light old water stain. Light rust mark on titlepage. Else
internally very clean. A very good copy.
The very rare first edition of this important overland narrative and first proposal
for a transcontinental railroad. A landmark in the history of westward expansion
and Manifest Destiny: “The Railroad is the Great Negotiator, which alone can
settle our title more conclusively than all the diplomatists in the world...Arouse
then, America, and obey the mandate which Destiny has imposed upon you for
the redemption of a world!” Wilkes includes here the complete account by Peter
H. Burnett of the celebrated overland emigration of 1843. “This and the Overton
Johnson narrative published a year later, in 1846, are the only known contemporaneous accounts of the 1843 emigration published within a few years of the event.
Burnett, whose narrative Wilkes publishes in full, was afterwards the first civil
governor of California” – Streeter. The folding map shows the Oregon country
and parts of British Columbia. This book is very rare, with Wagner-Camp locating
only four copies. An article in the Quarterly of the Washington Historical Society
for October 1906 describes this work as “one of the rarest and least known books.”
HOWES W418, “c.” SABIN 103997. WAGNER-CAMP 119:1. WHEAT TRANSMISSISSIPPI
501. STREETER SALE 3143. GRAFF 4657.
$12,500.
98. [ Williamson, Charles]: DESCRIPTION OF THE GENESEE
COUNTRY, ITS RAPIDLY PROGRESSIVE POPULATION AND
IMPROVEMENTS: IN A SERIES OF LETTERS FROM A GENTLEMAN TO HIS FRIEND. Albany: Printed by Loring Andrews & Co.,
1798. 37pp. plus two folding maps. Folding frontis. Square quarto. Original
front speckled wrapper bound into paneled green morocco (Club Bindery,
1908), gilt, spine gilt with raised bands, a.e.g. Spine faded to brown, joints
worn. Bookplate on front pastedown. Washed, maps silked. Very good. In a
morocco slipcase.
The Beverly Chew copy, with his bookplate on the front pastedown, later given as a
gift to the New Jersey Historical Society. The rare first edition of this promotional
pamphlet for the Pulteney Estate in western New York, issued by the promoters of
the region, the English Associates. Written in the form of five letters, it describes
the history of the area and its potential for development. The folding frontispiece
depicts Fort Oswego on the shore of Lake Ontario, and the two maps show Ontario and Steuben counties, and the location of the Genesee lands in relation to the
Atlantic coast. A subsequent printing appeared in 1799, and Howes records three
more printings in 1804. These guidebooks were utilized by prospective settlers,
and were often discarded after they arrived at their new homes.
HOWES W493, “b.” VAIL 1182. EVANS 35033. SABIN 104441. JCB 2:3951.
$9000.
“...the most popular of all Indian captivities” – Vail
99. Williamson, Peter: FRENCH AND INDIAN CRUELTY; EXEMPLI-
FIED IN THE LIFE AND VARIOUS VICISSITUDES OF FORTUNE, OF PETER WILLIAMSON, A DISBANDED SOLDIER.
CONTAINING A PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS AND DRESS OF THE SAVAGES...A SUMMARY OF THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE SEVERAL PROVINCES
OF PENNSYLVANIA (INCLUDING PHILADELPHIA), NEW
YORK, NEW ENGLAND...FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF
THE WAR IN THOSE PARTS, PARTICULARLY THOSE RELATIVE TO THE INTENDED ATTACK ON CROWN POINT AND
NIAGARA, AND AN ACCURATE AND SUCCINCT DETAIL OF
THE SIEGE OF OSWEGO.... York. 1758. [2],104pp. Later three-quarter
calf and marbled boards, expertly rebacked, spine gilt. Armorial bookplate on
front pastedown. Some mild foxing, but generally internally quite clean. Very
good. Lacks the half title.
“The second edition, with corrections and amendments,” issued the year after the
superlatively rare first edition, of what Vail calls “the most popular of all Indian
captivities.” Peter Williamson was born in Scotland, but was kidnapped and sold
into bondage in Pennsylvania when he was eight years old. His master proved
kind and ultimately became his benefactor, leaving Williamson enough money to
marry and establish himself on a farm near the forks of the Delaware. In 1754 he
was captured by Indians, probably Delawares, held captive for three months, and
submitted to various tortures and humiliations. Escaping in January 1755, he joined
the army and was sent first to Boston, then with the expedition to defend Oswego.
When Oswego was captured by the French, he was wounded and taken prisoner.
Ultimately, he was paroled and sent to England, arriving in November 1756.
Williamson’s narrative is vivid and detailed, deserving of the interest and editions
it evoked. It served as a model for many later narratives, and numerous fictional
treatments stole details from it. This is the earliest obtainable edition, the first
existing in only a few copies.
VAIL 526. SABIN 104468. AYER 316. HOWES W500, “b.”
$12,500.
“First printed account of the first emigrant party
to cross the plains” – Howes
100. Wyeth, John B.: OREGON; OR A SHORT HISTORY OF A LONG
JOURNEY FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN TO THE REGION
OF THE PACIFIC, BY LAND; DRAWN UP FROM THE NOTES
AND ORAL INFORMATION OF JOHN B. WYETH, ONE OF
THE PARTY WHO LEF T MR. NATHANIEL J. WYETH, JULY
28th, 1832, FOUR DAYS’ MARCH BEYOND THE RIDGE OF
THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, AND THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS
RETURNED TO NEW ENGLAND. Cambridge, Ma.: Printed for John
B. Wyeth, 1833. Half title. Without the one-line erratum slip pasted to the
verso of the title-leaf in a few copies. 12mo. signed in sixes. Original paper
wrappers, upper wrapper border of black rules with the letterpress title in the
central panel: “Wyeth’s / Oregon / Expedition.” Wrappers lacking backstrip
and lower cover, else very good. In a red cloth chemise, all within a two-part
red morocco slipcase lettered in gilt.
A famed high spot of Western Americana. This important and rare record is a
milestone in the history of the exploration and settlement of the West, being an
account of the first overland expedition across America. John B. Wyeth witnessed
the events described. He was a member of the group of emigrants led by his cousin,
Nathaniel Wyeth. Departing from Cambridge, Massachusetts in March 1832, the
party travelled overland (via New Orleans and St. Louis) to Oregon and the Rockies in search of riches in the fur trade: they successfully crossed the Rockies and
got to within 400 miles of the Pacific. The inspiration for the venture seems to
have been “Hall J. Kelley’s pamphlets on the colonization of Oregon....From Kelley’s accounts it appears that Nathaniel Wyeth, Dr. Jacob Wyeth, and several other
members of the company had originally enrolled in Kelley’s emigrating society”
(Wagner-Camp). According to Sabin and Wagner-Camp the narrative was edited
and possibly written by Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse.
This copy does not include the one-line erratum slip that is pasted to the verso
of the title-leaf in a few copies. It seems possible that its absence (as in the Streeter,
Graff, and Bancroft copies) is an indication of its being an early issue, before the
errors were detected.
The work is rare in any form, but particularly in wrappers.
GRAFF 476. HOWES W717, “c.” SABIN 105649. SMITH 11236. STREETER SALE 2091.
TWENEY 88. WAGNER-CAMP 47.
$17,500.