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Catalogue 257 The Streeter Sale Revisited |
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Section VI: King to Louisiana |
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Papers
on Book Collecting by William S. Reese
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A Great Rarity of Arctic Exploration 166. King,
Richard: NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY TO THE SHORES OF THE ARCTIC OCEAN, IN
1833, 1834, AND 1835; UNDER THE COMMAND OF CAPT. BACK, R.N. London.
1836. Two volumes. xv,312; viii,321pp. plus four engraved plates including
frontispieces and map. Half title in first volume. Contemporary
three-quarter red morocco and marbled boards, gilt-stamped spines, t.e.g.
Joints a bit worn. Armorial bookplate on front pastedowns. Internally
quite clean. Very good. Lacks the list of plates. One
of the rarest and most difficult to obtain of early northwestern and
arctic narratives. King was
the surgeon and naturalist accompanying the expedition of Capt. George
Back, and was the ranking officer after Back in the party.
The purpose of the Back expedition was to locate Sir John Ross,
feared to be in trouble on his second expedition, and to explore the
country from the Great Slave Lake north to the Arctic Ocean. The party set out in 1833 from Hudson Bay, wintered over near Great Slave
Lake, and spent the entire season of 1834 exploring northward, gathering
natural history information, mapping the otherwise unexplored land, and
having numerous encounters with natives.
After another winter in the far north, the party made its way back
to Hudson Bay by August 1835, having travelled seventy-five hundred miles
on foot and by boat in two years. Much of King’s narrative is devoted to the Indians encountered, and
Field asserts that he was much more open-minded and fairer in his
treatment than was Back. He
gives detailed accounts of the Chippewa, Cree, and Eskimo tribes met en
route, bestowing particular praise on Chippewa chief Akaitcho, who fed the
starving parties of the first two Franklin expeditions and Back’s third,
and without whose generosity Franklin would not have survived to make his
final voyage. King was plainly
unhappy that Back had made extensive use of his research without much
credit, and his work seeks to set this record straight. Whether his
disagreements with Back or the overwhelming popularity of that narrative
are responsible for the rarity of his account is unclear, but it is likely
that their falling out played a role.
In any case, it is now very rare. The Streeter copy went to “Welch” for $150.
His set sounds as if it was in rough condition. Early Florida Imprint 167. [Kingsley,
Zephaniah]: A TREATISE ON THE PATRIARCHAL, OR CO-OPERATIVE SYSTEM OF
SOCIETY AS IT EXISTS IN SOME GOVERNMENTS, AND COLONIES IN AMERICA, AND IN
THE UNITED STATES, UNDER THE NAME OF SLAVERY, WITH ITS NECESSITY AND
ADVANTAGES. By an Inhabitant of Florida. [Tallahassee. 1829]. 16pp.
Original plain wrappers. Chipped around edges and along spine. Tanned.
About very good. The
second edition, issued the year after the first.
A pro-slavery pamphlet and early Florida imprint, giving arguments
for the necessity of slavery in the southern system.
Servies notes that the first edition was probably printed in
Charleston. Seven Gables paid $70 for the Streeter copy. Very Rare Narrative 168. Kinzie,
Juliette A.: NARRATIVE OF THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO, AUGUST 15, 1812, AND OF
SOME PRECEDING EVENTS. Chicago: Ellis & Fergus, 1844. 34pp.
Frontispiece map. Modern blue morocco, stamped in gilt, gilt inner
dentelles, by the Scroll Club bindery of New York. Quite clean. Very good.
The Littell copy, with their book label. In a blue cloth box. A
presentation copy, inscribed in pencil by the author on the verso of the
map (inscription partially cropped). “One
of the great Chicago books. It
is the earliest separately printed account of the Chicago Massacre,
written originally for the grandchildren of John Kinzie, the first
permanent settler of Chicago, from eyewitness accounts...” – Streeter.
“Most notable historical narrative from Chicago’s pioneer
press; based on conversations with Mrs. Hale and other survivors” –
Howes. Mrs. Kinzie, the
author, translated the oral narratives she received from her relatives
into a first-person account of the tragedy.
Easily the most interesting book printed in Chicago before 1850,
and a legendary rarity. The
last copies we are aware of having been on the market are the Streeter
copy, resold at the Sonneborn sale in 1980, and one sold by this firm in
1989. Ralph Newman paid $1300 on behalf of collector Harry Sonneborn.
At Sonneborn’s sale in 1980, Newman bought it again, for $2750. 169. Knox,
John, Capt.: AN HISTORICAL JOURNAL OF THE CAMPAIGNS IN NORTH-AMERICA, FOR
THE YEARS 1757, 1758, 1759, AND 1760: CONTAINING THE MOST REMARKABLE
OCCURRENCES OF THAT PERIOD; PARTICULARLY THE TWO SIEGES OF QUEBEC, &c.
&c..... London: Printed for the Author; and sold by W.
Johnston..., 1769. Two volumes. ix,[7],405pp. plus errata leaf and folding
map; [2],465pp. plus errata leaf. Frontispiece portrait in each volume.
Contemporary three-quarter speckled calf. Slight separation at lower
portion of front hinge of first volume and upper portion of rear hinge of
second volume. Spines rubbed. Light offsetting from the portraits, a touch
of light foxing on the first few leaves of the second volume. 3½-inch
closed tear in map at right edge, with no loss. Overall, a handsome set. “One
of the most accurate and detailed accounts available on the sieges of
Louisbourg and Quebec” – TPL.
Knox arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia with his regiment in 1757 to
take part in the anticipated expedition against Louisbourg, although the
attack was postponed and the regiment did not see action in the siege.
They did take part in the battle of the Plains of Abraham, served
under James Murray at Quebec in the winter of 1759-60, and participated in
the capitulation of Montreal in 1760.
Knox gives a firsthand account of the battles and supplements his
narrative with printings of important official documents and orders from
both the British and the French. The
portraits represent generals Wolfe and Amherst; and the map, by Thomas
Kitchin, shows the British dominions in North America according to the
treaty of 1763. Card paid $350 for the Streeter set. Kotzebue’s First Voyage 170. Kotzebue,
Otto von: A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY, INTO THE SOUTH SEA AND BEERING’S [sic]
STRAITS, FOR THE PURPOSE OF EXPLORING A NORTH-EAST PASSAGE, UNDERTAKEN IN
THE YEARS 1815-1818, AT THE EXPENSE OF HIS HIGHNESS THE CHANCELLOR OF THE
EMPIRE, COUNT ROMANZOFF, IN THE SHIP RURICK.... London. 1821. Three
volumes. xv,[2],358pp. plus four color plates including frontispiece, and
two folding maps; [4],433pp. plus three color plates including
frontispiece, and three maps (two folding); [4],442pp. plus two plates
including color frontispiece, and two maps. Half title in each volume.
Contemporary polished calf, elaborately paneled and tooled in blind and
gilt, expertly recased in period style, spines gilt, leather labels, gilt
inner dentelles. A slight bit of foxing and a touch of offsetting. A very
good set. The
first English edition, after the original German edition of the same year,
of one of the great Pacific exploration accounts, being the record of the
second Russian scientific expedition and the first under the command of
Kotzebue, with the sponsorship of Count Romanzoff.
The expedition rounded Cape Horn and visited Chile, Easter Island,
the Marshall Islands, Hawaii, and the North American coast, in an
unsuccessful search for a northwest passage.
There is also a detailed description of California, notable for
including the first scientific account of the state flower, the Golden
Poppy. 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
table of comparative vocabulary for the languages of some of the
islanders. The handsome color
plates illustrate native royalty and lifestyles, icebergs in Kotzebue
Sound, and Royal Morai off Owyhee. Goodspeed’s bought the Streeter set for $750. First English Edition 171. [Krusenstern,
Ivan Fedorovich von]: VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, IN THE YEARS 1803, 1804,
1805, & 1806, BY ORDER OF HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY ALEXANDER THE FIRST, ON
BOARD THE SHIPS NADESHDA AND NEVA.... London: Printed by C. Roworth...for
John Murray..., 1813. Two volumes bound in one. xxxii,314; [8],404pp. plus
folding map. Color frontispiece in each volume. Modern three-quarter calf
and marbled boards. Except for lacking the title-leaf in the second
volume, a very good, clean copy. The
first English edition of an account of the first Russian expedition to
circumnavigate the globe, under the command of Ivan F. von Krusenstern,
between 1803 and 1806. Sailing
in 1803, the expedition touched on Brazil and rounded Cape Horn, visiting
the Marquesas Islands, Hawaii, Kamchatka, and Japan.
In Hawaii the expedition separated, with ships under Langsdorff and
Lisianski sailing to the Northwest Coast, while Krusenstern himself
undertook the delicate expedition to Japan, with the goal of opening
Russian relations with that country. He
then returned via Macao and the Cape of Good Hope.
The voyage was one of the most important post-Cook Pacific voyages,
specifically aimed at obtaining more knowledge of the northern Pacific
region, establishing diplomatic and commercial relations with Japan, and
visiting the Russian trading posts in Alaska and on the west coast of
America. The Streeter copy fetched $850 to order for Frank Streeter, and was sold
at his sale in April, 2007 for $38,400. In the Thomas Streeter sale it was
noted that the copy had an inscription “in a contemporary hand” to
Krusenstern. The cataloging in the Frank Streeter sale implied that it was
something more than this, and was in a “presentation binding”. Whether
this influenced the bidding is impossible to say. In any case it was quite
beautiful and not directly comparable to our copy. First Edition of La Pérouse’s Voyage, 172. La Pérouse,
Jean François: VOYAGE DE LA PEROUSE AUTOUR DU MONDE.... Paris: de
l’Imprimerie de la Republique, 1796-97. Four text volumes plus atlas.
Text volumes: Half title in each volume. Quarto. Handsome contemporary
tree calf, spines gilt. Slight wear to spine extremities, upper outer
joints a bit tender. Internally very clean and crisp. Atlas: Engraved
title plus sixty-nine maps and plates (many folding), lacking the engraved
portrait of La Pérouse found in some copies. Large folio. Half antique
calf and pastepaper boards. A few minor paper repairs to margins and along
folds of some maps and plates. Pencil sketches on verso of several maps
and plates. Overall, a very good set. First
edition of one of the greatest French voyages, published by order of the
French government. La Pérouse,
one of the foremost French navigators of the 18th century, left Brest in
1785 with two vessels to explore the northwest coast of America.
He arrived there the following summer and explored extensively
along the Alaska coast, then sailed south to California.
The expedition’s goals were to explore the potential for fur
trading ventures, pursue the geographical exploration of both America and
Siberia, investigate the possibility of a northwest passage, and establish
some French claim north of Spanish and south of Russian claims on the
American coast. After his stop
in California, La Pérouse visited China, some Pacific islands, and the
Siberian coast. He sent back
copies of his journals both overland across Russia and via British ships
met at Botany Bay in the spring of 1788.
After he left Australia, his party was never seen again, and it was
not until the 1820s that the wrecks of his ships were discovered on a reef
in the Santa Cruz group. When
it became clear that something had happened to the expedition, a decision
was made to publish the journals he had transmitted home. The La Pérouse voyage is notable for its superb mapping of the Alaska
and California coasts (discussed at length by Wagner in Cartography of
the Northwest Coast), including maps of San Diego, Monterey, and the
whole Northwest Coast. The
atlas also contains numerous interesting views on the coast, in California
and the Pacific, as well as botanical and natural history plates.
The text contains a wealth of scientific and ethnographic
information. “It is one of
the finest narratives of maritime exploration ever written, and certainly
deserves to hold a place of high honor among the great travel accounts of
the eighteenth century” – Howell. The Streeter set sold for $500. With an Important Series of Maps 173. Laet,
Joannes de: NOVUS ORBIS SEU DESCRIPTIONIS INDIAE OCCIDENTALIS LIBRI
XVIII.... Leiden: Elzevier, 1633. [32],690,[18]pp. plus fourteen
double-page maps by Hessel Gerritsz. Sixty-eight woodcuts in text. Half
title. Engraved title with elaborate emblematic and architectonic border.
Folio, 13 3/16 x 8 5/8 inches. Contemporary calf, covers with
double-fillet border in blind, spine in seven compartments with raised
bands, the bands flanked by pairs of fillets in blind, painted figure
“4” carefully painted in an attractive early calligraphic hand in
white paint in the uppermost compartment, red-stained edges, expert
restoration to head and foot of spine. In a modern cloth chemise, and
modern red morocco-backed cloth slipcase, lettered in gilt on the spine. An
exceptional copy of the first Latin edition of “arguably the finest
description of the Americas published in the seventeenth century”
(Burden). The maps include the
first to use the names Manhattan, New Amsterdam (for New York), and
Massachusetts, and “one of the foundation maps of Canada” (Burden). This work is one of the most important 17th-century New World histories.
It is a cornucopia of early knowledge of the Americas and was
compiled by de Laet, a director of the newly formed Dutch West India
Company, with access to all the latest geographic knowledge.
Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, writing in the 18th century,
noted that the work as a whole “is full of the most excellent and
curious details of the natural history, and the character, manners, and
customs of the American aborigines, derived from the reports of the
European mission establishments in America.”
The present first edition in Latin was preceded by two editions in
Dutch (the first of which was published in 1625).
De Laet continued to add to and improve the work throughout his
lifetime: the present edition contains fourteen maps as opposed to the ten
in the 1625 edition, and the text has been considerably expanded. This copy is unusual in two respects: firstly, its outstanding condition;
and secondly, for the early, certainly 17th-century, annotations by an
English-speaking owner who appears to have had some contact with the
Americas, or at least with the products of the region.
The front free endpaper includes an accomplished small ink drawing
of a plant labeled “Cassavi” with a two-line note beside it:
“Mammosaporta / a Jamaica fruite.”
The second blank includes a reference to an important scientific
work by Mario Bettino first published in 1645, Marii Bettini Apiarium
Mathematicum. The index of
the subjects of the woodcuts on the page preceding the first page of the
main text includes two references which correctly identify “a Kinge
Crab. novis Anglis” and a pineapple as a “Queene Pine.” The maps are by Hessel Gerritsz and are some of the very best to appear
up to that time. Gerritsz had
trained under Willem Blaeu, but had been chosen in preference to his old
master when the appointment of cartographer to the Dutch West India
Company was made. The charming
in-text illustrations are chiefly of biological or botanical specimens and
are generally surprisingly accurate for their time, and each of the
eighteen constituent books is turned over to the consideration of a
different region of the New World. The
quality of the maps can be gauged from the fact that they served as a
prototype for the mapping of America, with a number of them being reused
in various later 17th-century atlases. The maps are titled as follows: 1)
“Americae sive Indiae occidentalis tabula generalis” [Burden 229:
“The best west coast delineation to date”] 2)
“Maiores minoresque insulae. Hispaniola, Cuba, Lucaiae et Caribes” 3)
“Nova Francia et regiones adiacentes” [Burden 230: “One of the
foundation maps of Canada”] 4)
“Nova Anglia, Novum Belgium et Virginia” [Burden 231: “The first
(map) to use the names Manhattan and N. Amsterdam.
It is also the earliest to use...Massachusets (sic).” Cumming 35.
Schwartz & Ehrenberg, p.105] 5)
“Florida. et regiones vicinae” [Burden 232: “Its influence
was quite considerable.” Cumming 34] 6)
“Nova Hispania, Nova Gallicia, Guatamala” [Burden 215: “The
delineation of the coastlines here was the most accurate to date”] 7)
“Tierra Firma item Nuevo Reyno de Granada atque Popayan” 8)
“Peru” 9)
“Chili” 10)
“Provinciae sitae ad fretum Magellanis itemque fretum Le Maire” 11)
“Paraguay, o prov. de rio de la Plata: cum adiacentibus Provinciis, quas
vocant Tucuman, et Sta. Cruz de la Sierra” 12)
“Provinciua de Brasil cum adiacentibus provinciis” 13)
“Guaiania sive provinciae intra rio de las Amazonas atque rio de
Yviapari sive Orinoque” 14)
“Venezuela, atque occidentalis pars Novae Andalusiae” The
Streeter copy sold for $500. We
bought it from a private collector in 1990 and sold it from our catalogue
91 for $9500 to the Virginia Historical Society. 174. Lang,
John D., and Samuel Taylor, Jr.: REPORT OF A VISIT TO SOME OF THE TRIBES
OF INDIANS, LOCATED WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. New York. 1843.
34pp. Original printed wrappers. Some slight marginal chipping to rear
wrapper. Occasional fox mark. Else very good. One
of two editions printed the same year, the other in Providence, consisting
of forty-seven pages. No
priority has been established, although Wagner-Camp (which lists the
present edition first) states: “Internal difference led Graff to believe
that the New York edition was the earlier one.”
“Lang and Taylor were members of the Society of Friends who
visited the Indians recently removed from east of the Mississippi to the
trans-Mississippi regions. Their
report was presented to the Yearly Meeting of the Friends of New England
and New York before being published under the above title” –
Wagner-Camp. The Streeter copy was the Providence edition of forty-seven pages.
It was sold to Nebenzahl for $25. 175. Langsdorff,
George Heinrich: BEMERKUNGEN AUF EINER REISE UM DIE WELT IN DEN JAHREN
1803 BIS 1807. Frankfurt: Friedrich Wilmans, 1812. Two volumes.
[28],300,[1],[30]pp. plus portrait and twenty-eight plates (one folding,
one double-sided); 335,[1],[20]pp. plus portrait and sixteen plates.
Integral explanatory text interleaved with plates in each volume. Quarto.
Half antique calf and marbled boards. First volume lacking final two
leaves of index (pp.301-304). Some moderate but persistent marginal foxing
(especially on plates of second volume). Old stamp on each titlepage.
Overall just about very good. Langsdorff,
in the capacity of natural historian, accompanied Krusenstern on the first
Russian circumnavigation of the globe as far as Kamchatka, which they
reached in 1805. Also on the
voyage was Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov, Chamberlain of the Czar and Russian
ambassador to Japan. On the
way out they stopped in Brazil and along the coast of South America.
At Kamchatka, Langsdorff and Rezanov left the expedition for Alaska
to investigate the Russian-American Company at Sitka and report to the
Czar. The following year
Langsdorff sailed with Rezanov and Davydov to San Francisco to obtain
supplies for the Russian colony. The
second volume describes Langsdorff’s journey to the Northwest Coast with
Rezanov, and his trip back to St. Petersburg via Siberia.
Almost seventy pages of this volume are devoted to their stay in
San Francisco, including an account of the beginning of Rezanov’s
ill-fated romance with Dona Concepcion, the daughter of Spanish
commandante Jose Arguello. The
visit to San Francisco also saw the establishment of the settlement of
Ross and of the Russian fort on the California coast in 1812. The handsome plates were engraved after sketches by William Gottlief
Tilesius von Tilenau, who accompanied Langsdorff and Rezanov on the
voyage. Three plates relate to
California, including what is purported to be the first printed view of
the Presidio of San Francisco (this plate was not included in the London
edition); three plates relate to Alaska, five to Japan, and eight to the
Marquesas Islands. Substantial
botanical collections were made during the voyage, and Langsdorff was the
primary collector. The Streeter copy was bought by Howell for Ken Hill and is now in the
Hill collection at the University of California, San Diego. 176. Langworthy,
Franklin: SCENERY OF THE PLAINS, MOUNTAINS AND MINES: OR A DIARY KEPT UPON
THE OVERLAND ROUTE TO CALIFORNIA...IN 1850, ’51, ’52 AND ’53.
Ogdensburgh. 1855. 324pp. Original cloth. Rubbed, worn at extremities.
Light foxing, a few stains. Good. An
important overland narrative. “This
account is acclaimed by many sources as one of the best written of all
overland narratives” – Mintz. Langworthy
describes his trip to California via the Platte to Salt Lake, the Humboldt
and Carson Valley to Ringgold, and in the second half of the book narrates
his views on California life and events in the mines, and his return home
via Nicaragua. The Streeter copy realized $80. Important Colorado Rarity 177. [Larimer,
William H.H.]: REMINISCENCES OF GENERAL WILLIAM LARIMER AND OF HIS SON
WILLIAM H.H. LARIMER TWO OF THE FOUNDERS OF DENVER CITY. COMPILED FROM
LETTERS: AND FROM NOTES WRITTEN BY THE LATE WILLIAM H.H. LARIMER, OF
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.... Lancaster. 1918. 256pp. plus plates,
facsimiles, and folding table. Near contemporary three-quarter morocco and
marbled boards, spine gilt, t.e.g. A fresh, partially unopened copy. Fine. “General
Larimer lost his large fortune in the depression of 1854 and started life
anew in Nebraska, leaving his wife and nine children in Pittsburgh.
Late in 1855 they joined him in La Platte, a town above Omaha
founded by the General. In the
fall of 1858, the General, his son W.H.H. Larimer, then not quite 18 years
of age, and four others made the overland journey from Leavenworth,
Kansas, by way of Bent’s Fort to the new gold discoveries at Cherry
Creek. Arriving at Cherry
Creek on November 17, 1858 the General a few days later founded the Denver
City Town Company. The son’s
narrative tells of these journeys and the founding of Denver by his father
and life there until the Civil War. From
page 210 to 237 the editor tells from family letters of the Civil War
services of the General and his son and of the General’s death in 1873.
Ordinarily reminiscences are inferior to day by day contemporary
accounts, but these are so skillfully edited and so buttressed by
contemporary letters and extracts from note books that they form one of
the best accounts of an overland journey across the plains and perhaps the
best account of the founding of Denver and of life there for the first few
years that we have” – Streeter. Rare.
Printed in a small edition for private circulation by William
Larimer Mellon. Eberstadt paid $175 for the Streeter copy. French Scientific Survey of Louisiana, 1720 178. 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,
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. Nebenzahl paid $130 for the Streeter copy. Buying into Florida 179. [Lawrence,
Samuel Adams]: PETITION OF SAMUEL A. LAWRENCE AND OTHERS, CITIZENS OF
NEW-YORK, FOR CONFIRMATION OF THEIR TITLE TO LANDS IN EAST FLORIDA,
PURCHASED FROM RICHARD S. HACKLEY, WITH THE OPINION OF COUNSEL, ON HIS
TITLE THERETO. [Washington?]. 1824. 74pp. Contemporary plain wrappers.
Moderately worn and curled along foredge, 2 x 2-inch piece worn away from
upper inner corner of wrappers. Contemporary ownership signature on front
wrapper. Faint dampstaining throughout. Good. In a half morocco box. A
case study in the vagaries of Florida land transfers in the wake of the
Adams-Onìs treaty. Hackley, a
Virginian, received the lands in question from the Duke of Alagon, who in
turn received his grant directly from the King of Spain.
Given the land claims asserted by the United States government via
the treaty, Lawrence and the other petitioners were seeking confirmation
that their claims did not conflict with those made by the federal
government, with the particular aim of avoiding the sort of protracted and
expensive lawsuit that often resulted in land transfers between sovereign
governments. The text includes
the petition; the opinions of various judicial luminaries, including
William Van Ness, Aaron Burr’s second in his duel with Hamilton; the
title granted by the King of Spain to the Duke of Alagon; the certificate
of Alagon’s formal possession of the land, in English and Spanish; the
deed to Hackley, also in English and Spanish; the Adams-Onìs treaty; and
an extract from the Spanish constitution.
While Streeter suggests New York as the place of publication,
Servies suggests Washington, which seems more likely since the petition
was directed to Congress. Others
have raised the remote possibility that, given the relatively
unsophisticated type on the titlepage, it may have been printed in
Florida. Extremely rare.
OCLC locates only four copies. Jay Kislak, a private collector, paid $80 for the Streeter copy.
This has presumably gone to the Library of Congress with the rest
of the Kislak collection. 180. Lay,
Amos: MAP OF THE NORTHERN PART OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. COMPILED FROM
ACTUAL SURVEY. Newark: Engraved by P. Maverick, 1812. Partially
colored folding map, 30 x 50 inches, backed on linen at an early date. Map
somewhat tanned and age-toned, some foxing. In contemporary roan backed
marbled boards (spine repaired) with heavy edge wear. Overall quite good.
In a cloth case, leather label. A
large, detailed map of northern New York State, showing the area north of
the Pennsylvania boundary, Lake Ontario, and part of Upper Canada.
The map details the towns in the Military Tract.
A handsome map showing the growing settlement in upstate New York. The Streeter copy sold for $150. A Famous Missionary Account 181. Le
Clercq, Chrestien: NOUVELLE RELATION DE LA GASPESIE, QUI CONTIENT LES
MOEURS & LA RELIGION DES SAUVAGES GASPESIENS PORTE-CROIX, ADORATEURS
DU SOLEIL, & D’AUTRES PEUPLES DE L’AMERIQUE SEPTENTRIONALE, DITE
LE CANADA.... Paris. 1691. [28],572pp. 12mo. Contemporary calf, spine
gilt extra. Outer hinges worn but cords sound, bit chipped at head and toe
of spine. Small ink note on titlepage. Else a very good, clean copy. In a
half morocco box. The
first edition, first issue of this valuable firsthand account of later
Recollet missionary activity in northeastern Canada and New Brunswick,
generally considered one of the best descriptions of Indian culture in
Canada. Le Clercq provides
detailed information about the Micmac Indians of the Gaspé peninsula,
based on the twelve years from 1675 to 1686 which he spent as a missionary
with the tribe. The book also
includes the first detailed account of the Gaspé peninsula.
Le Clercq invented the system of hieroglyphics used to
transliterate the Micmac language. Maggs paid $350 for the Streeter copy.
It was later in the collection of Michael Zinman, who sold it to
us. We in turn sold it to a
Canadian dealer in 1989. 182. Le Duc,
William Gates: MINNESOTA YEAR BOOK FOR 1852. St. Paul. 1852.
[2],98,[12]pp. Frontispiece. Original calf-backed printed boards. Spine
ends rubbed. Inner front hinge loose, but binding otherwise intact. A
quite nice copy in original state. A
very nice copy of the second Minnesota Year Book.
Le Duc, a Saint Paul bookseller, was a vigorous promoter of the
territory, exhibiting Minnesota products at the Crystal Palace Fair in New
York City in 1853. He produced
these year books for settlers and travellers, and includes distance
guides, information about schools, Indians, and tourist attractions.
“Over half the book is devoted to a racy circumstantial
day-by-day account of James M. Goodhue, editor of the Minnesota Pioneer,
of the proceedings for the Indian Treaties negotiated at Travers des Sioux
and Mendota in the summer of 1851” – Streeter.
It was by the aforementioned treaties that the Sioux and Chippeway
claims in Minnesota were extinguished.
The final twelve pages are comprised of charming illustrated
advertisements for Minnesota merchants, tradesmen, and professionals. Carnegie paid $40 for the Streeter copy. The Siebert Copy 183. Le
Page du Pratz, Antoine: HISTOIRE DE LA LOUISIANE.... Paris: Chez de
Bure [et al], 1758. Three volumes. xvi,358; 441; 451,[3]pp. plus forty
engraved plates, two folding maps, folding plan, and errata. Half title in
each volume. 16mo. Contemporary mottled calf, spine richly gilt. A
beautiful, fresh, fine set. One
of the most useful contemporary authorities on French Louisiana, based on
the author’s sixteen-year residence there.
Jefferson instructed Lewis and Clark to take an edition of the book
on their expedition. Le Page
du Pratz affords a great deal of useful information on the Natchez and
other Mississippi tribes, and his work as a whole has been the basis for
many later studies of the period. “...Valuable
for showing French claims to southern territory east of the Mississippi
and for particulars concerning Indian nations there” – Howes.
Of special interest is a short account of Louis de St. Denis’
expedition to New Mexico in 1715. “...A
curious mixture of history, travel narrative, tall stories, and
reminiscences...touch[ing] upon almost every phase of Louisiana in [the
author’s] time...” – Clark. There
is a folding plan of New Orleans and a “Carte de la Louisiane” which
shows a large eastward-flowing Missouri. Maggs paid $175 for the Streeter copy.
This copy is far nicer in condition. 184. Ledyard,
Isaac: AN ESSAY ON MATTER. IN FIVE CHAPTERS. Philadelphia: Printed for
the Author, 1784. [4],26pp. Half title. Modern half calf and cloth. Very
good. A
rare early American scientific publication, one of the first works of
speculative physics produced by an American.
Not in Rink. The Streeter copy sold for $100. Ledyard’s Rare Account 185. Ledyard,
John: A JOURNAL OF CAPTAIN COOK’S LAST VOYAGE 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 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 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. Scribner’s bought the Streeter copy, with the excessively rare map, for
$4100. Because of the map, it
is not directly comparable with ours.
The Streeter copy is now in the Hill Collection at the University
of California, San Diego. A Rare Overland Narrative 186. Lee,
Nelson: THREE YEARS AMONG THE CAMANCHES, THE NARRATIVE OF NELSON LEE, THE
TEXAN RANGER, CONTAINING A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF HIS CAPTIVITY AMONG THE
INDIANS, HIS SINGULAR ESCAPE THROUGH THE INSTRUMENTALITY OF HIS WATCH, AND
FULLY ILLUSTRATING INDIAN LIFE AS IT IS ON THE WARPATH AND IN THE CAMP.
Albany. 1859. 224pp. Frontispiece portrait. 12mo. Original cloth, stamped
in gilt and blind. Cloth sunned, binding cocked. Contemporary ownership
signature in pencil on front free endpaper. A few fox marks, but overall
quite clean. A very good copy. “Lee
was a member of the Texas Navy, which he left to join the Rangers; he went
through and describes the early Mexican-Texas border wars...the Santa Fe
Expedition...the Mier Expedition...the Battles of Monterey, Palo Alto,
etc. At the conclusion of the
War, he started overland for California...but had only been out a few days
when the party was surrounded by savages and all but the author and three
others summarily butchered. His
experiences in captivity are of vivid interest, and afford a most minute
and detailed account of the manners and customs of the tribe.
He gives also an account of the hardships and sufferings of his
co-captives, Mrs. Haskins and her two daughters, including the torture of
the former” – Eberstadt. “The
appalling and monstrous cruelties of this untamable [Comanche] nation of
nomads, reconciles us somewhat to their rapid extinction.
Unlike the savages of the Algonquin and Iroquois races, who
invariably respected the chastity of their female prisoners, the savages
of the southern plains ravish and torture them, with the combined fury of
lust and bloodthirst” – Field. “The
best contemporary description of the life of the early Texas Rangers”
– Jenkins. In the
introduction to the 1957 reprint of Lee’s narrative, Walter Prescott
Webb writes: “The story he tells is absorbing, but the information he
conveys about how the Comanches lived before they were affected by the
white man is invaluable.” A rare book, central to any collection relating to overland travel and
Indian captivities, here in the original binding. Nebenzahl paid $230 for the Streeter copy. A Cornerstone of Western Americana 187. Leonard,
Zenas: NARRATIVE OF THE ADVENTURES OF ZENAS LEONARD, A NATIVE OF
CLEARFIELD COUNTY, PA. WHO SPENT FIVE YEARS IN TRAPPING FOR FURS, TRADING
WITH THE INDIANS, &c. &c. OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. Clearfield,
Pa. 1839. iv,87pp. printed in double-column format. Modern dark green
morocco, raised bands, spine gilt, gilt inner dentelles, t.e.g. Three
20th-century bookplates on front pastedown. Expert minor restoration in
the bottom margin of pp.21-22, affecting two words on p.21. A fine
copy. In a half morocco slipcase, spine gilt. The
exceedingly rare first edition of one of the great rarities of Western
Americana, the “cornerstone to any collection of western travels,”
according to Howell. Leonard
set out for the Rocky Mountains in 1831 as the clerk of a fur trading
operation, and after two years of trapping joined the party of Captain
Bonneville. Under the
leadership of Joseph Reddeford Walker, their party made an historic
crossing of the Great Basin and the Sierra Nevada, passing through
Yosemite, the first whites to see its marvels.
After wintering in Monterey they returned to the Rockies, where
Leonard remained until returning to Missouri in 1835.
His narrative is not only a great primary source on the western fur
trade, but the first published account of one of the great events in the
exploration of North America and the opening of California. The Leonard work has long been considered one of the dozen greatest and
rarest of western narratives. As
long ago as 1908, Henry Wagner was recording with pride his acquisition of
a copy, and the book has since been considered a cornerstone of any great
Western Americana collection. Its
remote place of publication, in a small Pennsylvania town, certainly
accounts for its rarity. But
the Leonard is also of tremendous importance because of its text,
narrating a landmark in the opening of the West which rivals that of Lewis
and Clark as a record of travel and exploration. A most important work for the history of the fur trade, California, and
indeed all of the American West. Goodspeed’s paid $6250 for the Streeter copy. 188. [Lewis,
Meriwether, and William Clark]: THE TRAVELS OF CAPTS. LEWIS & CLARKE [sic],
FROM ST. LOUIS, BY WAY OF THE MISSOURI AND COLUMBIA RIVERS, TO THE PACIFIC
OCEAN; PERFORMED IN THE YEARS 1804, 1805, & 1806...CONTAINING
DELINEATIONS OF THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, RELIGION, etc. OF THE INDIANS....
London. 1809. ix,[1],309pp. plus folding map. Antique calf. Very good. The
first London “Apocrypha edition,” as denoted by Elliott Coues.
In response to the growing curiosity of the public regarding the
findings of Lewis and Clark and the delay in publication of the
“authorized account” of their expedition, this compilation of bits and
pieces from already published works appeared, misleading the reader into
believing it was the account sanctioned by the government and containing
all the information gathered during the journey.
Wheat points out that the work contains “the earliest published
map with legends stemming from Lewis and Clark.”
Howes calls this the “counterfeit” edition, while Sabin states
it contains material not published in any other edition.
The map shows western North America. Sessler paid $225 for the Streeter copy. Earliest Available Printing 189. [Lincoln,
Abraham]: Everett, Edward: AN ORATION DELIVERED ON THE BATTLEFIELD OF
GETTYSBURG, (NOVEMBER 19, 1863,) AT THE CONSECRATION OF THE CEMETERY
PREPARED FOR THE INTERMENT OF THE REMAINS OF THOSE WHO FELL IN THE BATTLES
OF JULY 1st, 2d, AND 3d, 1863. By Edward Everett. TO WHICH IS ADDED
INTERESTING REPORTS OF THE DEDICATORY CEREMONIES.... New York: Baker
and Goodwin, 1863. 48pp. Dbd. Old ink number at top of titlepage, a few
very light small fox marks on titlepage. Internally quite clean and neat.
Very good overall. In a half morocco and cloth box. The
first appearance of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address in book form, preceded
only by the exceedingly rare pamphlet, The Gettysburg Solemnities,
which is known in just three copies. Here,
as at the actual event, Lincoln’s now immortal words are overshadowed by
the long speech of Edward Everett of Massachusetts, the most famous orator
of his day, who spoke for a grueling hour and a half.
The text of Lincoln’s Address appears on page 40 in the account
of the order of events. Seven Gables paid $400 for the Streeter copy. Livingston’s Reply to Jefferson 190. Livingston,
Edward: AN ANSWER TO MR. JEFFERSON’S JUSTIFICATION OF HIS CONDUCT IN THE
CASE OF THE NEW ORLEANS BATTURE. Philadelphia: William Fry, 1813.
xi,187pp. plus two folding maps. Half title. Contemporary plain wrappers.
Spine perished, chipped and worn at extremities. Minor foxing. Very good,
untrimmed. Livingston’s
bitter reply to Jefferson’s justification for confiscating the
former’s waterfront property in New Orleans.
The New Orleans batture case was one of the bitter controversies of
Jefferson’s presidency. Livingston,
a prominent New Orleans attorney, claimed ownership of a strip of beach
(the batture) at New Orleans which had long been used as a common boat
landing. Jefferson asserted
government ownership up to the high water mark and had a federal marshal
forcibly dispossess Livingston. This
resulted in a celebrated case of the use of federal power which continued
to be bitterly argued, so much so that Jefferson felt constrained, four
years after leaving the presidency, to compose his legal reasoning in a
pamphlet, one of only three full-scale works published under his name in
his lifetime. Livingston
herein replies to the former president. This copy is unusual in that it contains the two folding maps relating to
the controversy. They are
almost always lacking. The
second of these shows in detail the eastern suburb of New Orleans, one of
the first such maps of the area. The
Streeter copy, the last to appear at auction with the maps, sold for $1300
in 1967. Bayou Books paid $1300 for the Streeter copy. Seminole War Troop Payments 191. [Livingston,
Madison C.]: CORRESPONDENCE IN RELATION TO THE PAYMENT OF THE EAST FLORIDA
TROOPS [caption title]. [Tallahassee. 1841]. 12pp. Dbd. A few
scattered fox marks. Gutter margin trimmed smooth and a bit close, not
affecting text. Else generally clean and very good. A
scarce Florida imprint, which Streeter states might have been published by
Madison Livingston, whose name appears at the end of the text.
The correspondence relates to the actions and claims of the local
Florida militia in defending the outlying areas against the Seminole
Indians in 1838. Included is
the text of a letter from Gov. Robert R. Reid about claims of Col. Robert
Brown and Major Isaac Garrason. Livingston
warns the Florida government that claims by the militia for services
rendered should be thoroughly reviewed, as he believes that a significant
number of the soldiers listed on the muster rolls are either fictitious,
or they never actually served. Nebenzahl paid $40 for this at the Streeter sale, then sold it to us in
1980 for $150. Not being as
assiduous annotators in those days, we failed to record where we sold it. 192. Lockwood,
R.A.: THE VIGILANCE COMMITTEE OF SAN FRANCISCO. METCALF vs. ARGENTI et al.
SPEECHES OF R.A. LOCKWOOD, ESQ. San Francisco, Ca. 1852. 48pp. Modern
half calf and marbled boards. Very good. Lockwood
was Metcalf’s lawyer in this bizarre case.
Metcalf, a drayman, was accused of stealing goods he was
transporting. In the middle of
the night, Argenti and a Vigilance Committee group came to Metcalf’s
house and violently searched it for “stolen items,” material actually
in a warehouse in transit. Metcalf
sued Argenti and his band for damages.
The verdict of the case was $200 in compensation for Metcalf.
“These speeches of Lockwood are required reading for anyone
wishing to understand the dark and cruel side of the activities of the
Vigilance Committee” – Streeter. Dawson paid $325 for the Streeter copy. Georgia Scenes 193. [Longstreet,
Augustus B.]: GEORGIA SCENES, CHARACTERS, INCIDENTS, &c. IN THE FIRST
HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC. By a Native Georgian. Augusta, Ga. 1835.
235pp. 19th-century three-quarter calf and marbled boards. Corner tips and
hinges rubbed and expertly repaired. Minor foxing, closed tear in last
leaf mended. Else very good. The
rare first edition of a classic of southern literature and manners, Georgia
Scenes... is written in the form of a series of sketches set in
frontier Georgia at the beginning of the 19th century.
Although in fictional form, the book is such realistic social
history that it presents one of the best pictures of life in that time and
place, and straddles the line between fact and fiction.
Longstreet said that his purpose was “to supply a chasm in
history which has always been overlooked – the manners, customs,
amusements, wit dialect, as they appear in all grades of society to an ear
and eye witness of them...there is scarcely one word from the beginning to
the end of the book that is not strictly Georgian.”
The book stands at the beginning of a long line of southern humor. Goodspeed’s paid $375 for the Streeter copy. One of the First Works in English 194. Lopes
de Castanheda, Fernao: THE FIRST BOOKE OF THE HISTORIE OF THE DISCOUERIE
AND CONQUEST OF THE EAST INDIAS, ENTERPRISED BY THE PORTINGALES, IN THEIR
DAUNGEROUS NAUIGATIONS.... London: Thomas East, 1582. 170 leaves.
Woodcut border device surrounding the titlepage, woodcut initials
throughout the text. Small quarto. 19th-century diced calf, tooled in
blind, expertly rebacked in matching calf, spine richly gilt, raised
bands, a.e.g. Gilt crest of George Wilbraham on front and rear boards, his
bookplate on the front pastedown (as well as another bookplate). Boards
lightly shelfworn. Small hole in center of titlepage, touching two letters
of the title. Very minor wormhole in extreme foredge of the first sixty
text leaves, not affecting text. Overall, a near fine copy. The
first English edition of one of the most important historical works of the
first great age of discovery, translating the first book of Castanheda’s
work, originally published in Coimbra in 1551.
Translated by Nicholas Lichefield, this edition is appropriately
dedicated to Sir Francis Drake. Most of the ...Historie... is devoted to the great Portuguese
thrust into Asia in the early 16th century, chronicling their epic
expansion to India, the East Indies, and China between 1497 and 1525.
Castanheda himself spent some two decades in the Portuguese
colonies in the East, and so was well equipped to write this account.
It is one of the primary sources for the early Portuguese trading
empire, a model that the British were beginning to emulate at the time of
publication. Penrose says of
the author: “...he wrote an impartial book of outspoken sincerity which
was the fruit of years of residence in the East.” This work is equally important, however, for its American content, being
the first to describe in detail the voyage of Cabral and his discovery of
Brazil in 1500, while on his way out to the East Indies.
Cabral’s landing is the first recorded there, recounted in
chapters 29-31 of the present work. “This English edition is very rare” – Hill.
“A most interesting and rare book” – Sabin.
This work has become difficult to find. Peter Decker bought the Streeter copy for F.W. Beinecke for $1800.
It is now at Yale. A Notoriously Rare Indian Warfare Rarity 195. Loudon,
Archibald: A SELECTION, OF SOME OF THE MOST INTERESTING NARRATIVES, OF
OUTRAGES, COMMITTED BY THE INDIANS, IN THEIR WARS, WITH THE WHITE PEOPLE.
ALSO, AN ACCOUNT OF THEIR MANNERS, CUSTOMS, TRADITIONS, RELIGIOUS
SENTIMENTS, MODE OF WARFARE.... Carlisle, Pa.: From the Press of A.
Loudon, 1808-1811. Two volumes. xii,[5]-355,[1]; iv,[13]-369pp. including
publisher’s advertisement on final printed page of first volume.
Pagination erratic. 12mo. Contemporary calf, spines gilt, gilt leather
label on first volume. Boards and spines moderately worn, outer joints
tender, upper board of first volume splitting, lower portion of spine of
second volume worn and chipped. Contemporary ownership inscription, on
front free endpaper of first volume: “John Hoovers Book. July the 20th
1824 A.Domini.” Contemporary ownership inscription of “Agnes C.
McDowell” on front pastedown and front free endpaper of second volume.
Titlepage of second volume torn at outer edge (loss of perhaps a dozen
words total on both sides), small hole at top of titlepage (no loss);
upper margin of contents leaf (pp.iii-iv) excised (no loss of text); first
page of text (pp.[13]-14) with long tear beneath text block (slight loss
of paper, no loss of text). A very good set of an extremely rare work in
original, unsophisticated condition. In a half morocco box. An
exceedingly rare collection of accounts of colonial Indian hostilities and
Indian captivities, described in the Church catalogue as “one of the
rarest of the books of its kind.” Loudon’s
work is virtually never found in the marketplace.
Howes describes it as among the most “desirable of 19th century
books on border wars.” Field,
the great 19th-century collector and bibliographer of Indian books, knew
of only three complete copies in his lifetime.
In his description of the work, he provides an entertainingly
verbose account of the many bibliographical peculiarities relating to the
pagination and production of this “rarest of books on American
history.” “It contains
some narratives not elsewhere to be found, and is one of the most
desirable works of its class” – Sabin.
“The popularity of its subject, which caused its constant perusal
at country firesides, combined with the fragility of the soft cotton paper
upon which it is printed, insured its rapid destruction” – Field. The Loudon set is absent from some of the greatest 20th-century
collections of Americana relating to Indians, such as those of Henry De
Puy, Herman LeRoy Edgar, or Ogden Goelet.
The Siebert set was cobbled together from five variously incomplete
copies. The present set is a
remarkable find in contemporary calf and in completely unsophisticated
condition. Scribner’s paid $1500 for the Streeter copy. 196. [Louisiana]:
REPRESENTATION AND PETITION OF THE REPRESENTATIVES ELECTED BY THE FREEMEN
OF THE TERRITORY OF LOUISIANA. Washington: William Duane & Son,
1805. 30pp. Dbd. Minor dust soiling at edges, minute foxing. Very good. A
most important petition relative to the eventual establishment of the
territory of Missouri. “In
1805 Congress had divided the Louisiana Purchase into two parts, the
trans-Mississippi portion south of 33 degrees being the District of
Orleans; that north of 33 degrees, including the St. Louis region, was
made an adjunct of the Territory of Indiana and called the District of
Louisiana. This division was
violently protested in this petition to Congress, signed by sixteen
deputies of the Territorial assembly of the District convened at St.
Louis. Augustus Choteau and
Eligius Fromentin were appointed to present the petition to Congress,
which, in 1804, granted the petition and set up the region as a separate
territory, which after 1812 was called Missouri Territory” – Streeter. The Streeter copy sold for $150. 197. [Louisiana]:
NOTICE SUR L’ÉTAT ACTUEL DE LA MISSION DE LA LOUISIANE. Paris:
Adrien Le Clere, 1820. [2],58pp. Dbd. Contemporary institutional stamp on
recto of first leaf. Slight browning. Very good. A
compelling summary of the status of the Louisiana mission.
“This Notice tells of Du Bourg’s consecration as Bishop of
Louisiana at Rome in September, 1815, his recruiting of priests and nuns
for his diocese, their arrival at Baltimore in the summer of 1817, and
journey to St. Louis is described, as is Du Bourg’s work among the
Indians” – Streeter. Du
Bourg became one of America’s most prominent early bishops, greatly
buoyed by his patriotic labors during the War of 1812.
Among his most important later accomplishments was the installation
of the famous missionary Jesuit, Pierre Jean De Smet, on the Missouri
frontier. A prime Louisiana
item. The Streeter copy sold
for $325 in 1967. Nebenzahl paid $325 for the Streeter copy. The First Official Printing 198. [Louisiana
Purchase]: MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT...INCLOSING A TREATY AND
CONVENTIONS, ENTERED INTO AND RATIFIED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND
THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, RELATIVE TO THE CESSION OF LOUISIANA. 22d OCTOBER,
1803, READ AND REFERRED TO A COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE HOUSE ON MONDAY NEXT.
[Washington. 1803]. 18pp. Modern three-quarter calf and marbled boards,
red leather label, by Sangorski & Sutcliffe. Bit tanned, else clean
and very good. A
seminal work of Americana, the first official printing of the Louisiana
Purchase Treaty. This slim
volume prints the text of the Treaty and Convention of April 30, 1803,
negotiated by Robert Livingston, James Monroe, and Barbé Marbois, by
which Louisiana Territory was officially ceded by France to the United
States. The introductory
message from Jefferson, addressed to the House and Senate, presents the
documents, “for consideration in your legislative capacity.”
He adds “that time presses a decision on them without delay.” The American negotiators were originally authorized to attempt to buy New
Orleans only from the French, who had recovered it from Spain by treaty
the previous year. To the
surprise of the Americans, the French diplomats proposed to sell the whole
of Louisiana. Once the treaty
was agreed to, Jefferson worked hard to press it through Congress.
A special session was called for late October, in which the treaty
was ratified and the special appropriation for the Purchase made.
It was only then that the treaty was made public.
It is likely that this was printed shortly after the session of
Oct. 21, 1803, and prior to the United States actually taking possession
at the end of the year. The United States had been involved in surprisingly few foreign treaties
up to 1803. The only previous
treaties with France were the initial treaties of alliance and trade
(1778), the consular convention negotiated by Jefferson (1785), and
several conventions over settling shipping claims stemming from the
“Quasi-War” with France in the 1790s.
Others were the Peace Treaty (1783) and Jay’s Treaty (1795) with
England, Pinckney’s Treaty (1796) with Spain, and commercial treaties
with Sweden, Prussia, and Holland. All
other treaties up to this time were with Indian tribes. There are several concurrent printings of the Purchase Treaty, from the
same setting of type (see Streeter sale 1577, 1578, where they realized
$2600 and $5500 respectively in 1968).
The present official version is almost certainly the first,
although no priority can be absolutely established.
Quite rare; even the great collection of Mrs. Charles Engelhard on
the Louisiana Purchase lacked a copy.
A work of the greatest possible importance for the history of the
United States. Carnegie Book Shop, bidding for the Clements Library, paid $2600 for the
Streeter copy. The United States 199. [Louisiana
Purchase]: MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT...ACCOMPANYING SUNDRY DOCUMENTS
RELATIVE TO A DELIVERY OF POSSESSION, ON THE 20th ULTIMO, BY THE
COMMISSARY OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, TO THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA, OF THE TERRITORY OF LOUISIANA. Washington. 1804.
12pp. Printed self-wrappers, stitched. Two soft horizontal folds. Some
soiling and foxing. Very good, untrimmed. In a half morocco box. For
the history of the Louisiana Purchase, this document is second in
importance only to the actual treaty between France and the United States.
It records the actual transfer of Louisiana to American control,
consisting of: 1) Jefferson’s message to Congress announcing the
transfer and the stationing of troops in the Purchase, and conveying his
“sincere congratulations”; 2) the Dec. 20, 1803 letter of
commissioners William C.C. Claiborne and James Wilkinson to James Madison,
Secretary of State, announcing that the transfer had taken place that day;
3) the transfer document, signed the same day by the commissioners and
citizen Peter Clement Laussat, the French Prefect; 4) Claiborne’s
proclamation, as governor general of the Province of Louisiana, extending
the authority of the United States to the Territory; and 5) Claiborne’s
“Address to the Citizens of Louisiana,” also dated Dec. 20, 1803.
The document, and Jefferson’s notice of transmittal, are dated
Jan. 16, 1804. Ralph Newman paid $70 for the Streeter copy. |
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Papers
on Book Collecting by William S. Reese
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Questions or comments?Write us at amorder@reeseco.com |
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