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Catalogue 260 Colonial Americana |
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Section VII: Stith to Wood |
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Papers
on Book Collecting by William S. Reese
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The First History of Virginia Printed There 176. 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), [1]; v,[1],34pp. Contemporary speckled calf, red gilt morocco label. Hinge and spine ends expertly repaired, boards with some old scrapes in the calf. Signature X printed on paper that has more foxing than the other signatures, as usual; signature CC age-toned. Bookplate on front pastedown, early ownership signature of "T.T. Gantt" on titlepage. Overall very good, in original condition. 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. Early Philadelphia Almanac: 177. Taylor, Jacob: PENSILVANIA, 1742. AN ALMANACK, OR EPHEMERIS.... Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by Andrew Bradford, [1741]. [32]pp. 12mo. Printed self-wrappers, stitched. Contemporary ink inscription ("Jacob Taylor") in upper margin of titlepage; contemporary ink correction on p.[27]. Cellophane tape joining signature at spine, occasional minor foxing. Else bright, clean, and very good. In a half morocco and cloth box. An almanac by Jacob Taylor, who published his important Pennsylvania almanac for the years 1700 to 1746. It is a distinct possibility that the present copy was owned and signed by Taylor, as his inscribed name on the titlepage is accompanied later in the volume by a manuscript correction to a poem ("manumated" becomes "manumitted"). Taylor took the poetry in his almanacs seriously, printing excerpts of Paradise Lost in 1741, and composing well-received verse of his own. In addition to the calendar, this 1746 almanac contains a substantial amount of poetry; lists of courts, fairs, and Quaker meetings; and a discussion of Hannibal’s oath before the gods. This he concludes with a quote from the 1739 almanac of "R. Saunders" (Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard) on the dangers of false wit and pride in the present age, commenting favorably on Saunders, "By wicked Wit the Truth is often drown’d; Here certain Truth adorn’d with Wit is found" (p.[23]). Taylor’s almanac was printed by different Philadelphia printers over time. Some were printed by Franklin, but this one was issued by Andrew Bradford, one of Franklin’s rivals and the son of William Bradford, the first printer in Philadelphia. DRAKE 9634. EVANS 4818. NAIP w022747. $5500. Original Collected Edition of The Jesuit Relations 178. Thwaites, Reuben G., ed: 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." $7500. 179. Travis, Daniel MDCCXXII. AN ALMANACK OF THE COELESTIAL MOTIONS AND ASPECTS, FOR THE (DIONISIAN) YEAR OF THE CHRISTIAN ÆRA, 1722.... Boston: Printed by B. Green, 1722 [i.e. 1721]. [16]pp. 12mo. Printed self-wrappers. Title-leaf detached. Chipping and worm holes in title and terminal leaves, affecting only a few characters of text. Foxing and soiling. Good. Daniel Travis’ last almanac for Boston, featuring a page of "English Proverbs," comments on the study of divinity vs. the study of mathematics, and a woodcut anatomical depiction of the zodiac. DRAKE 2997. EVANS 2296. NAIP w004163. $1250. The Peace of 1763: 180. [Treaty of Paris]: THE DEFINITIVE TREATY OF PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP, BETWEEN HIS BRITANNICK MAJESTY, THE MOST CHRISTIAN KING, AND THE KING OF SPAIN. CONCLUDED AT PARIS, THE 10th DAY OF FEBRUARY, 1763. TO WHICH, THE KING OF PORTUGAL ACCEDED ON THE SAME DAY. London. 1763. 48pp. printed in double-column format in parallel English and French. [bound with:] PRELIMINARY ARTICLES OF PEACE, BETWEEN HIS BRITANNICK MAJESTY, THE MOST CHRISTIAN KING, AND THE CATHOLICK KING.... London. 1762. 23pp. printed in double-column format in parallel English and French. The Definitive Treaty... is bound second, preceded by the Preliminary Articles.... Quarto. Contemporary marbled boards, rebacked in period style, maroon gilt morocco label. Minor wear to extremities. Internally bright and clean. Later bookplate of the third Baron Suffield on front pastedown. Very good. The Definitive Treaty of Peace and Friendship... is the most important American Treaty of the 18th century except the treaty ending the American War of Independence. It ended the long conflict of the Seven Years’ or French and Indian War, and marked the end of France as a power in North America, producing a major shift in the balance of power on the continent. The removal of France from the North American continent opened the door for the expansion of the British colonies over the Alleghenies and gave them a self-sufficient posture never before possible. The removal of the French counterweight opened the door for American Independence.By the terms of the treaty all of Canada except two small islands off Newfoundland was ceded to England, as were all French lands east of the Mississippi. All of Louisiana was ceded to Spain, and France’s New World holdings were reduced to several Caribbean islands, including Martinique, Guadeloupe, and several smaller islands. At the same time, East and West Florida went from Spain to England, who also received the Grenadines and Dominica. Bound here with The Definitive Treaty... are the Preliminary Articles of Peace..., signed at Fontainebleau on Nov. 3, 1762. The two treaties are virtually identical in substance, though they differ slightly in the enumeration of the articles, and by the addition of several royal and ambassadorial declarations. A vital landmark in the political history of colonial North America. The Definitive Treaty...: HOWES D213, "aa." DAVENPORT 150. SABIN 19275. SERVIES 433. Preliminary Articles...: HOWES P569. DAVENPORT 148. SABIN 65044. SERVIES 423. $10,000. 181. [Treaty of Utrecht]: THE OFFERS OF FRANCE EXPLAIN’D. London: Printed for A. Baldwin, 1712. [2],26pp. Modern half calf over marbled boards, spine gilt. Titlepage lightly soiled, small worm hole through entire text affecting a few letters, otherwise internally clean. A very good copy. A pamphlet highly critical of offers made by French representatives at the time that the Treaty of Utrecht was being negotiated. The Treaty of Utrecht, signed in 1713, ended the War of the Spanish Succession (also known as Queen Anne’s War). In early 1712 the French and British were negotiating bilaterally, each making demands on the other for concessions, including those regarding territory in North America. This tract, intensely critical of the entire proposed treaty, includes critiques of the third and fifth articles which relate to American territories, including Hudson Bay, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. The author’s dissatisfaction with the proposed treaty is expressed in the first paragraph: "If I may judg[e] by myself, ’tis impossible to express the surprize, indignation, and concern, which the offers of France for a general peace must have rais’d in the breast of every true Englishman. Is this the good peace we have been made to expect? Are these the fruits of a successful war? Is this the provision made for the safety of our allies?...This the security for Great Britain? Is this reducing the exorbitant power of France, and preserving the liberty of Europe?" EUROPEAN AMERICANA 712/164. KRESS S2596. GOLDSMITHS 4968. $1500. Connecticut Owns West to the Pacific! 182. [Trumbull, Jonathan]: THE SUSQUEHANNAH CASE. [Norwich, Ct.: Green and Spooner, 1774]. 24pp. Half title. Printed self-wrappers. Half title chipped. Insect damage to rear five leaves, with some loss of text. Early ink ownership and numerical inscriptions on half title; numerical inscriptions on p.24. Good. An uncommon pamphlet discussing the western boundaries of Connecticut contested by the colony of Pennsylvania. Sabin and Evans both state that the case was prepared by Connecticut governor Jonathan Trumbull and printed to accompany a commissioners’ report of the same year. The rival claims of Connecticut and Pennsylvania to the Wyoming Valley region, largely inhabited by Connecticut settlers, had led to the outbreak of the Yankee-Pennamite Wars in 1769. Sporadic fighting would continue through 1799, when Connecticut was finally forced to withdraw the last of her claims to the area. The present pamphlet provides a detailed account of Connecticut’s land titles, first derived from royal land grants beginning in 1630, which stated that Connecticut owned everything westward to the "South Sea," and later developed through land transactions between various colonial powers, Indian nations, and American land companies (including the Susquehannah Company). The present copy of the pamphlet bears the signature of Fenn Wadsworth, a Revolutionary War-era resident of Farmington and member of one of Connecticut’s most prominent families. EVANS 18971. SABIN 93936. BRINLEY SALE 2127. VAIL 636. $1250. 183. [Tucker, Josiah]: A LETTER FROM A MERCHANT IN LONDON TO HIS NEPHEW IN NORTH AMERICA, RELATIVE TO THE PRESENT POSTURE OF AFFAIRS IN THE COLONIES.... London. 1766. [4],55pp. Half title. Later plain blue wrappers, paper label. Wrappers sunned, glue residue on spine, else very good. A defense of the Stamp Act. Tucker was a British economist and long-standing opponent of colonialism who wrote several tracts arguing that the British should forego their effort to retain the American colonies. This present pamphlet is a defense of the Stamp Act and a rationalization of the taxation on the American colonies. In a sympathetic plea, Tucker underlines the great financial burden from which the British suffer, "For we can bear no more: we cannot support ourselves under heavier Taxations, even were we ever so willing: we have strained every Nerve already, and have no Resources left for new Impositions...the Expenses of America must be borne by the Americans in some Form, or under some Denomination or other." HOWES T386. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 66-59a. SABIN 97352. $1250. A Massive Collection of Urlsperger Tracts, 184. Urlsperger, Samuel: DER AUSFUHRLICHEN NACHRICHTEN VON DER KONIGLICH-GROSS-BRITANNISCHEN COLONIE SALTZBURGISCHER EMIGRANTEN IN AMERICA. [with:] [SIX ADDITIONAL CONTINUATIONS AND TWO PARTIAL ANTHOLOGIES]. Halle. 1741-1752. Nine volumes in all, with the Tomo Chachi Mico plate appearing as the frontispiece in the first. First volume (thick quarto) in contemporary three-quarter speckled vellum and boards, seven volumes in later plain wrappers, and one volume in modern brown cloth. Tomo Chachi Mico plate in first volume trimmed close, worn on edges. Uniformly internally clean. Very good. The first volume lacks the two maps. A virtually complete collection of these vital sources for the early history of Georgia. The 1741 collected edition (after the originals issued separately in parts beginning in 1735) of the first six parts of these important annual accounts of the Salzburger settlements in Georgia, commonly known as "the Salzburger Tracts," here accompanied by six additional continuations and two partial anthologies. These settlements began when a group of German settlers from Salzburg, fleeing religious persecution at home, accepted the invitation of Gen. James Oglethorpe, the founder of Georgia, to settle there in 1734. By 1741 some twelve hundred Salzburgers were living in Georgia, and these volumes are both a history and a promotional work for further settlement. Included in the first (and most important) volume is the original relation, Ausfuhrliche nachricht, nearly three thousand pages long, followed by the first five continuations. The six later continuations are each bound separately. "This series of Nachrichten is one of the most important source works on the history of Georgia, being the contemporary accounts of the German settlements in the province..." – De Renne. Of special note in the first volume is the folding plate of the Lower Creek chief, Tomo Chachi Mico, standing majestically with his arm around the shoulder of his nephew, Tooanahowi, who is holding his clan symbol of an eagle. Tomo Chachi welcomed and was helpful to the first Georgia settlers, and accompanied Gen. Oglethorpe on a trip to London in 1734. This portrait is based on a painting executed at that time by William Verelst (the original of which is now at Winterthur). A British mezzotint artist soon produced the first print version of the portrait, which the present engraving closely copies. It is one of only a handful of life portraits of American Indians created in the 18th century, and one of only two such relating to southern tribes (the other is Cunne Shote, a Cherokee chief who visited London in 1762). Following the 1741 production, this offering includes six additional annual continuations and two anthologies. They are: 1) Siebente continvation der ausführlichen nachricht von den Saltzburgischen emigranten.... Halle. 1741. [52],361-704pp. (lacking the last twelve pages) plus folding table. Largely unopened. 2) Nuente continvation der ausführlichen nachricht von den Saltzburgischen emigranten.... Halle. 1743. [4],[1015]-1270pp. 3) Zehente continvation der ausführlichen nachricht von den Saltzburgischen emigranten.... Halle. 1744. [24],[1771]-1930pp., without the misnumbering of p.1802 as 8002 found in some copies. Partially unopened. 4) Elfte continvation der ausführlichen achricht von den Saltzburgischen emigranten.... Halle. 1745. [12],[1931]-2138pp. Partially unopened. 5) Zwölte coninvation der ausführlichen nachricht von den Saltzburgischen emigranten.... Halle. 1746. [12],[2139]-2270pp., lacking the appended Register (eighteen leaves). 6) Der dre Yzehenten continvation derer ausführlichen nachricht von den Saltzburgischen emigranten.... Halle. 1749. [20],[73]-203pp. 7) Der ausfuhrlichen nachrichten von der Koniglich-Gross-Britannischen colonie Saltzburgischer emigranten in America.... Halle. 1746. [64],358,[2]pp. Intended to reprint the sixth through the twelfth continuations, only the first continuation intended for this volume is present. That being said, the numerous separate continuations listed above plus this comprise, to this point, a complete assemblage of all continuations save the one for 1742. 8) Der ausfuhrlichen nachrichten von der Koniglich-Gross-Britannischen colonie Saltzburgischer emigranten in America.... Halle. 1752. [26],30,537-770pp. Largely unopened. The last of the anthologies, intended to reprint the thirteenth through the eighteenth continuations, present here is solely the continuation for 1752. Combined with the separate 1749 continuation listed above, five continuations from this last group are lacking. Despite a few missing texts, this offering is an impressive run of the extraordinarily scarce Salzburger tracts. While it is possible the separate issues listed above were removed from anthologies, it is more likely they are the original separate issues for their respective years, and as such they are of the greatest rarity. The De Renne library possessed only the seventeenth and eighteenth continuations in the separate issue. A simply exhaustive chronicle of the Germans in Georgia, considered by far the best account of the region for its time. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 741/234, 740/314. BAGINSKY GERMAN AMERICANA 305. JCB (1)III:541. SABIN 98133. HOWES U27, "b." DE RENNE, pp.57-68. Bradford Swan, "Prints of the American Indian, 1670-1775" in Boston Prints and Printmakers (Boston, 1973). $15,000. The Charter of the Swedish 185. [Usselinx, Willem]: SWERIGES RIJKES GENERAL HANDELS COMPAGNIES CONTRACT, DIRIGERAT TIL ASIAM, AFRICAM, AMERICAM OCH MAGELLANICAMSAMPT THESS CONDITIONER OCH WILKAHR.... Stockholm. 1625. [15]pp. Small quarto. Dbd. Early signature on titlepage. Leaves a bit stained and tanned. Good. In a half morocco box. This is a very rare printing of the charter of the Swedish South Sea Company, authorizing Swedish commerce to America, Africa, Asia, and "Magellanica." This document was the basis for the Swedish settlements in North America along the Delaware River, around the area that is now Wilmington and across the river at Raccoon. The text was drafted by Willem Usselinx, the Dutch trader who drew so much Dutch and Swedish attention to the potential of New World commerce. OCLC locates only four copies, at The New York Public Library, the Library of Congress, the University of Delaware, and the University of Minnesota; and European Americana adds Yale (though no copy is listed on Yale’s website), the John Carter Brown Library, and the Kungliga Biblioteket in Stockholm. "This piece is rare" – Jameson. BELL U204. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 625/242. SABIN 98210. JAMESON, USSELINX 14. OCLC 14277211. $6000. Promoting the Dutch West India Company 186. Usselinx, Willem: UTHFÖRLIGH FÖRKLARING ÖFWER HANDELS CONTRACTET ANGÄENDES THET SÖDRE COMPAGNIET UTHI KONUNGARIJKET I SWERIGHE.... Stockholm: I. Meurer, 1626. [99]pp. Small quarto. Modern three-quarter calf and marbled boards, spine gilt, leather label. Evenly age-toned. Very good. This account was taken from and precedes the publication of Usselinx’s very important Octroy ofte privilegie (1627). Willem Usselinx (1567-1647), the founder of the Dutch West India Company, was granted a charter by King Gustavus Adolphus to establish the Swedish South Trade Company in 1624. One of the chief intentions was to import goods from North America. The project foundered, but was important in establishing a Swedish presence in New Sweden, later Pennsylvania. In this work Usselinx outlines his plan in detail. "Extremely scarce" – Muller. No copies listed on OCLC. Very rare. MULLER (1872) 1143. JAMESON, USSELINX 15, pp.106-18. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 626/140. SABIN 98211. JCB (3)II:203-4. ASHER, pp.82-83. $4500. The Primary Document 187. [Usselinx, Willem]: ARGONAUTICA GUSTAVIANA; DAS IST: NOTHWENDIGE NACH RICHT VON DER NEWEN SEEFAHRT UND KAUFFHANDLUNG...DURCH ARICHTUNG EINER GENERAL HANDEL-COMPAGNIE.... Frankfurt. 1633. [20],48 [i.e. 56], 51pp. Folio. 18th-century plain stiff wrappers. Wrappers worn and stained, spine perished, front wrapper nearly detached. Ex-lib. with a small bookplate with deaccession stamp on the inner front wrapper, and an unobtrusive ink stamp on the titlepage. Lightly age-toned. Very good overall. In a cloth clamshell case, leather label. "The largest and most important publication of the founder of the Dutch and Swedish West India Companies and probably the first piece of American promotion literature in German. It had considerable influence in beginning the German and Swedish migration to Pennsylvania and Delaware" – Vail. Willem Usselinx, who came from a spice-trading family in Antwerp, had seen the goods flooding into Spain and Portugal from their American colonies. In 1624, at the urging of Usselinx, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden issued an edict establishing the exclusive rights of a new Swedish company to trade with Africa, America, Asia, and the "Terra Magellanica." The present volume brings together all of Usselinx’s writings on the Swedish West India Company, some in their original language and others in translation. Included is a printing of the original charter of the "South Company," published to increase interest in the trading company; prospectuses for the company from 1624 and 1626; directions to subscribers; various memorials by Usselinx; and much more. A rare work, and a foundation piece for the Dutch and Swedish colonies in the mid-Atlantic, from New York to Wilmington. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 633/120. SABIN 98187. VAIL 85. ASHER 43. JAMESON, USSELINX 26, pp.169-71. KRESS S635. JCB (3)II:248. $15,000. Rare Account of the French Scientific 188. [Vallette Laudun, M. de]: JOURNAL D’UN VOYAGE A LA LOUISIANE, FAIT EN 1720. Paris: Chez Musier, Fils, & Fournier, 1768. 8,316pp. Half title. Original plain wrappers, later manuscript paper label. Wrappers moderately worn. Very light occasional foxing. Else near fine. In a half morocco box. A rare account by the commander of the 1720 French scientific expedition to Louisiana, the French West Indies, and the Gulf of Mexico. Vallette Laudun led the first detailed survey made of Louisiana by the French government, three years after the founding of New Orleans and at the height of enthusiasm over John Law’s Mississippi Company. "Vallette was the commander of the Toulouse, which sailed from Toulon in March, 1720, and reached Dauphin Island, on Mobile Bay, early in July" – Clark. The text consists of 132 letters to an unnamed French lady, which collectively provide a vivid picture of Vallette Laudun’s voyage, the French dominions in Louisiana and the Mississippi Valley, and the things Vallette Laudun saw there. The same voyage is described in Laval’s sumptuous work of 1728. Not in Servies, but should be, as the author led the survey described by Laval, which Servies does include. One of the rarest early publications about Louisiana. HOWES V12. CLARK I:164. BELL V14. SABIN 98393. $8500. A Major Work Promoting Nova Scotia, 189. [Vaughan, William]: THE GOLDEN FLEECE DIVIDED INTO THREE PARTS, UNDER WHICH ARE DISCOVERED THE ERRORS OF RELIGION, THE VICES AND DECAYES OF THE KINGDOME, AND LASTLY THE WAYES TO GET WEALTH, AND TO RESTORE TRADING SO MUCH COMPLAYNED OF. TRANSPORTED FROM CAMBRIOLL COLCHOS, OUT OF THE SOUTHERMOST PART OF THE ILAND [sic], COMMONLY CALLED THE NEWFOUNDLAND.... London: Printed for Francis Williams, 1626. [28],149,[1],105,[1],96pp. Folding map in facsimile. Small quarto. Contemporary speckled calf, stamped and ruled in blind, gilt morocco label, raised bands. Bookplate on front pastedown, some ink notes on front endpapers. Worm hole in lower outer margin throughout, most pronounced in first twenty-five leaves. Early manuscript marginalia (in English and Latin) and underscoring. A very good copy. This copy with bears the bookplate of Thomas Hay (1710-87), eighth Earl of Kinnoull. Hay was a classical scholar, a member of Parliament, and in 1746 was made a lord of trade and plantations. "He took a prominent part in the efforts to improve the condition of Nova Scotia" – DNB. The anonymous author, William Vaughan (1575 or 1577-1641), was a Welsh poet and colonial promoter who saw Newfoundland, with its rich fisheries, as a source of revenue for England and of employment for its people. This work, in the form of a literary fantasy, is meant to extol the riches and gains to be had in Newfoundland. "Cambrioll," mentioned in the title here, was the name Vaughan gave to his settlement on the island. Vaughan actually spent time in Newfoundland from 1622 to 1624, an experience which greatly adds to the accuracy of this promotional work, and despite the fantastical nature of the text, much early information on Newfoundland is to be gleaned here. "This work is one of the earliest contributions to English literature from America, and was intended to advertise Vaughan’s colony. It is a queer fantasy in prose and verse, in which a succession of historical characters present complaints against the evils of the age in the Court of Apollo, and finally find the Golden Fleece in Newfoundland" – Baer. The text contains brief references to Lord Baltimore (a partner in Vaughan’s Newfoundland enterprise) and Captaine Wynne, hence the Maryland interest. Vaughan also criticizes the social use of tobacco, bringing his work to the attention of Arents. The map of Newfoundland, here present in expert facsimile, was drawn by John Mason for Vaughan’s exceedingly rare Cambrensium caroleia, published in 1625. According to the Church catalogue, quoting Rich, the Mason map is not always found with The Golden Fleece – as in the Toronto Public Library copy, which is in a similar contemporary binding but lacks the map. A significant early and interesting New World promotional, with a Maryland association. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 626/143. LANDE S2269. TPL 6302. BAER MARYLAND 12. ARENTS 161A. CHURCH 409. BELL V36. JCB (3)II:204. SABIN 98693. STC 24609. DNB XX, pp.183-85 (Vaughan); IX, pp.275-76 (Hay). Mason map: BURDEN 216. KERSHAW, p.86. WORLD ENCOMPASSED 216. $13,500. 190. Walker, Hovenden: A JOURNAL: OR FULL ACCOUNT OF THE LATE EXPEDITION TO CANADA. WITH AN APPENDIX CONTAINING COMMISSIONS, ORDERS, INSTRUCTIONS, LETTERS, MEMORIALS, COURTS-MARTIAL, COUNCILS OF WAR, &c RELATING THERETO. London. 1720. [4],304pp. Contemporary blind-tooled paneled calf. Joints cracked, but cords still solid; minor wear to extremities. Internally very good. A good copy. "Walker presents a defense of his unfortunate 1711 expedition against Canada, which operated from Boston and was of New England instigation. Having distinguished himself in the West Indies, he was placed in command of the naval forces. Ill fortune attended the enterprise, eight transports being cast away and nearly 900 soldiers drowned...the expedition was a total failure and Sir Hovenden was arraigned for his conduct. He underwent great persecution, his name being struck from the Admiral’s list...He later went to Carolina, but returned to England and published the Journal" – Lande. A vital record of this ill-fated New England attempt to unseat the French in Canada, by the chief participant. LANDE 886. TPL 148. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 720/236. $2250. 191. [West Indies]: AN ACCOUNT OF THE ARRAIGNMENTS AND TRYALS OF COL. RICHARD KIRKBY, CAPT. JOHN CONSTABLE...FOR COWARDICE, NEGLECT OF DUTY, BREACH OF ORDERS, AND OTHER CRIMES, COMMITTED BY THEM IN A FIGHT AT SEA, COMMENCED THE 19th OF AUGUST, 1702, OFF OF ST. MARTHA...BETWEEN THE HONOURABLE JOHN BENBOW, ESQ; AND ADMIRAL DU CASSE WITH FOUR FRENCH SHIPS OF WAR.... London. 1703. Title-leaf, 10pp. Folio. Modern half morocco and marbled boards. Very good. Kirkby and the other naval officers were court-martialed at Port Royal in Jamaica for their disgraceful behavior in Benbow’s encounter with the French in August 1702. The whole action is detailed, especially regarding the officers who refused to fight, deserted the line of battle, etc. A well-known mutiny, cited as a precedent in other British naval cases. SABIN 37982. DNB XI, pp.207-8. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 703/84. $1000. 192. [Westminster Assembly of Divines]: THE SHORTER CATECHISM OF THE REVEREND ASSEMBLY OF DIVINES, WITH PROOFS THEREOF OUT OF THE SCRIPTURES...FOR THE BENEFIT OF CHRISTIANS IN GENERAL.... Boston: Printed by William M’Alpine, 1768. 33pp. Sewn into contemporary plain paper wrappers, manuscript paper label. Contemporary ink inscriptions on titlepage (the word "Catechism" beside title) and verso of terminal leaf (signatures of Eunice Barnard and Hepzibah Flagg). Wrappers worn. Titlepage creased and slightly chipped near gutter, affecting a few words of text. Foredge of second leaf frayed, with loss of several words on pp.3-4. Wear and mild foxing and soiling throughout. Good. In a half morocco box. A very rare Boston catechism, this issue not in Evans, Bristol, or Shipton & Mooney. The so-called "Shorter Catechism" was codified in 1647 by the Westminster Assembly and remains to this day part of the doctrinal standards of many Presbyterian churches. It was first printed in America at Cambridge in 1665 and frequently reprinted, though many of these are represented by a single surviving copy. The single other known copy is held by the American Antiquarian Society and has a damaged titlepage. The AAS copy of a variant of this issue (Evans 11115) lacks pages 29-[34]. NAIP w024488. EVANS 11115 (variant). $4250. The Treasury Considers the Stamp Act 193. [Whately, Thomas]: THE REGULATIONS LATELY MADE CONCERNING THE COLONIES, AND THE TAXES IMPOSED UPON THEM, CONSIDERED. London. 1765. 114pp. Dbd. Minor age-toning. Very good. Although sometimes attributed to George Grenville, this was actually written by one of his secretaries, Thomas Whately. An important Stamp Act pamphlet, setting forth the views of the Ministry relating to its rights to taxation in the American colonies, and arguing that the American colonies are "virtually represented" in Parliament. HOWES W311. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 65-27a. BEINECKE LESSER ANTILLES COLLECTION 259. $1000. 194. Wheelock, Eleazar: A PLAIN AND FAITHFUL NARRATIVE OF THE ORIGINAL DESIGN, RISE, PROGRESS AND PRESENT STATE OF THE INDIAN CHARITY-SCHOOL AT LEBANON, IN CONNECTICUT. Boston: Printed by Richard and Samuel Draper, 1763. 55pp. 19th-century three-quarter morocco and marbled boards, spine lettered in gilt. Binding lightly rubbed. Bookplate of Hall Park McCullough on front pastedown. Very good. The first installment in Wheelock’s series of publications giving the history of the first Indian school in America. This volume covers 1754-62, and was followed by eight more such reports, taking the story up to 1775. Wheelock discusses the origins of the school and defends the missionary endeavor. The school, founded by Wheelock, opened in 1754 under the name of Moors Charity School. In 1772 it was removed to Hanover, "where it formed the germ of the institution, known as Dartmouth College" (Field). EVANS 9537. NAIP w028881. FIELD 1638. HOWES W334, "aa." SABIN 103205. STREETER SALE 4062. $3000. 195. Wheelock, Eleazar: A CONTINUATION OF THE NARRATIVE OF THE INDIAN CHARITY-SCHOOL, IN LEBANON, IN CONNECTICUT; FROM THE YEAR 1768, TO THE INCORPORATION OF IT WITH DARTMOUTH-COLLEGE, AND REMOVAL AND SETTLEMENT OF IT IN HANOVER, IN THE PROVINCE OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE, 1771. [Hartford: Ebenezer Watson], 1771. 61pp. Small quarto. Modern three-quarter calf and marbled boards. A bit of light foxing, but on the whole very good. Untrimmed. First issue, without the errata list on the final text page. This is the fifth (or sixth, by some counts) in the series of reports issued by Eleazar Wheelock on Moor’s Indian Charity School, which he founded in Lebanon, Connecticut in 1754. This volume describes the important story of the school’s removal from Connecticut and its incorporation into Dartmouth College, which was also founded by Wheelock. The final eight pages contain a poem written by one of Wheelock’s students, Levi Frisbie, on the rise and progress of the Indian school. Also included are the accounts for the school for 1768-70. Howes posits a New London imprint, but Evans and others concur on Hartford. FIELD 1642. EVANS 12284. NAIP w027339. SABIN 103208. HOWES W329, "aa." STREETER SALE 4062. $1750. An Important Sammelband 196. Whitefield, George: A JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE FROM LONDON TO SAVANNAH IN GEORGIA. IN TWO PARTS.... [bound with:] A CONTINUATION OF THE REVEREND MR. WHITEFIELD’S JOURNAL, FROM HIS ARRIVAL AT SAVANNAH, TO HIS RETURN TO LONDON. [bound with:] A CONTINUATION...FROM HIS ARRIVAL AT LONDON, TO HIS DEPARTURE FROM THENCE ON HIS WAY TO GEORGIA. [bound with:] A CONTINUATION...DURING THE TIME HE WAS DETAINED IN ENGLAND BY THE EMBARGO. The Second Edition. [bound with:] A CONTINUATION...FROM EMBARKING AFTER THE EMBARGO, TO HIS ARRIVAL AT SAVANNAH IN GEORGIA. [bound with:] A CONTINUATION... FROM A FEW DAYS AFTER HIS RETURN TO GEORGIA TO HIS ARRIVAL AT FALMOUTH.... [bound with:] A SHORT ACCOUNT OF GOD’S DEALINGS WITH THE REVEREND MR. GEORGE WHITEFIELD. [bound with:] [Two issues of THE WEEKLY MISCELLANY, February 10 & 24, 1738]. London. 1738-1741. [1],iv,58; [4],38; iv,115; iv,40; 88; [1],85,[1]; 76pp. plus two newspaper issues, [2]pp. each. Modern calf in antique style, raised bands, leather label. Early inscriptions on fly leaf describing contents of volume. Some foxing, else very good. A nearly complete run of George Whitefield’s seven journals (lacking only the sixth), with Whitefield’s autobiographical sketch and two London newspaper issues containing letters pertaining to his activities in England. The first edition of the first journal was published by Whitefield’s friends, without his knowledge, and the numerous reprints, and successive parts and continuations (including American printings by Franklin) present an exasperating bibliographic maze. That stated, the present collection is relatively straightforward in its bibliography: the first Journal..., printed as two parts in one, is present here in its first authorized edition, after the unauthorized edition of the same year; and the third Continuation... ("the fourth journal") present here is a second edition; all other items are first editions. The letters in the two issues of London’s The Weekly Miscellany refer to a recent Sunday morning on which Whitefield’s followers stormed St. Margaret’s Westminster Methodist church and forcibly removed the minister from his pulpit, installing Whitefield in his place. By the time of his first famous journey to America, George Whitefield had established himself as a popular and controversial preacher in England and one of the founding personalities of Methodism. The journals are Whitefield’s account of his first two journeys to America (of a total of seven in his lifetime), where he preached widely, playing an instrumental revivalist role in the Great Awakening, and helped establish numerous social institutions in Georgia, including the Bethesda Orphanage, which is still operating today. "[Whitefield’s] influence in America, entirely apart from that which he exerted in Great-Britain, was many-sided and far reaching. With his advent a religious awakening already begun was greatly stimulated and a burst of evangelical activity occurred that had a marked effect not only on the religious and social life but on the political as well...Although others contributed greatly to this movement, Whitefield was its most dynamic representative, its unifying elements and the personification of its tendencies...Of the Great Awakening, he was above all others the Awakener" – DAB. HOWES W374. SABIN 103534, 103535, 103538, 103540, 103542, 103550, 103591. DE RENNE I, pp.75-76 (other eds), 81, 82, 88, 101. DAB XX, pp.124-29. $7500. The Famous Standard of Political Dissent: 197. Wilkes, John: THE NORTH BRITON. London: Printed for J. Williams, 1763. Three volumes. [4],222; 241,[6]; 206,iv,[1]pp. Contemporary speckled calf, spines and front covers gilt. Outer joints and corners slightly worn. Contemporary or near contemporary shelf mark on front pastedown of first and second volumes. Contemporary ownership signature of Maria Philips on titlepage of first and third volumes. Titlepages toned at edges, internally very clean. A near fine set. First collected edition of this classic periodical of political dissent, including the text of the first forty-five numbers of Wilkes’ The North Briton, in which he attacks Bute’s government, lampoons Hogarth, and compares George III unfavorably to Edward III. The first and second volumes consist of the first forty-five issues of the periodical. The third volume, issued later in the same year, includes speeches by the King, journals of the House of Commons, issue number forty-six, and texts from other periodicals. John Wilkes was a constant thorn in the side of the Ministry during the Seven Years’ (or French and Indian) War. Despite efforts to exclude him, Wilkes was overwhelmingly elected to Parliament from Middlesex (the City of London), and became the embodiment of the Opposition. His stand against the Ministry of George III led him to establish The North Briton, the first number of which was issued on June 5, 1762. In the guise of being a Scottish Tory periodical, it launched vicious and satirical attacks on the government. Wilkes’ authorship, though unstated, was well known, and he was watched closely for a mis-step. With issue 45, on April 23, 1763, he went too far and called George III a liar. Wilkes was immediately arrested and thrown in the Tower. Released on a writ of habeas corpus, he was rearrested for seditious libel and fled to France, after which he was declared an outlaw by Parliament. He returned to England in 1768, and eventually was reseated in Parliament, in 1774. Wilkes’ bold stand made him a hero to all dissenters from the government. The mottos of the opposition became "Wilkes and Liberty" and simply "45" for the famous number of The North Briton. As American opposition to Crown acts began in 1764 and matured over the next decade, while Wilkes remained an exile or was excluded from Parliament despite valid election, he and The North Briton became the symbols of bold confrontation with the government. No figure was more important in shaping the language of the debate over Crown and Parliamentary authority, and in providing a model for the assertion of natural rights. The political discourse of the Revolution really begins with The North Briton. Because of its radical nature, The North Briton suffered destruction and suppression. The original issue of number 45 was ordered burned by Parliament, and hence is particularly rare. The text of that number appears herein for the first time in book form. Number 46, which was only printed at a press in Wilkes’ home, is found here in the third volume, as are other texts related to his difficulties after number 45 was published. With the original periodical issue virtually unobtainable, an attractive format for this vital political work. WELLSPRINGS OF A NATION EXHIBITION 103 (ref). $3500. "...the most popular 198. Williamson, Peter: FRENCH AND INDIAN CRUELTY; EXEMPLIFIED 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. 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. American Military Manual 199. [Windham, William]: A PLAN OF EXERCISE FOR THE MILITIA OF THE PROVINCE OF THE MASSACHUSETS-BAY [sic]: EXTRACTED FROM THE PLAN OF DISCIPLINE FOR THE NORFOLK MILITIA. Boston: Printed by Richard Draper, 1771. [2], 107pp. 12mo. Original self-wrappers, string-tied as issued. Front printed wrapper (which also serves as a half title) is present but detached, chipped along the left edge and with the upper quarter neatly torn off but present. First two and final two leaves with small tears, affecting a few letters but not the sense of the text. Foredge of pp.57-66 torn from having been roughly opened, but with no real loss of text. On the whole, in remarkable original condition. In a half morocco and cloth box. The third printing (so identified on the half title) of this exceptionally rare and important early American military manual. William Windham (1717-61), a British military officer who also served for a time in the Hungarian army, helped form the Norfolk Militia regiment in 1757 and wrote this treatise shortly thereafter. It was first published in England in 1760, and became the standard military manual used in the American colonies and by the Continental Army until Baron von Steuben produced his manual in 1779. It is a thorough and detailed military manual, giving close instructions on all manner of military actions. All pre-Revolutionary printings of this manual are rare, with only two known copies each of the 1768 first and the 1770 second edition. NAIP locates only two copies of this 1771 third printing, one at the Massachusetts Historical Society and a defective copy at the American Antiquarian Society. The most important military manual of its day, here in a very rare American printing. EVANS 12290. NAIP w005722. RILEY 71. $12,500. With an Early American Bookplate 200. Wise, John: THE CHURCHES QUARREL ESPOUSED: OR, A REPLY IN SATYRE, TO CERTAIN PROPOSALS MADE, IN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION, WHAT FURTHER STEPS ARE TO BE TAKEN, THAT THE COUNCILS MAY HAVE DUE CONSTITUTION AND EFFICACY IN SUPPORTING, PRESERVING, AND WELL-ORDERING THE INTEREST OF THE CHURCHES IN THE COUNTRY? Boston: Reprinted: Sold by Nicholas Boone, at the Sign of the Bible in Cornhill, 1715. Testimonial leaf, title-leaf, 116pp. 16mo. Modern calf in period style, original endpapers retained. Margins trimmed a bit close in places, shaving a few letters and catchwords. Small paper repair to upper forecorner of leaf C4, only evident on recto. Bit tanned. Overall very good. With printed bookplate of Samuel Whitwell, 1766, and his ownership signature. Early 19th-century ownership inscription as well. Second edition, after the very rare first New York edition of 1713. The present pamphlet was issued in response to an attempt by the Mathers and others to initiate a movement to establish associations of clergy to exercise functions usually left up to individual churches. Wise has since been called the "first great American democrat" due to his argument that the ultimate power of the churches should rest with the congregation and not with their ministers or an association of ministers. "The People...are the first Subject of Power...a Democracy in Church or State is a very honourable Government." Wise’s influential A Vindication of the Government of New-England Churches (Boston, 1717) is the famous statement of his belief in Congregational polity. EVANS 1795 SABIN 104897. HOWES W594, "aa." DAB XX, p.427. $2500. A Foundation Map of New England 201. Wood, William: THE SOUTH PART OF NEW-ENGLAND, AS IT IS PLANTED THIS YEARE, 1635. London. 1635. Folding woodcut and letterpress map, 12½ x 7¾ inches. A bit of worming in the far left side of the sheet, outside the printed border and not affecting the map. Small closed tear in left side of map, reaching one-half inch across the printed border, but not affecting the image at all. Overall in fine condition. [bound into:] Wood, William: NEW ENGLANDS PROSPECT. A TRUE, LIVELY, AND EXPERIMENTALL DESCRIPTION OF THAT PART OF AMERICA, COMMONLY CALLED NEW ENGLAND: DISCOVERING THE STATE OF THAT COUNTRIE, BOTH AS IT STANDS TO OUR NEW-COME ENGLISH PLANTERS; AND TO THE OLD NATIVE INHABITANTS.... London: Printed by Tho. Cotes for Iohn Bellamie, 1635. [8],83,[5]pp. Leaf G, containing pp.41-42, is in photostatic facsimile. Small quarto. Contemporary pastepaper boards backed with a vellum spine. Boards worn. Titlepage soiled. Text lightly tanned, with a few small worm tracks in the inner gutter throughout, occasionally touching a letter of text but not obscuring the sense. Untrimmed. In a half morocco box. The very rare and important map of New England, here contained in a slightly imperfect copy of the second edition of Wood’s New England’s Prospect..., one of the classic works on early New England, important for descriptions of the land and natives. The map, one of the most important early New England maps, is here in a crisp, clean, fine example. It is the second state of the map, the same as appeared in the 1634 first edition, but with a reset heading, changing the date to 1635. It shows most of the New England coast north of Narragansett Bay. Philip Burden praises the map: "An extremely influential and very rare map, the most detailed of the emerging settlements in New England to date...Although simply made, this map is of greater accuracy than any before it. Covering the area from the Pascataque River, in present day New Hampshire, to Narragansett Bay, it is, however, the Massachusetts Bay area that is shown with the most detail...Wood’s map was not improved upon until the John Foster [map] in 1677." It is the first map of the region made by a resident, William Wood, and the first to name Boston and some thirty other English or Indian settlements. The delineation of the coast is very well done, and it influenced John Smith, whose 1635 map includes a three-line inscription referring to Wood’s map as the source for new information, and also shows new towns depicted on Wood’s map. The first edition of Wood’s remarkably accurate text was published in 1634, this second edition followed a year later. According to Vail it includes the earliest topographical description of the Massachusetts colony. It is also the first detailed account of the animals and plants of New England, as well as the Indian tribes of the region. Of particular note is a chapter describing the customs and work of Indian women. Part One is divided into twelve chapters and is devoted to the climate, landscape, and early settlements, and describes in some detail the native trees, plants, fish game and mineral ores, as well as including advice to those thinking of crossing the Atlantic. The early settlements described include: Boston, Medford, Marblehead, Dorchester, Roxbury, Medford, Watertown, New and Old Plymouth. These chapters also include four charming verses which are essentially a series of lists naming the native trees (twenty lines, starting "Trees both in hills and plaines, in plenty be, / The long liv’d Oake, and mournfull Cyprus tree / ..."); the animals (twelve lines, starting "The kingly Lyon, and the strong arm’d Beare, / The large lim’d Mooses, with the tripping Deare, / ..."); the birds (twenty-eight lines, starting "The Princely Eagle, and the soaring Hawke, / Whom in their unknowne wayes there’s none can chawke: / The Humberd for some Queenes rich Cage more fit, / Than in the vacant Wildernesse to sit, / ..."); and the inhabitants of the seas and rivers (twenty-eight lines, starting "The king of waters, the Sea shouldering Whale, / ..."). The chapter on the birds also includes what are clearly eye-witness descriptions of a number of birds including the Humming-Bird and the Passenger Pigeon. Part Two is devoted to the native inhabitants, and is divided into twenty chapters. The tribes described are the "Mohawks," "Connectecuts," "Pequants and Narragansetts." Again Wood goes into some detail describing the clothing, sports, wars, games, methods of hunting and fishing, their arts, and ending with their language: the work concludes with a five-page vocabulary of Indian words, one of the earliest published for New England. "Little is known of the author. The dedication to Sir William Armine, Bart., of Lincolnshire, may indicate that Wood was also from there. He was resident in New England, perhaps primarily in Lynn, from 1629 to 1633, when he returned to London to publish his book. He may have returned to New England afterward. The General Court of Massachusetts Bay voted thanks to him on the appearance of New England’s Prospect. The exceptional charm and vivacity of Wood’s writing, including flights of verse, is widely acknowledged" – Siebert sale. A vitally important map and text of early New England. Map only: BURDEN 239. SCHWARTZ & EHRENBERG, p.100. McCORKLE 634.1. THE WORLD ENCOMPASSED 213. MAPPING BOSTON, pp.23-24, plate 9. Book and map: VAIL 89. CHURCH 433. STC 25958. SABIN 105075. PILLING, PROOF-SHEETS 4199. PILLING, ALGONQUIAN, p.535. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 635/134. JCB (3)II:258. SIEBERT SALE 96. $60,000. |
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