VOYAGE DANS LA HAUTE PENSYLVANIE ET DANS L'ETAT DE NEW YORK PAR UN MEMBRE ADOPTIF DE LA NATION ONEIDA TRADUIT ET PUBLIE PAR L'AUTEUR DES LETTRES D'UN CULTIVATEUR AMERICAN. With: Signed - JOURNEY INTO NORTHERN PENNSYLVANIA AND THE STATE OF NEW YORK by Bostelmann.
Paris: De L'Imprimerie de Crapelet, Chez Maradan, 1801.
1st Edition. Crevecoeur, Michel Guillaume Jean de. JOURNEY INTO NORTHERN PENNSYLVANIA AND THE STATE OF NEW YORK. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1964. Translated by Clarissa Spencer Bostelmann. Her Copy. First Edition. Tall 8vo., 619pp. An excellent copy in dustwrapper. The first complete English translation of Crevecoeur's monumental oeuvre. CSB's presentation, inscribed to her mother on the ffe:
"For my Mother, / peerless inspiration / Devotedly / Clarissa / April 1964". Mrs. C. S. Bostelmann small blue address sticker at the top of the ffe with 6 lines of relevant manuscript notes at the bottom. "More than a book of travel, Journey...expresses Crevecoeur's belief in the corruption of Old World civilization and his prophecy that the American Revolution would bring harmony, abundance, and democracy. This is a book rich in early American lore."
Custom Slipcase. With: Crevecoeur, Michel-Guillaume St. Jean de. VOYAGE DANS LA HAUTE PENSYLVANIE ET DANS L'ETAT DE NEW YORK PAR UN MEMBRE ADOPTIF DE LA NATION ONEIDA TRADUIT ET PUBLIE PAR L'AUTEUR DES LETTRES D'UN CULTIVATEUR AMERICAN.Paris: De L'Imprimerie de Crapelet, Chez Maradan, 1801. First Edition. Three Octavo Volumes: [xxxii], 1-427; [xiv], 434; [xii], 409, [1], pp., eleven finely engraved plates, both views and maps of which 7 are folding. A very good lightly rubbed set in solid antiquarian condition; with the text blocks clean & fresh & free of blemish. The translator, Clarissa Spencer Bostelmann's set with strong original provenance; the bookplate of SAMUEL W. PENNYPACKER[1843 - 1916 / Governor of Pennsylvania from 1903 to 1907, Americanist, President of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania] on the front pastedown of each volume. These volumes are finely printed and illustrated. Of special note are: the portrait of Washington engraved from a cameo executed by Madame Brehan in NY (1789); the powerful pictures of an Onondaga sachem and Koohassen, an Oneida warrior; and the fine maps & plans, including a large folding map of the Southern United States, engraved by Tardieu. "Original work of this author, presented under the guise of a translation." - Howes Only his initials appear at the end of the dedication to George Washington. "This work is distinguished by its valuable details on the aboriginal tribes, and their gradual disappearance. No other writer has so well described the Indian great councils, or assemblies, where they deliberate on their public interests.". Howes C884; Sabin 17501; Brunet II, 424 Crevecoeur [1731-1813] traveled widely in America after the French & Indian War, and became a naturalized citizen in 1765. In the Revolution he chose the Loyalist side, and during the War he resided in France. During this separation from his adopted home he wrote: LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN FARMER. "This volume was more widely read in England & Europe and had a greater influence in attracting its readers toAmerica than any other book of the period" - Vail 674. When he returned toAmerica in 1783 he found that his home had been burnt by Indians, and that his wife and children were gone. This present work was written during the difficult years of the French Revolution. It was intended to be merely a fourth volume of the "Letters From an American Farmer", but Crevecoeur eventually created an entirely new work. In its pages one discovers the final evolution of his ideas, intimate observations, and dreams aboutAmerica. It is filled with details on the gradual disappearance of the aboriginal tribes and the great Indian Councils. He also had intimate knowledge of the characters of the founding fathers. Crevecoeur was, for many years, the French Consul inNew York and enjoyed the friendship of Washington,Franklin, and other leaders. The author spent nearly 25 years in America, saw Washington, in 1774, come to the first Congress fresh from his farm, witnessed his extraordinary career, and in 1797, saw him return to private life as an agriculturalist.
Item #33717 Price: US$9,500.00