Crucible of War: Conflict in North America 1757–1792
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CATALOGUE THREE HUNDRED SEVENTEEN Crucible of War: Conflict in North America 1757–1792 WILLIAM REESE COMPANY 409 Temple Street New Haven, CT 06511 (203) 789-8081 A Note This catalogue derives its title from Fred Anderson’s superb history of the French and Indian War, The Crucible of War. That colonial war shaped an aftermath of colonial dis- sent and imperial struggle which led directly to the American Revolution and ultimately to the federal government of the United States as we know it. The third of a century covered in this catalogue is the crucible out of which the United States emerged. We are pleased to offer many landmark books here, among them the Paris 1785 edi- tion of Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia; a wonderful James Sharples portrait of Alexander Hamilton; Simcoe’s Journal..., a legendary Revolutionary rarity; and General Gage’s proclamation of martial law after Lexington and Concord. Also offered are sets of the Journals of the Continental Congress and The Pennsylvania Magazine of 1775-76; a series of crucial Revolutionary pamphlets; a set of the Intolerable Acts; and much more. Available on request or via our website are our recent catalogues 311 American Women, 313 World Travel & Voyages, 314 Recent Acquisitions in Americana, and 315 The Only Copy For Sale, as well as Bulletins 33 American Natural History, 34 Adams & Jefferson, 35 American Travel, 36 American Views & Cartography, 37 Flat: Single Significant Sheets, and many more topical lists. Some of our catalogues, as well as some recent topical lists, are now posted on the internet at www.reeseco.com. A portion of our stock may be viewed via links at www. reeseco.com. If you would like to receive e-mail notification when catalogues and lists are uploaded, please e-mail us at [email protected] or send us a fax, specifying whether you would like to receive the notifications in lieu of or in addition to paper catalogues. Terms Material herein is offered subject to prior sale. All items are as described and are con- sidered to be on approval. Notice of return must be given within ten days unless specific arrangements are made. Connecticut residents must be billed state sales tax. Postage and insurance charges are billed to all nonprepaid domestic orders. Overseas orders are sent by air unless otherwise requested, with full postage charges billed at our discretion. Payment by check, wire transfer or bank draft is preferred, but may also be made by MasterCard or Visa. William Reese Company Phone: (203) 789-8081 409 Temple Street Fax: (203) 865-7653 New Haven, CT 06511 E-mail: [email protected] www.williamreesecompany.com FRONT COVER: 114. Romney, George: Joseph Tayadaneega Called The Brant.... London. 1779. REAR COVER: 31. [Continental Congress]: A Declaration by the Representatives.... Phila. 1775. 1. Adair, James: THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS; PARTICULARLY THOSE NATIONS ADJOINING TO THE MIS- SISIPPI [sic], EAST AND WEST FLORIDA, GEORGIA, SOUTH AND NORTH CAROLINA, AND VIRGINIA...ALSO AN APPEN- DIX, CONTAINING A DESCRIPTION OF THE FLORIDAS, AND THE MISSISIPPI [sic] LANDS.... London. 1775. [12],464pp. plus folding map. Half title. Quarto. Contemporary calf, rebacked, preserving original gilt morocco label. Light wear to binding, modern bookplate on rear pastedown. Very good. Adair, “one of the most colorful figures in Southern colonial history” (Clark), came to America in 1735. He was heavily involved in trading with the Indians of the Southeast, including the Catawba, Cherokee, and Chickasaw, between 1735 and 1759, and this work contains a chapter on each of these major tribes. Considered by many to be the leading authority of his time on the southeast Indians, he offers detailed descriptions of Indian customs and religion, with many observations on Indian trade and traders. A large portion of the work is devoted to Adair’s twenty- three arguments by which he attempts to prove the descent of the Indians from the Lost Tribes of Israel. The map “illustrates a Southeast with the Indians safely tucked away in the interior wilderness, exactly the condition Adair’s readers would have approved of ” (Cumming & De Vorsey). HOWES A38, “b.” PILLING, PROOF-SHEETS 18. CLARK I:28. VAIL 643. FIELD 11. JCB (3)I:2013. SERVIES 517. BELL A59. SABIN 155. GRAFF 10. CUMMING & DE VORSEY 448. $4000. Lobbying for Approval of the Massachusetts Constitution 2. [Adams, John]: AN ADDRESS OF THE CONVENTION, FOR FRAMING A NEW CONSTITUTION OF GOVERNMENT, FOR THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS-BAY, TO THEIR CONSTITUENTS. Boston: White and Adams, 1780. 18pp. 20th-century three-quarter red morocco and marbled boards, spine gilt. Extremities rubbed. Institutional bookplate on front pastedown. Contemporary ownership inscrip- tion on titlepage, a few contemporary notations. Second “S” in “Address” on half title lacking, some paper damage to the “E” as well. Light soiling, foxing, and wear. About very good. Although primarily written by Adams, this explanation of the new constitution was issued by James Bowdoin, convention president. After the rejection of the 1778 Massachusetts constitution, the document was entirely revised, largely by John Adams, and offered to the public in 1780. Adams and others then lobbied hard for its acceptance, and this is the opening gun. EVANS 16843. $3000. One of the Rarest of All Revolutionary War Narratives 3. Allen, Ethan: A NARRATIVE OF COLONEL ETHAN ALLEN’S CAPTIVITY, FROM THE TIME OF HIS BEING TAKEN BY THE BRITISH...TO THE TIME OF HIS EXCHANGE...CON- TAINING, HIS VOYAGES AND TRAVELS...INTERSPERSED WITH SOME POLITICAL OBSERVATIONS. WRITTEN BY HIMSELF AND NOW PUBLISHED FOR THE INFORMATION OF THE CURIOUS IN ALL NATIONS. Philadelphia: printed, Bos- ton: re-printed by Draper and Folsom, 1779. 40pp. Early 20th-century blue morocco by Macdonald, gilt inner dentelles, raised bands, spine gilt, a.e.g. Lightly edgeworn, raised bands rubbed. Modern bookplate on front pastedown. Stained and tanned. Trimmed close, costing several catchwords and occasion- ally shaving a running headline, page number, or letter of text. Overall, good. In a half morocco and cloth folding case, spine gilt. The excessively rare second edition of Ethan Allen’s Revolutionary War captiv- ity narrative. Four editions were printed in 1779, all of which are extremely rare. The Philadelphia edition printed by Bell is designated by Evans as the first edition, and this Boston printing is called the sec- ond edition. We have never seen a copy of the Bell edition offered for sale, and the North American Imprints Project locates only two copies of that edition – it is so rare as to be virtually unobtainable. This is only the second copy of the Boston edition that we have ever seen offered for sale. As leader of the Green Mountain Boys, Ethan Allen played a crucial role in the attack on Fort Ticonderoga, and proved to be a constant source of difficulty to the British in the Northeast. He was cap- tured in September 1775 while leading a group of New Englanders and Quebecois in an attack on Montreal, and suffered two years of brutal captivity in British prisons, aboard prison ships, and in the New York City jail. Allen was finally exchanged for a British prisoner and wrote this account of his ordeal, excoriating the British for their cruelty and calling on Americans to forsake any thought of compromise in the revolutionary cause. Allen’s narrative was very popular “and is rated second among best-selling books of the revolutionary period after Thomas Paine’s Common Sense” (ANB). It was reprinted several times in the following decades. The great 19th-century Americana collector, George Brinley, possessed three copies of this Boston edition, all of which were sold at the auction of his collection some 120 years ago. All three of those copies, however, were defective in some way, and the catalogue description still referred to this Boston printing as being “excessively rare.” Neither Thomas W. Streeter, E.D. Church, or Herschel Jones, three of the greatest Americana collectors of the 20th century, were able to obtain any 1779 edition of Allen’s narrative. The ever-bold Charles Heartman offered a copy of this Boston edition in 1930 (at the onset of the Depression) for $975. Very rare, and an essential Revolutionary War narrative. HOWES A136, “b.” GILMAN, p.5. SABIN 793. EVANS 16181. NAIP w013736. ANB I, pp.309-10. $35,000. A Set of Early American Military Manuals, Printed by Robert Bell 4. [American Military Manuals]: THE ART OF WAR.... [with:] A TREATISE ON THE MILITARY SERVICE OF LIGHT HORSE, AND LIGHT INFANTRY, IN THE FIELD AND IN FORTIFIED PLACES. Philadelphia: Robert Bell, 1776-1777. Two volumes. [8],264; [2], 228pp. Half title in each volume. Contemporary speckled calf, gilt-lettered spines. Rubbed, more particularly along hinges; front board of second vol- ume neatly detached. Contemporary ownership signature of Joseph Hiller on front free endpaper of first volume. Internally clean. Very good. In separate cloth chemises within a half morocco and cloth box. Two important early American military manuals, published shortly after the first American work of the kind, Roger Ste- venson’s Military Instructions for Officers... (1775). Both volumes are English transla- tions of earlier French military guides. Although issued separately and complete in themselves, the works are often found as a set, as here. The first title is actually a compilation of three tracts by Monsieur de Lamont, an anonymous French author, and the Chevalier de la Valiere, respectively. Titled “The Duties of Officers...,” “The Duties of Soldiers...” and “The Rules and Practices of the Greatest Generals...,” they offer a thorough guide to the proper behavior of a military body of the sort so much needed by the fledgling Continental Army.