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Early American Books
Rare and iconic “Slave Ship” illustration, within an 1836 American edition of Clarkson’s History of the Abolition of the African Slave-Trade
249. Thomas Clarkson: History of the Abolition of the African Slave-Trade with Slave Ship Plate. Rare un-
signed book: The Cabinet of Freedom: The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave-Trade by the British Parliament, Vol. II. NY: John S. Taylor, 1836. Hardcover bound in publisher’s original decorative embossed boards with gilt-stamped title on spine, 5 x 7.75, 298 pages. Bound in at page 236/237 is a lithographed plate of the powerful diagram of a “Slave Ship” by J. H. Buffords, illustrating in several cross-section figures the horrifying method of stowing slaves aboard a cargo ship, which unfolds to an overall size of 17.25 x 12.25. The “Slave Ship” plate is in very good condition, with a bit of foxing, small losses along the fold in the bottom figure, and a few partial edge tears (not affecting the illustrations); the book is likewise very good, with light foxing to textblock, frontispiece nearly detached, and rubbing to corners and spine ends. Starting Bid $200
251. John Knox: An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North-America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760. Rare, early authori-
tative work on the French and Indian War by a British Army officer: 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, Vols. I and II, by Captain John Knox. First edition. London: printed for the author and sold by W. Johnston and J. Dodsley, 1769. Hardcovers bound in full brown calf, 8.5 x 10.25, 870 pages plus errata leaves at rear. The first volume features an engraved frontispiece portrait of Jeffery Amherst, and the second features one of James Wolfe; the map is missing. Book condition: G+/None, with split joints, flaking and rubbing to leather, losses to title labels on spine, endpapers partially detached, and the bookplates of Herman LeRoy Edgar and Joel Davis Madden, Jr., affixed inside both volumes; aside from minor dampstaining along the bottom of some pages, the pages are very clean and tightly bound. Starting Bid $300
The ‘first full-scale history’ of the Revolutionary War by an American—a 1788 four-volume set—with maps of Charleston, Virginia, and Yorktown
States of America. Rare book set: The History of the Rise, Progress, and Establishment, of the Independence of the United States of America: including an Account of the Late War; and of the Thirteen Colonies, from their origin to that period, Vols. I–IV, by William Gordon. London: printed for the author and sold by Charles Dilly, 1788. Hardcovers, 5.75 x 9, 2032 pages. Six of the map plates have been removed, but Plate VII (Charleston/Fort Moultrie), Plate VIII (Virginia), and Plate IX (Yorktown) remain in place in Vols. III and IV. The first volume contains an interesting list of subscribers, including John Adams, Marquis de Lafayette, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Samuel Adams, and many other notable figures of the era. Book condition: G+/None, with heavy wear to spines and edges including some losses to spine paper and title labels, various marginal tears and losses, some creasing to edges, and the bookplate of Joel Davis Madden, Jr., affixed inside each volume; the interior pages are generally clean and tightly bound. Starting Bid $300
Stedman’s American War in two volumes—the best contemporary British account of the Revolution— complete with its 15 maps
Rare two-volume book: The History of the Origin, Progress, and Termination of the American War, Vols. I and II, by Charles Stedman. First edition. London: printed for the author and sold by J. Murray, et al, 1794. Hardcover bound in half calf with marbled boards, 9 x 11.25, 848 pages plus 15 engraved plates. The desirable maps and plans depict: the Battle of Bunker Hill; Battle of Long Island; Fort Washington; Battle of White Plains; Camp at Saratoga; Attack of Fort Clinton; Fayette’s Position, Barren Hill Church; Siege of Savannah; Siege of Charleston; Battle of Camden; British Troops crossing the Catawba; Battle at Guilford Court House; Battle at Hobkirk’s Hill; English and French Fleets; and Siege of York and Gloucester. Book condition: VG-/None, with rubbing and light soiling to boards, bumped corners, wear to spines, some foxing to textblock, and foxing, toning, and offsetting to several plates, as well as tears to a few of the plates; the bookplate of Joel Davis Madden, Jr., is affixed inside each volume.
Bibliographer Joseph Sabin described this important work: ‘Stedman’s history is generally considered the best contemporary account of the Revolution written from the British side. Stedman entered the army, served as an officer under Lord Percy at Lexington in 1775, and subsequently with Lord Howe in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and with Lord Cornwallis in the South.’ It is a fundamental early work on the history of the Revolution, and its plates constitute the finest collection of plans assembled by an eyewitness. Starting Bid $500
Handsomely bound first edition of John Marshall’s Life of George Washington, with companion atlas of ten strategic maps of his Revolutionary War campaigns
253. John Marshall: The Life of George Washington
(Six Volumes with Atlas). Scarce and sought-after first edition book set: The Life of George Washington, Commander in Chief of the American Forces, During the War which Established the Independence of His Country, and First President of the United States, Vols. I–V plus map supplement, compiled under the inspection of Bushrod Washington and written by Chief Justice John Marshall. First edition. Philadelphia: C. P. Wayne, 1804–1807. Hardcovers bound in three-quarter brown morocco leather with marbled boards, 6.25 x 9.5 (fivevolume biography) and 9 x 11 (atlas with subscribers’ list), totaling 3252 pages plus ten engraved map plates depicting Washington’s major Revolutionary War campaigns. Book condition: VG/None, with some dampstaining and foxing to textblocks, bumped corners to Vol. I, offsetting to title page of Vol. I from frontispiece, a few minor ink annotations within, and the bookplate of Joel Davis Madden, Jr., affixed inside each volume. After his appointment to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Marshall began working on a biography of George Washington. He did so at the request of his close friend, Associate Justice Bushrod Washington, who had inherited the papers of his uncle. Marshall’s The Life of George Washington, the first biography about a U.S. president ever published, has been praised by historians for its accuracy and well-reasoned judgments. According to Robert K. Faulkner, the work ‘is political history as well as biography…the only comprehensive account by a great statesman of the full founding of the United States—of the founding of an independent people as well as of its government…There is no other concentrated history of the essentials by such an authority on American institutions.’ A handsome example of this historic five-volume biography, enhanced by the inclusion of its accompanying atlas with scarce subscribers’ list. Starting Bid $500
First edition of Mante’s History of the Late War in North-America, complete with its 18 engraved maps—the best contemporary account of the French and Indian War
252. Thomas Mante: The History of the Late War in
North-America. Rare and important book: The History of the Late War in North-America and the Islands of the WestIndies, including the Campaigns of MDCCLXIII and MDCCLXIV against His Majesty’s Indian Enemies, by Thomas Mante. First edition. London: printed for W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1772. Hardcover bound in full brown calf, 9.75 x 11.75, 542 pages plus 18 maps and elusive errata leaf. The volume is complete with all of its engraved maps, most folded and quite large; these include: “Fort Beau Sejour”; “Lake Ontario to the Mouth of the River St. Lawrence”; “Lake George”; “A Plan of Fort Edward & Its Environs on Hudsons River”; “Communication Between Albany & Oswego”; “Attack on Louisbourg”; “The Attack of Ticonderoga”; “Plan of Fort Pitt”; “Guadaloupe”; “Attack on Quebec”; “A Sketch of the Cherokee Country”; “The River Saint Lawrence from Lake Ontario to the Island of Montreal”; “A Plan of the Attack upon Fort Levi”; “River St. Lawrence from Montreal to the Island of St. Barnaby…& the Islands of Jeremy”; “A View of the Coast of Martinico Taken by Desire of Rear Adml Rodney”; “Attack of the Havanna”; “Plan of the Retaking Newfoundland”; and “Part, of the West Coast, of the Island of Saint Lucia.” Book condition: G/None, with front board detached, heavy wear to spine, some foxing and minor dampstaining throughout, varying levels of offsetting to map plates, some small edge tears to plates, and the bookplate of Joel Davis Madden, Jr., affixed to the front pastedown.
Thomas Mante was an English army officer, historian and military writer, and, later, a spy in the pay of the French government. His History of the Late War in North-America offers detailed narratives of the French and Indian War, with coverage of Braddock’s campaign and the other frontier and Canadian campaigns of the conflict, as well as Pontiac’s War, in which Mante served under Col. Dudley Bradstreet. George Washington’s involvement is detailed in depth, including an account of his 1753 escape from assassination by an Indian acting as his interpreter and guide. The illustrations include several seminal maps which are the most accurate produced to that time, and are highly sought even on their own. Bibliographer Wright Howes proclaimed Mante’s War in America as the ‘best contemporary account’ of the war, while Joseph Sabin wrote: ‘Copies with all the maps are scarce. It is probable that but few were printed, although the large and beautiful plans and military maps (which gave it so great a value), must have made its production a work of much expense.’ A superb book of immense historical and cartographical importance. Starting Bid $2500
Monumental six-volume limited edition history of New York City: The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498–1909
255. I. N. Phelps Stokes: The Iconography of Manhattan Island. Rare, monumental six-volume study of the his-
tory of New York City: The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498–1909, Vols. I–VI, by Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes. First edition, limited issue of 360 copies on hand-made paper (plus an additional 42 on Japanese vellum). NY: Robert H. Dodd, 1915–1928. Hardcover bound in full brown mottled calf with gilt-stamped seals, 8.75 x 11.25, 5742 pages. Compiled from original sources and illustrated by photo-intaglio reproductions of important maps, plans, views, and documents from public and private collections, this expansive work records and documents key events of the city’s chronology from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. Among other things, it shows the evolution of the Manhattan skyline up to the time of publication. Book condition: VG/None, with rubbing and flaking to spines, a large chip to the spine head of Vol. III, and the bookplate of Joel Davis Madden, Jr., affixed inside each volume. Accompanied by the original subscription announcement. Profusely illustrated with nearly 600 plates, The Iconography of Manhattan Island stands as the most elaborate and comprehensive history of New York City ever produced. Starting Bid $500
Tarleton’s History of the Campaigns of 1780 and 1781, complete with its five Revolutionary War battle maps
America. Rare book concerning the southern campaigns of the American Revolution by one of its key British participants: A History of the Campaigns of 1780 and 1781, in the Southern Provinces of North America, by Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton. First edition. London: printed for T. Cadell, 1787. Hardcover bound in one-quarter green morocco with blue marbled boards, 9.5 x 11.5, 518 pages. The book is highlighted by its five hand-colored map plates: a large map of the United States showing the marches of Cornwallis, by William Faden, royal geographer to King George III; a plan of the siege of Charleston; a plan of the battle near Camden; a plan of the battle of Guilford; and a plan of the siege of Yorktown. Book condition: G+/None, with the front board entirely detached, wear to corners and edges, tattered edges to title page, some foxing and toning to the large map of the country, and the bookplate of Joel Davis Madden, Jr., affixed to front pastedown.
This is considered to be the standard work on the Southern campaigns in the American Revolution, noted by Church as of ‘great value, especially because it contains many documents that cannot be found elsewhere without great labor.’ Tarleton’s narrative is one of the principal British accounts of the Revolution, and is especially prized for its highly detailed engraved maps. Starting Bid $300
