[Letters from an American farmer] Lettres d'un Cultivateur Américain, écrites a W. S. Ecuyer, Depuis l'année 1770, jusqu'a 1781. Traduites de l'Anglois par ***
by CRÈVECOEUR, Michel Guillaume St Jean de (1735-1813)
- Used
- Fine
- Condition
- Fine
- Seller
-
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
A Paris: Chez Cuchet, Libraire, rue & hôtel Serpente, 1784. Quarter-Calf. Fine. First Edition in French, First Issue (with errata, not found in second issue) of the author's free translation (adding a second volume) of his Letters from an American Farmer, "as literature, unexcelled by any American work of the eighteenth century." (Howes) Complete in two octavo volumes: xxiv,iv,422,[2]; [4],iv,400,[2]pp, with head and tail pieces. Half title in second volume. Contemporary tan quarter calf, smooth spines in six compartments divided by wide gilt rolls, citron and blue goat skin labels gilt, marbled paper-covered boards, marbled edges, vellum tips. A remarkably attractive set, securely bound, spine gilt bright, pages fresh and free of foxing with ample margins. Howes C 883. Sabin 17494. Monaghan 502. DAB IV, pp. 542-44. Clark I, 218(4). First published in London, in English, in 1782. Crèvecoeur served in the French and Indian War as a surveyor in the French colonial militia. Following the British defeat of the French in 1759, he became a naturalized citizenship of New York, adopted the name John Hector St. John, and began farming in Orange County, meanwhile observing the emergence of an American society. This French edition is a substantial rewrite of the English version, and more pro-American and anti-British in tone. Crèvecoeur's essays (including those on Nantucket and on Martha's Vineyard and the whale fishery), describing the scenery, customs, and manners of the colonies just then slipping into the chaos of revolution, as well as the New World's natural history and the ethnography of its native populations, were enormously popular in both England and France, where they were reprinted many times, and in Holland and Germany, playing a major role in attracting Europeans to settle in America. Letter IX, containing his description of a caged slave up in a tree, dying while tortured by insects and birds of prey, is a riveting indictment of slavery. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).
Details
- Bookseller
- Fine Editions Ltd (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- BB2706
- Title
- [Letters from an American farmer] Lettres d'un Cultivateur Américain, écrites a W. S. Ecuyer, Depuis l'année 1770, jusqu'a 1781. Traduites de l'Anglois par ***
- Author
- CRÈVECOEUR, Michel Guillaume St Jean de (1735-1813)
- Format/Binding
- Quarter-Calf
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Chez Cuchet, Libraire, rue & hôtel Serpente
- Place of Publication
- A Paris
- Date Published
- 1784
- Keywords
- United States—Social life and customs—1775-1783. United States—Social life and customs—To 1775. United States—Description and travel. United States—History—Revolution, 1775-1783— Anecdotes. Nantucket Is
- Bookseller catalogs
- HAND-PRESS PERIOD; XIX CENTURY;
Terms of Sale
Fine Editions Ltd
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About the Seller
Fine Editions Ltd
Biblio member since 2005
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
About Fine Editions Ltd
Fine Editions specializes in First Editions of English and American Literature, Landmarks In Science and the History Of Ideas, Natural History and Color-Plate books, Travel and Voyages, and books on Gardening and Landscape Design. Our hallmark is condition: with few exceptions (mostly relating to our antiquarian stock), all books sold are in Near Fine or better conditions and all are highly collectible.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Errata
- Errata: aka Errata Slip A piece of paper either laid in to the book correcting errors found in the printed text after being...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Tail
- The heel of the spine.
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Half Title
- The blank front page which appears just prior to the title page, and typically contains only the title of the book, although, at...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Vellum
- Vellum is a sheet of specialty prepared skin of lamb, calf, or goat kid used for binding a book or for printing and writing. ...
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...