Philip Massei: My Life and Wanderings
by Mazzei, Philip; and Scalia, S. Eugene (Translated by), and Marchione, Margherita (Editor)
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very good in very good dust jacket. Inscribed by Editor to Joseph P. Vaghi (possibly the youngest Beachmaster in the D-Day landi
- ISBN 10
- 0916322033
- ISBN 13
- 9780916322038
- Seller
-
Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Morristown, NJ: American Institute of Italian Studies, 1980. Presumed first edition/first printing. Hardcover. Very good in very good dust jacket. Inscribed by Editor to Joseph P. Vaghi (possibly the youngest Beachmaster in the D-Day landings! ). Text in English, Italian. 438 p. Author's Notes; Translator's Notes. Illustrations. Index. This first unabridged and faithful translation of Mazzei's autography was timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of his birth. From Wikipedia: "Philip Mazzei (December 25, 1730-March 19, 1816) was an Italian physician. A close friend of Thomas Jefferson, Mazzei acted as an agent to purchase arms for Virginia during the American Revolutionary War. Mazzei was born Filippo Mazzei in Poggio a Caiano in Tuscany. He studied medicine in Florence and practiced in Italy and the Middle East for several years before moving to London in 1755 to take up a mercantile career as an importer. While in London he met the Americans Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Adams of Virginia. They convinced him to undertake his next venture. In 1773 he led a group of Italians who came to Virginia to introduce the cultivation of vineyards, olives, and other Mediterranean fruits. Mazzei became a neighbor and friend of Thomas Jefferson. Mazzei and Jefferson started what became the first commercial vineyard in the Commonwealth of Virginia. They shared an interest in politics and libertarian values, and maintained an active correspondence for the rest of Mazzei's life. In 1779 Mazzei returned to Italy as a secret agent for the state of Virginia. He purchased and shipped arms to them until 1783. After briefly visiting the United States again in 1785, Mazzei travelled throughout Europe promoting Republican ideals. He wrote a political history of the American Revolution, "Recherches historiques et politiques sur les Etats-Unis de l'Amerique septentrionale", and published it in Paris in 1788. After its publication Mazzei became an unofficial roving ambassador in Europe for American ideas and institutions. While in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth he became attached as a Privy Councilor at the court of King Stanislaus II. There he became acquainted with Polish liberal and constitutional thought, like the works of Wawrzyniec Grzyma a Goslicki and ideas of Golden Freedoms and Great Sejm. King Stanislaus II appointed Mazzei to be Poland's representative in Paris, where he again met Jefferson. After Poland was partitioned between Russia and Prussia in 1795, Mazzei, along with the rest of the Polish court, was given a pension by the Russian crown. He later spent more time in France, becoming active in the politics of the French Revolution under the Directorate. When Napoleon overthrew that government Mazzei returned to Pisa, Italy. He died there in 1816. After his death the remainder of his family returned to the United States at the urging of Thomas Jefferson. They settled in Massachusetts and Virginia. Mazzei's daughter married the nephew of John Adams. Many biographers believe Jefferson and Washington had a falling out over a letter Jefferson sent to Mazzei in Italy, which called Washington's administration "Anglican, monarchical, and aristocratical" as England and claimed that Washington had appointed as military officers "all timid men that prefer the calm of despotism to the boisterous sea of liberty...[I]t would give you a fever were I to name to you the apostates who have gone over to these heresies, men who were Samsons in the field and Solomons in the council, but who have had their heads shorn by the harlot England." The letter was eventually published overseas and then re-translated back into English by Noah Webster and published in the United States. This contribution was acknowledged by John F. Kennedy in his book A Nation of Immigrants, in which he states that: The great doctrine 'All men are created equal' and incorporated into the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, was paraphrased from the writing of Philip Mazzei, an Italian-born patriot and pamphleteer, who was a close friend of Jefferson. A few alleged scholars try to discredit Mazzei as the creator of this statement and idea, saying that "there is no mention of it anywhere until after the Declaration was published". This phrase appears in Italian in Mazzei's own hand, written in.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Ground Zero Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 68138
- Title
- Philip Massei: My Life and Wanderings
- Author
- Mazzei, Philip; and Scalia, S. Eugene (Translated by), and Marchione, Margherita (Editor)
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very good in very good dust jacket. Inscribed by Editor to Joseph P. Vaghi (possibly the youngest Beachmaster in the D-Day landi
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- Presumed first edition/first printing
- ISBN 10
- 0916322033
- ISBN 13
- 9780916322038
- Publisher
- American Institute of Italian Studies
- Place of Publication
- Morristown, NJ
- Date Published
- 1980
- Keywords
- Joseph Vaghi, Botta-Adorno, Domenico Caracciolo, Czartoryski, La Rochefoucauld, Thomas Jefferson, Lafayette, Scipione Piattoli, Stanislaus Augustus, Bernardo Tanucci
Terms of Sale
Ground Zero Books
Books are offered subject to prior sale. Satisfaction guaranteed. If you notify us within 7 days that you are not satisfied with your purchase, we will refund your purchase price when you return the item in the condition in which it was sold.
About the Seller
Ground Zero Books
Biblio member since 2005
Silver Spring, Maryland
About Ground Zero Books
Founded and operated by trained historians, Ground Zero Books, Ltd., has for over 30 years served scholars, collectors, universities, and all who are interested in military and political history.
Much of our diverse stock is not yet listed on line. If you can't locate the book or other item that you want, please contact us. We may well have it in stock. We welcome your want lists, and encourage you to send them to us.
Much of our diverse stock is not yet listed on line. If you can't locate the book or other item that you want, please contact us. We may well have it in stock. We welcome your want lists, and encourage you to send them to us.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
- Remainder
- Book(s) which are sold at a very deep discount to alleviate publisher overstock. Often, though not always, they have a remainder...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...