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Tag Archives: America

The American Anti-Slavery Almanac for 1840, being bissextile or leap-year, and the 64th of American Independence, calculated for Boston…

15 Monday Jan 2018

Posted by rarebooks in Book of the Week

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almanac, America, American Anti-Slavery Society, Boston, branding, burning, charts, Congress, constitutions, dogs, eclipses, freedom, governments, guns, high tides, hunting, laws, liberty, lynching, New York, population, postage rates, republics, selling, slaves, statistics, tables, United States

E449-A516-1840-cover
“He is a traitor to his race, who does not feel that all within the circle of humanity are his brothers and sisters — that their wrongs are his wrongs, and that his cup is dashed with the bitterness which overflows from theirs. While a single human being, round the wide world, drags the chain or drops the tear of a slave, every other human being, whose heart has not turned to stone, will cry out against the wretch who riveted the one or wrings out the other.”

…

“This language of Congress is memorable, as it shows that the dignified and enlightened body, under whose auspices the liberties of America were achieved, still retained an undiminished respect for the great and eternal principles of FREEDOM….’For extending the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty, which form the basis on which these republics, their laws, and the constitutions are erected, to fix and establish those principles as the basis of all laws, constitutions, and governments…'”

The American Anti-Slavery Almanac for 1840…
New York, NY & Boston, MA, 1839

This almanac presents the expected charts and tables, including lists of eclipses, high tides, population statistics of the United States, and postage rates. This practical matter is interspersed with texts detailing accounts of branding, hunting escaped slaves with dogs and and guns, selling a mother from her child, women being whipped in fields, lynching, burning alive and other atrocities perpetuated against the enslaved. The stories are illustrated with strikingly graphic images, one for each month plus one for the cover. Almanacs were read and used by a majority of literate American adults. The American Anti-Slavery Society began publishing these almanacs, in 1835, as a way of publicizing the horrors of slavery.

E449-A516-1840-pg11E449-A516-1840-pg13E449-A516-1840-pg15

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A Donation Highlights Jewish Contributions to Commerce in Early America

20 Monday Nov 2017

Posted by rarebooks in Donations

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abolitionism, advertisement, America, American, army, Bank of the United States, broker, Charleston, commerce, Congregation Mikveh Israel, Congress, Cornwallis, delegates, donation, Dr. Ronald Rubin, Dunlap's American Daily Advertiser, duty, England, financier, Frankfurt, George Washington, Germany, Haym Salomon, Isaac Franks, Jewish, levy, Levy Department Store, newspapers, Nones and Cohen, Philadelphia, Rhode Island, Solomon Lyons, South Carolina, Southern Union, stock brokers, The Charleston Mercury, The Independent Gazetteer, The Pennyslvania Packet

Dr. Ronald Rubin has donated four issues of early American newspapers highlighting Jewish contributions to commerce.


The Pennsylvania Packet, Philadelphia, October 9, 1781, features an advertisement by Haym Salomon, broker, considered the Financier of the American Revolution.

In the news that day, a report on the war from September 28:

“Gen. Washington sent in a flag to lord Cornwallis directing him not to destroy his shipping or warlike stores, as he would answer it at his peril. The early capture of the out-posts will greatly accelerate the future operations of our army.”


The Independent Gazetteer, or the Chronicle of Freedom, Philadelphia, February 4, 1783, contains an advertisement by Philadelphia stock brokers Isaac Franks, and Nones and Cohen.

In the news that day, a letter from the editor regarding vesting “power to Congress to levy, for the use of the United States, a duty of 5 per cent…on all goods, wares, and merchandise, of foreign growth and manufacture, etc….” to which the author against Rhode Island’s demurs: “If the Congress of America was a body of individual permanency, there might just cause of jealousy; but, when it is considered, that every member is annually nominated by assemblies, who are themselves also annually chosen by the people, I cannot perceive the least ground of danger; nay, I believe in most of the states, the delegates to Congress are revocable at pleasure: so that evil of misapplied power may be check as soon as it appears.”


Dunlap’s American Daily Advertiser, Philadelphia, May 9, 1791, features an advertisement by Solomon Lyons, a prominent Colonial-era broker and financier. Lyons was born in 1760 in Frankfurt, Germany and died in 1812 in Philadelphia, having raised a family of six children and being an active participant with Congregation Mikveh Israel.

In the news that day, an observation from a correspondent:

“The Bank of the United States may justly be considered as a proposition made to the monied interest, foreign and domestic — & in fact, appears to both in a very favourable point of light – the latter, from every information, are making great preparations to subscribe, and the terms are so advantages that no equal object of speculation is perhaps presented in any quarter of the globe to the former.


The Charleston Mercury, Charleston, South Carolina, February 13, 1856, contains a front page illustration of Levy Department Store.

In the news that day, a piece on abolitionism:

“…the Southern States shall become strong. Then, like the barons of England in similar circumstances, that they be able to demand their rights under the magna charta of the land, or, failing to secure these, to dissolve their connection with a hostile and lawless section. Glorious, indeed, according to our view, would be the result of Southern Union…”

Thank you, Dr. Rubin, for years of your wonderful gifts!

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Book of the Week — A New Hieroglyphical Bible, for the Amusement and Instruction of Children

31 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by rarebooks in Book of the Week

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Alexander Anderson, America, American, Augsburg, Baltimore, Bible, children, Dutch, emblem books, English, French, hieroglyphical, Isaiah Thomas, New York, Samuel W. Wood & Co., Samuel Wood & Sons, wood engraving

BS560-H54-1818-pg32spread
“…so also can nothing be more unprofitable, than the too customary mode of charging the infant memory with verses, or even chapters of abstract doctrines, or passages, about the true meaning of which, schoolmen themselves have hitherto been divided in opinion.” — from the Preface

A New Hieroglyphical Bible, for the Amusement and Instruction of Children
Alexander Anderson (1775-1870)
New York: Published by Samuel Wood & Sons, And Samuel W. Wood & Co…Baltimore, 1818
BS560 H54 1818

Hieroglyphic Bibles were a natural development from emblem books, in which often complex visual images served as emblems for intellectual or aesthetic ideas presented as moral or religious lessons. The first one was published in Augsburg in 1687. French and Dutch editions followed in the eighteenth century. The first English edition appeared fairly late, but it was followed by at least thirteen other editions before the end of the eighteenth century. The first American hieroglyphic Bible was published in 1788 by Isaiah Thomas.

Alexander Anderson has been called the father of wood engraving in America, and was certainly one of its masters. His work included prints, almanacs, fiction, travel, children’s books, Bibles, religious tracts, medical texts, and broadsides.

BS560-H54-1818-title

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Book of the Week — تاريخ راشد افندي

10 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by rarebooks in Book of the Week

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America, Arabic, Austria, Celebizade, dictionary, European, France, grammar, historian, historiographer, Holland, Hungarian, Ibrahim Muteferrika, Islam, Istanbul, Latin, Muslim, Muteferrika Press, Ottoman, Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turkish, poet, Rasit Efendi, Turkish, typeface, woodcut

DR531-R36-1741-v.1-firstimage
تاريخ راشد افندي
تاريخ راشد
قسطنطنية : ابراهيم من متفرقه كان

The first Turkish printing house was established in Istanbul on December 14, 1727. The director of the press was Ibrahim Muteferrika (1674-1745), a Hungarian convert to Islam. In 1726 Muteferrika sent a report on the efficiency of the printing press to Vizier Damat Ibrahim Pasha, the Grand Mufti. After he submitted another report to Sultan Ahmed, he recieved permission to publish non-religious books, over the objections of calligraphers and religious leaders.

Muteferrika Press published sixteen books between 1729 and 1742. Each edition consisted of between five hundred and one thousand copies. The presses themselves came from France, the typefaces were designed and cut by Muteferrika. The printers were from Austria. The press’s first title, a dictionary, contained maps and drawings from the Islamic world. A grammar (1730) was the first printed Ottoman work in Latin. In 1732, the press published a history of the discovery of America. This was the first book by a Muslim author about the Americas and included thirteen woodcut illustrations.

The work presented here is Rasit Efendi’s Tarih-i Rashid Afandi, published in 1741 by the Muteferrika Press. This was the sixteenth book to be published by the press. The work covers the period 1071-1134AH (1660-1772) of the official Ottoman history.  Rashid’s work is added to with Celebizade Isma’il Asim’s Tarih-i Celebizade Efendi, a history by Celebizade (d 1173 [1760]. Both Rashid and Celebizade held the post of official historiographer for the Ottoman Empire. This publication, printed in four volumes, here bound as one, is considered the prime source for the period.

The text, printed in Arabic script, is in Ottoman Turkish. Rare Books copy has evidence of at least one hand underlining and marking in faded brown ink. Bound in Ottoman style with blind-stamped European leather, lined with patterned paper.

DR531-R36-1741-v.1-pattern

DR531-R36-1741-v.1-colophon

DR531-R36-1741-v.1-secondimage

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Book of the Week — Cilantro, sage, rosemary and thyme

10 Monday Apr 2017

Posted by rarebooks in Book of the Week

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Africa, America, Asia, barrister, C. J. Phipps, California, Capul, Cavendish, Columbian Encounter, Comte de Buffon, Daines Barrington, Don Francisco Antonio Mourelle, English, Europe, French, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Greenland, Labrador, London, Lord Mulgrave, Magna Carta, Manilla, Mozart, natural history, naturalist, New Guinea, New World, Nichols, potatotes, Schouten, science, Spanish, tobacco, Turkey, Wales, White

AC7-B34-1781-Map
“What we saw of the country leaves us no doubt of its fertility, and that it is capable of producing all the plants of Europe. In most of the gullies of the hills there are rills of clear and cool water, the sides of which are covered with herbs (as in the meadows of Europe) of both agreeable verdure and smell. Amongst these were Castilian roses, smallage, lilies, plantain, thistles, camomile, and many others. We likewise found strawberries, rasberries, blackberries, sweet onions, and potatoes, all which grew in considerable abundance, and particularly near the rills. Amongst other plants we observed one which much resembled percely (though not in its smell), which the Indians bruised and eat, after mixing it with onions.”
— Daines Barrington translating Don Francisco Antonio Mourelle’s Journal of a Voyage, in 1775, to Explore the Coast of America, northward of California

Miscellanies
Daines Barrington (1727-1800)
London: Printed by J. Nichols, sold by B. White, 1781
First edition
AC7 B34 1781

Daines Barrington was an English barrister and naturalist. After filling various posts, he was appointed a judge in 1757, in Wales. He was noted for his observations on the Statutes, chiefly the more ancient, from Magna Carta to 21st James I (1766). Many of Barrington’s writings were published by the Royal and Antiquarian Societies, of which he was a member. Some of these papers were collected by Barrington in this volume.

Miscellanies contains the first publication of Don Francisco Antonio Mourelle’s Journal of a Voyage, in 1775, to Explore the Coast of America, Northward of California… translated from a Spanish manuscript. This is the only contemporary source in English of the voyage exploring the northwest coast of America.

Also in this volume is “The Probability of Reaching the North Pole” (1775), a tract reporting on the results of the northern voyage of discovery undertaken by Captain C. J. Phipps, who later became Lord Mulgrave. The report discussed the floating ice found in high northern and southern latitudes. For this and other reasons, it was especially helpful to whaling captains who frequented the coasts of Greenland and Labrador.

Included in Miscellanies is a biography of Mozart, various essays on natural history, and a discussion on whether the turkey was known in Europe before the Columbian Encounter. Barrington concluded that it was, as were tobacco and potatoes, contradicting the great French naturalist and encyclopedist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788).

“If M. de Buffon had not thus excluded Asia and Africa, the controversy would have turned out, as if the point to be discussed was, whether tobacco and potatoes were not peculiar to the New World. Now it is certan that both these plants are of American growth, but not exclusively so, for in 1584, Cavendish received potatoes from the inhabitants of Capul, which is an island not far from Manilla; and in 1616, Schouten was supplied with tobacco from the coast of New Guiney.”

Science was and is as political as war — England was at war with France during this time. And it never occurred to either de Buffon or Barrington that indigenous peoples might have crossed oceans long before the Europeans did.

AC7-B34-1781-Plate

AC7-B34-1781-title

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Book of the week — Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral…

16 Monday Jan 2017

Posted by rarebooks in Book of the Week

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abolitionists, Africa, African-American, Alexander Pope, America, Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Rush, Boston, Boston Slave Market, Cape Verde, copperplate engraving, England, frontispiece, Fula, Gambia, John Hancock, John Milton, John Wheatley, London, Massachusetts, Muslim, Nathaniel Wheatley, Phillis Wheatley, poems, poetry, poets, Scipio Moorhead, Senegal, slave, Susannah Wheatley, Thomas Hutchinson

PS866-W5-1773-Frontis

“Still, wond’rous youth! each noble path pursue,
On deathless glories fix thine ardent view:
Still may the painter’s and the poet’s fire
To aid thy pencil, and thy verse conspire!”
— from “To S. M. A Young African Painter, On Seeing His Works”

POEMS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, RELIGIOUS AND MORAL…
Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784)
London: Printed for A. Bell…and sold by Messrs. Cox and Berry, Boston, 1773
First edition
PS866 W5 1773

Phillis Wheatley, aged about seven, was bought by John Wheatley of Boston for his wife, Susannah, as a domestic slave, at the Boston Slave Market in 1761. She was probably born in Senegal/Gambia, near Cape Verde, of a Muslim people known as the Fula. She was transported from Africa to Boston on the slave ship, Phillis. The Wheatley family taught her to read and write. She read John Milton and was especially taken with the poetry of Alexander Pope.

Poems on Various Subjects was the first book of poems published by an African American. It gained international fame, and was particularly lauded in England. On a trip to London with Nathaniel Wheatley, she met Benjamin Franklin. Many at the time did not believe that Wheatley, a Negro, could have written this verse. However, Boston intellectuals, including Thomas Hutchinson, governor of Massachusetts; John Hancock; and Benjamin Rush came to her defense and attested to her authorship. Abolitionists used Wheatley as an example of the artistic and intellectual capabilities of black people.

Susannah Wheatley died a year after this book was published, and John Wheatley freed Phillis, possibly under pressure from others. Although Wheatley became one of the most published American poets of her day,  she died with her sick baby by her side, at the age of thirty, in poverty, and deserted by her husband.

The copperplate engraving frontispiece portrait of Phillis Wheatley is the only known work by enslaved artist, Scipio Moorhead (b. ca. 1750).

Only about one hundred copies of this book are known to exist today.

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On this day, 1798 Independent Chronicle

17 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by scott beadles in Donations

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America, Boston, Britain, Burgoyne, Cupid, Egypt, England, France, Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser, India, Italy, Mars, Massachusetts, Napoleon Buonaparte, Nathaniel Willis, Philenia, Powars and Willis, Ronald Rubin, Saratoga, Venus

AN2-A2-I49-V30-N1852

“In every country whatever, he who violates a woman is a monster.”

The Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser
Nathaniel Willis, publisher
Boston, MA: Powars and Willis, 1776
v. 30: no. 1852 (1798: Dec. 17-20)
AN2 A2 I49

Miscellany

—————–

For The Chronicle

To the virtuous Females in the United States

“In every country whatever, he who violates a woman is a monster”

-Buonaparte to his soldiers

This exalted sentiment must endear the immortal Buonaparte to every female throughout the world – more particularly to the virtuous part of that sex in America, whose accomplishments have exalted them to the highest elevation, in every circle wherein delicacy and refinement are estimated.—While this Hero is engaged in the arduous services of the Camp, he is not unmindful of those duties, which as a man and a citizen he is bound to discharge. With what indignation must this amiable sex in America, hear the invectives heaped on the Armies of France, and the praises bestowed on those of Britain? In what instance, did a British General guard his Soldiery against such horrid practices?—While a Burgoyne was spreading the alarm of havoc, and destruction through every cottage in the interior; while he was painting the distressing scene of savages let loose upon our frontiers; While the frantic mother, was clasping her disconsolate daughter to her bosom, and the bloody tomahawk was anticipated as uplifted to fever them in their affectionate embrace. While the premeditated carnage was promulgated in the sanguinary proclamation of this British commander—at this important period, my fair countrywoman, how did your bosoms throb with convulsions at the dreadful issue of his progress! Your Habitations destroyed! Your Parents massacred, and yourselves the Victims of the brutal lust of an unprincipled Soldiery.— These were your fears while the Army of Burgoyne were making inroads into your country.—These were your apprehensions while the troops of England were moving with hostile menaces towards the Cottages of Saratoga.

How different was the conduct of the British Generals in America, to that of Buonaparte in Egypt! Instead of exciting the Soldiery to burn Towns and Cities—instead inflaming their passions to trespass on the sanctity of female virtue—instead of alarming the anxious feelings of the tender mother, or, causing the timid bosom of a virtuous daughter to palpitate with terrific apprehensions: The magnanimous Buonaparte, no less displays the martial energy of a Soldier, than the tender sensibility of a guardian. Amid his anxious cares as a general, he is not inattentive to the kind of pattronage of a protector. Amid the shouts of a victorious Army, he proclaims in accents more sonorous than their huzzas, “that WHOEVER VIOLATES A WOMAN IS A MONSTER.”—In this noble and generous sentiment he unites the Camp of Mars, with the Temple of Venus. His cannon became the bow and his shot the arrows of Cupid.

While contemplating the highly esteemed reputation of Buonaparte, as it respects his honor, fidelity and attachment to the fair sex, we cannot but contrast it with the character of one, whose military appointment has led to many eulogiums in case a War should commence between France and America. While Buonaparte is anxious for the tranquility of the Egyptian Women, the American Hero has even blasted the happiness of a virtuous Wife and Children, by publicly revealing his detestable deeds.—Compare my fair Citizens the two characters—and in every circle where you hear of Bounaparte, remember the man, who wickedly committed the Crime, and then sacrificed the tender feelings of his Family, by furnishing a document of the fact, which the sensibility of a Husband and a Parent ought ever to revolt at!—Can this man, at the head of his Army, ever use the language of Buonaparte? If he should, his own blushes, would penetrate with that firey pungency, as to occasion an explosion of the whole magazines within his camp. For the man who is capable of violating the confidence of a woman, must be destitute of every principle which secures her protection.

The generous sentiment of Buonaparte must even assure him the affectional attachment of the Ladies:– And they must reprobate those, who, in their hearing should speak disrespectfully of the conqueror of Tyrants, and the protector of Women.

Let the delicate pen of Philenia resound the praises of a Buonaparte: On this topic may her poetic sublimity become equally as immortalized as the fame of the Conqueror of Italy. While contemplating the exalted theme, every female breast must beat with rapturous transports, and every voice join in reiterated plaudits, in celebrating the Virtues of the Man, who declares amid the ravage of a Camp, that “WHOEVER VIOLATES A WOMAN IS A MONSTER.”

These are thy trophies immortal Buonaparte! Should you even fail in the conquest of India, your declaration on the borders of Egypt, will enrich your memory beyond the most sumptuous acquisitions of the Earth.

A REPUBLICAN.

Rare Books issues of the Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser gift of Dr. Ronald Rubin.

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“Time travel exists” – University of Utah student Mary Royal writes about Rare Books impact

22 Friday May 2015

Posted by rarebooks in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

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1790, Alison Conner, America, American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin, Civil War, Euclid, First Acts of the First Session of Congress of the United States, Gutenberg Bible, history, John Locke, Luise Poulton, Marriott Library, Mary Alicia Royal, Nathaniel Rochester, New York, printing, rare books, Reformation, Rochester, S. J. Quinney College of Law, Special Collections, University of Utah, War of 1812

Time travel exists. On the fourth floor of the Marriott Library I have sat with the founding fathers as they pondered the questions facing the new nation on the heels of the American Revolution, been astounded at the invention of movable type in the revolution of the printing process, and solved mathematical principles with Euclid. While the famous people who turned the wheels of history are not miraculously hiding out on the U’s campus, the works they created are.

QA31-E86-E5-1482-FirstPage

The rare books collection holds treasures from all corners of the globe that are available to anyone who wishes to uncover the magical milestones in history that helped to shape our present reality. A simple trip to the rare books will undoubtedly inspire and present questions that will lead to more trips back to the collection.

My freshman year at the U I took a class on the Reformation. The syllabus for the course dictated that on a certain day we would gather at the rare books collection at the library. At the time I didn’t know what to expect, and I certainly didn’t realize that this one time excursion out of the classroom and into the library would forever change my experience at the U and my understanding and passion for the study of history.

My class filed into the special collections classroom and were told to wipe our hands with baby wipes. As we cleaned our hands a large hardbound book was set before us. The book was obviously old and as the cover was opened to reveal the pages inside, it was clear it was not of this era. The thickness of the pages, paired with the indentation of the lettering on the page served as clues into a past that was far richer than any normal book in the shelves standing in the library below.

As I stared at the pages, completely enamored by their coloration, markings and engravings, the curator explained that the page sitting before us was an original leaflet of the Gutenberg Bible. Yes, that Gutenberg Bible, the first book printed after the invention of movable type. My heart started racing. I was standing in the same room, feet away from one of the most influential pieces of history in the world. This excitement I felt was multiplied when we were informed that we could come forward and hold it in our hands.


I think I partly expected to have to put on special gloves and admire the copy under glass. But as I moved up in the line, it became clear that I could hold the copy, no gloves, no glass, just me and the book. When the curator put the book in my hands, it was a feeling that I had never felt before. I can only explain it as a mixture of admiration, gratitude, and awe. For those brief moments that I held the leaflet of the Gutenberg Bible in my bare hands, the past and present collided. I was touching the same pages that came off the press nearly 550 years earlier.

I ran my hand over the page and could feel the indentations of the letters, and smell the old fibers of the paper. From this point on my experience at the U was forever changed. It wasn’t long after that trip to the rare books that I made the decision to declare my academic major in history. Every history class I took from that moment until my graduation I would find myself returning to the rare books.

Walking through the doors of the collection, for me, was like taking a step outside of the busy world we live in, to spend a few unadulterated moments with my historical friends. There have been times over the years that I have admittedly been moved to tears at the sight of certain books, and have felt completely unworthy to be in their presence. This happened recently during a project for my Worlds of Benjamin Franklin class.

As a requirement of the course we had to pick a book in the rare books to study and report on. After meeting with Luise Poulton, who was more than willing to sit down with me and explore options for the project, I decided upon the First Acts of the First Session of Congress of the United States. The cover of the book had completely separated from the spine of the book and the pages were old, some of them bent, with writing and notes filling the inside.


As I carefully turned the pages, I was overcome with the sense that I was holding a piece of America. This book is a first edition that was printed in 1790. As I researched the book, I discovered that this particular one was once the property of Nathaniel Rochester, a veteran of the Revolutionary War and the founder of Rochester, New York. As I began to unveil the history lurking behind the signatures on the inside cover I discovered that the book had also gone through the hands of veterans of the War of 1812 and the Civil War as well as influential legal minds in our country’s formative years. And finally, as I sat in the rare books reading room, I became the next person in the storied line of individuals who had the fortune of being part of this book’s history.

As a new graduate of the University of Utah’s History department I’ve spent recent days reflecting on my time at the U. During this reflection I have pondered on both the people that shaped my experiences as well as places that aided in the enrichment of educational pursuits. Although I have encountered multiple people and places that influenced the completion of my degree, I can say, without hesitation, that the rare books collection had the greatest impact on my desire to study history.

While my time in undergrad has come to an end, my relationship with the rare books collection is far from over. As I begin my legal studies at the U’s SJ Quinney College of Law this fall, I know I will find myself visiting a new set of historical friends. I’m confident the writings of John Locke have untold stories and lessons to teach me as I pursue my juris doctorate.


I have told Luise Poulton and Alison Conner, curators in the rare books department, on multiple occasions that I wish I could spend all day in the collection, going through the pages of history that the U has been charged with the immense responsibility of caring for. My wish for future generations of students at the U is that they have the opportunity, to visit the collection and experience the unparalleled feeling and emotion that accompany the opportunity to hold history in your hands. How lucky we are, as students past and present of the U, to have access to such a resource!

Mary Alicia Royal, BA, Class of 2015

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Book of the Week – Madoc

20 Monday Oct 2014

Posted by rarebooks in Book of the Week

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Tags

America, Azteca, English, engraved, Indians, Lake Poets, London, Madoc, Mandan, marbled endpapers, Missouri River, morocco, North Dakota, Ohio River, poem, poet, poet laureate, Robert Southey, Romantic Movement, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Susquehanna River, United States, utopian community, Welsh


MADOC
Robert Southey (1774-1843)
London: Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, and A. Constable and Co. Edinburgh, 1805
First edition
PR5464 M2 1805

Robert Southey was an English poet, a follower of the Romantic Movement, one of the “Lake Poets.” He was appointed poet laureate in 1813. Together with his good friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), he planned to found a utopian community on the Susquehanna River in the United States. While this plan never came to fruition, it is probable that Madoc was inspired by this dream. The four hundred and forty-nine page poem, accompanied by one hundred and four pages of notes is the story of a Welsh king, who, around 1169, settled on the Missouri River in America and founded a great race of Indians, the “Aztecas.” The legend of Madoc is more familiarly associated with the Mandan tribe of North Dakota. During the eighteenth century, white explorers and trappers heard stories of a small, peaceful tribe living in Western North Dakota, some of whom had blue eyes, blonde hair and spoke Welsh. It was believed that this tribe was descended from a Welsh settlement on the Ohio River in the mid-fourteenth century. Engraved title-page. Bound in contemporary three-quarter green morocco with marbled endpapers and edges.

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Rare Books in Outside Online

19 Wednesday Feb 2014

Posted by rarebooks in Uncategorized

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America, Astoria, HarperCollins, John Jacob Astor, Northwest, Outside Online, Overland Party, Peter Stark, rare books, Thomas Jefferson, Washington Irving

An image from our first edition copy of Washington Irving’s Astoria (1836) was used for an Outside Online post: An excerpt from a new book about the legendary Overland Party attempts to establish America’s first commercial colony on the wild and unclaimed Northwest coast. The book, Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire, a Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival  by Peter Stark was released this month from HarperCollins. The image was also used in the book.

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/exploration/Astoria-John-Jacob-Astor-and-Thomas-Jefferson.html

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