BARTRAM, William (1739-1823),l

[American Indians] Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida, the Cherokee country, the extensive territories of the Muscogulges or Creek Confederacy, and the country of the Chactaws. Containing an account of the soil and natural productions of those regions; together with observations on the manners of the Indians. Embellished with copper-plates. By William Bartram

London: reprinted for J. Johnson, in St. Paul’s Church-Yard, 1794. Three-Quarter Calf. Styled on title page "Second Edition in London" (although only the title page differs from the first London edition, according to Sabin, and indeed, in our copy, is on heavier stock) of this classic account of natural history and exploration, including much on southern Indian tribes. Crown 8vo (203 x 120mm): xxiv,520,[8index & binding directions]pp, with engraved frontispiece portrait of Mico Chlucco (from Bartram's own drawing), seven numbered natural history plates (one folding), and folding map (showing eastern coast of Florida from the River St. John to near Cape Canaveral). Beautifully bound in period-style three-quarter tan calf over marbled boards (c. 1900, judging from supplied end sheets), spine in six richly gilt compartments divided by raised bands, black morocco lettering piece gilt, gilded top edge, marbled end sheets. Small edge chip to frontispiece (far from image), else superb, tightly bound, fresh and bright, pages and plates virtually pristine. Howes B223. Sabin 3870 (Unequalled for the vivid picturesqueness of its descriptions of nature, scenery, and productions). Pilling (Proof-Sheets) 305. Field, p. 24 (Although more especially a naturalist, he [Bartram] neglected nothing which would add to the common stock of human knowledge). Clark (Old South) I:197. Servies I, 696. Geology Emerging 134 (citing first London edition). Fine. Item #BB2230

In 1772, John Fothergill, London physician and plant collector, commissioned Bartram to explore the Florida territories, collecting seeds, making drawings, and gathering specimens of unfamiliar plants. Between 1774 and 1776, Bartram sent Fothergill 59 drawings and 209 dried specimens, as well as reports of his travels (not this book, and published only after Bartram's death). Bartram's Travels was originally issued by subscription in Philadelphia, in 1791, by James and Johnson, with George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson among its subscribers. London editions followed in 1792 and 1794 (with 1793 editions in Dublin, Berlin, and Vienna). "Bartram's narrative passages, which variously detail a lively battle with preying alligators, countless river crossings, fantastic reports of the storms he weathered, and his numerous encounters with American Indians, are interspersed with catalogs of birds, flowers, trees, and shrubs by their scientific classifications. Interestingly, the long-term significance of Bartram's work . . . principally rests in its literary contributions. Bartram's Travels profoundly influenced English Romantic poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth (who owned this second London edition) as well as the American Transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau." (DocSouth) By his own account, Coleridge had Bartram's Travels in mind when he devised the exotic imagery in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and "Kubla Khan." 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.).

Price: $1,999.00