Voyages du Baron de La Hontan dans l'Amerique Septentrionale ... [Second volume title: Memoires de l'Amerique Septentrionale, ou la suite des Voyages ..] Seconde edition, revue, corrigé, & augmentée

Book Description

The Hague: chez Charles Delo, 1706. 2 volumes, 12mo. (6 x 3 5/8 inches). Titles in red and black. Engraved additional title, 26 plates and maps (including 2 large folding maps, 22 other folding plates or maps). Contemporary calf, covers ruled in blind, spine in six compartments with raised bands, red morocco labels in the second and third compartments, the others with repeat overall tooling in gilt, marbled endpapers and edges, expert repairs to head and foot of spines, contained within a single modern dark red morocco-backed cloth box, "spine" gilt. A very fine set of this early edition of a work "written by a man of more than ordinary learning and intelligence" (Sabin). Scarce edition, the second in this form. Lahontan's earlier works (often viewed as a three volume set), are here issued as a two-volume set by the omission of the extraneous voyages to Portugal and Denmark, and a selection was made from the Dialogues. "Lahontan came to America in 1683 & spent the next few years among the Indians & at the frontier posts of the St. Lawrence & the Lakes. Wintering at Michilimackinac in 1688, Lahontan listened to the tales of the coureurs de bois and heard of the famous Rivière Longue, which Charlevoix called pure fiction [and Howes "about as convincing as the legends of the sea- serpent"]. The popularity of his book was rivalled only by Hennepin's. It is of much value as a clear and fearless picture of Canada and the Canadians of his day. His book has a charm which brings one back to it again . . . for spirit and brightness there is nothing in Canadian literature which approaches it, save some of the earlier letters of Lamothe Cadillac" (Larned). Howes L-25; cf. Sabin 38641.

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