first edition
1808 · Newburyport
by Ashe, Thomas
Newburyport: William Sawyer & Co., 1808. First Edition. Very good+ in full, contemporary tree calf covered boards with a gilt, red leather title block on the spine. A 16mo of 7 by 4 inches with an early prior owner's name at the top edge of the title page with scattered foxing throughout. The leather covers are worn and rubbed at the edges of the boards, but none are worn through. 366 pages including an appendix and text. The original title was published in England in 1808 in three volumes. This is the first American edition. Howes in his bibliography, U.S.Iana, states that this title is: "Interesting in spite of its snarling asperity and numerous lies." Clark in his bibliography of Travels in The Old South, believed that this title was "one of the least acceptable American Travel Accounts" as the author "realized that a book devoted largely to the condemnation of Americans would be profitable." He goes on to say that despite Ashe's "oblique observations" he "was favorably impressed with the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, and his descriptions are generally credible." (Howes, A-352; Clark, II, 134; Sabin, 2180)
(Inventory #: TB29837)