1769 · London
by Cluny, Alexander
London: E. and C. Dill, 1769. [8],122pp. plus frontispiece. Folding map in facsimile. Quarto. 20th-century three-quarter calf and marbled boards, spine gilt. Hinges and corners rubbed. Bookplate on front pastedown. Minor foxing and soiling. Contemporary notation on plate. Very good. Cluny details the commerce and produce of the colonies in a series of letters to his patron. "In 23 letters Cluny describes the economic condition of the various colonies in America. He demonstrates the potentialities of the Hudson Bay trade and its restraint by the Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly, the importance of newly conquered Canada, the increasing estrangement of the English colonies southward and their economic value to Great Britain" - TPL. He expounds on each section of the American colonies, commenting on the agriculture and goods produced in each, including tobacco, rice, indigo, and silk from the South. The map (here in facsimile) is entitled, "A Map of North and South America, with Part of Europe, Asia & Africa. By the American Traveller." It shows the whole of the known world, with the Americas at its center. The frontispiece shows Cluny leading a party of men on snowshoe, accompanied by a dog sled. A contemporary hand has written beneath the image: "Alexander Clunie with his body guard of Indians travelling thro' the wilderness of America in 1744 & 5." HOWES C501, "b." TPL 428. JCB (1)III:1646. ESTC N473209. SABIN 13796. REESE & OSBORN, STRUGGLE FOR NORTH AMERICA 76
(Inventory #: WRCAM43565)